Question 5

[tingyushih6929]

Why is it that at delta G=0 the protein denature??

[jellywing_2058]

delta G = 0 means that equilibrium is maintained. If the enzyme no longer is in an equilibrium state, then it would get denatured.

[dnpgr16513]

Hi,

I'm still confused as to why delta G has to be zero. If it's in equilibrium, then denaturing doesn't occur, right? I thought if Delta G was negative ( which means it's spontaneous) then denaturing would occur. Can someone clarify this?

Thanks!

[harrington5609]

I think what it means is that when delta G = 0, the protein will still denature because of equilibrium conditions, so what's the minimum temperature that will make the entropy x temp part of the equation equal to the enthalpy? If multiplying these two is not greater than 175,000 J, the reaction will be spontaneous due to a negative detal G. If it's greater than 175,000, than it will obviously be non spontaneous since detal G will be positive (no denatured protein).