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Hydrogen Bonds
💡 About Hydrogen Bonds
- ⚖️ Strength: Hydrogen bonds (10–40 kJ/mol) are much weaker than covalent bonds (~400 kJ/mol), but collectively they have a major stabilising effect in biology.
- 🧩 Proteins: They are critical in maintaining tertiary (3D folding) and quaternary (subunit interactions) structures of proteins.
- 🧬 DNA: Hydrogen bonds hold complementary bases together in the double helix:
- A–T pairs → 2 hydrogen bonds
- C–G pairs → 3 hydrogen bonds (stronger, so C–G rich DNA is more stable)
- 💧 Water Properties: Hydrogen bonds are responsible for many unique properties of water:
- Keep water liquid at room temperature (otherwise it would be a gas like H2S).
- Make ice less dense than water → ice floats, insulating aquatic life in winter.
- High specific heat capacity → buffers temperature changes in organisms and environments.
- High surface tension → allows capillary action and supports small organisms on water surfaces.
- 🌍 Biological Importance: Hydrogen bonds underpin enzyme–substrate recognition, antibody–antigen binding, and receptor–ligand interactions.
📌 Summary
Hydrogen bonds are weak individually but powerful in numbers. They stabilise proteins 🧩, hold DNA strands together 🧬, and give water 💧 its life-sustaining properties. Without them, biology as we know it could not exist.
| The content on this website is provided for educational and informational purposes only to support exam preparation (e.g., MLA, MRCP, USMLE) and learning. This is NOT medical advice, diagnosis, treatment, or professional guidance. It does not replace consultation with a qualified healthcare professional, official guidelines (e.g., NICE, GMC, BNF), or supervised clinical practice. Always verify information with current, authoritative sources. Makindo and its contributors accept no liability for any reliance on this content, including errors, omissions, or any resulting harm, loss, or consequences. By using this site, you agree to these terms. |
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