ABSTRACT
Proteins are polymers composed of different monomer units, so protein is considered a heteropolymer.1-4 As with other polymers, proteins have functional and structural roles; for example, proteins can be turned into plastics (see Chapter 6). The solution chemistry of proteins includes the response of proteins to changes in solvent,5-9 as well as the reactivity of functional groups on proteins. This chapter will focus on the latter subject, including discussion of the effect of solvent and microenvironment. Changes in environment such as solvent or temperature that affect protein conformation and the tools used to study shape changes in protein conformation are discussed in Chapter 2. Changes in solvent composition, such as changes in metal ion concentration, are usually reversible, whereas changes induced by changes in pH or temperature are frequently irreversible and are associated with protein denaturation (see Chapters 2, 5, and 6 for further discussion of protein denaturation). The chemical modication of a protein may or may not result in a conformational change (see Chapter 2).
