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[1] [2] A polypeptide is a longer, continuous, unbranched peptide chain. [3] Polypeptides that have a molecular mass of 10,000 Da or more are called proteins . [ 4 ] Chains of fewer than twenty amino acids are called oligopeptides , and include dipeptides , tripeptides , and tetrapeptides .
Protein structures range in size from tens to several thousand amino acids. [2] By physical size, proteins are classified as nanoparticles, between 1–100 nm. Very large protein complexes can be formed from protein subunits. For example, many thousands of actin molecules assemble into a microfilament.
The words protein, polypeptide, and peptide are a little ambiguous and can overlap in meaning. Protein is generally used to refer to the complete biological molecule in a stable conformation, whereas peptide is generally reserved for a short amino acid oligomers often lacking a stable 3D structure. But the boundary between the two is not well ...
Protein secondary structure is the local spatial conformation of the polypeptide backbone excluding the side chains. [1] The two most common secondary structural elements are alpha helices and beta sheets , though beta turns and omega loops occur as well.
According to one definition, a turn is a structural motif where the C α atoms of two residues separated by a few (usually 1 to 5) peptide bonds are close (less than 7 Å [0.70 nm]). [1] The proximity of the terminal C α atoms often correlates with formation of an inter main chain hydrogen bond between the corresponding residues.
The amino acids in a 3 10-helix are arranged in a right-handed helical structure. Each amino acid corresponds to a 120° turn in the helix (i.e., the helix has three residues per turn), and a translation of 2.0 Å (0.20 nm) along the helical axis, and has 10 atoms in the ring formed by making the hydrogen bond.
For cytochrome c and some other proteins, it has been shown that the molten globule state is a "thermodynamic state" clearly different both from the native and the denatured state, demonstrating for the first time the existence of a third equilibrium (i.e., intermediate) state.
Kinesin is a protein functioning as a molecular biological machine. It uses protein domain dynamics on nanoscales. A protein complex or multiprotein complex is a group of two or more associated polypeptide chains. Protein complexes are distinct from multidomain enzymes, in which multiple catalytic domains are found in a single polypeptide chain ...