Food Chemistry

Denaturation

Loss of a protein's secondary, tertiary and quaternary structure without breaking peptide bonds, caused by heat, pH change, salts, solvents or shear.

Real-life application

Why an egg turns solid when fried or boiled, and why milk proteins clump together if boiled with lemon juice.

Related terms

The pH at which a protein carries no net electrical charge, so electrostatic repulsion between molecules is minimal.

The aggregation of denatured protein molecules into an insoluble network, following denaturation and driven by newly exposed hydrophobic groups.

Practise the subject behind the definition.