ON SOME GENERAL PROPERTIES OF PROTEINS

1. The processes of denaturation and coagulation of hemoglobin are like those of other proteins. 2. When hemoglobin is denatured it is probably depolymerized into hemochromogen. 3. When other proteins are denatured they, too, are probably depolymerized. Conversely, native proteins can be regarded as aggregates of denatured proteins. 4. The globins and histones are to be regarded as denatured proteins rather than as a distinct group of proteins. 5. The factors affecting the equilibrium between native and denatured proteins have been considered. 6. A non-polar group is uncovered when a protein is denatured. 7. It has been shown that judged by the two most sensitive tests for the specificity of proteins, it is only when proteins are in the native form that they are highly specific.