denature

[dē′nā·chər]

(chemistry)

To change a protein by heating it or treating it with alkali or acid so that the original properties such as solubility are changed as a result of the protein's molecular structure being changed in some way.

To add a denaturant, such as methyl alcohol, to grain alcohol to make the grain alcohol poisonous and unfit for human consumption.

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References in periodicals archive

The band originally formed back in 2012 but it hasn't been easy as it has taken many years for Denature to find their feet and their unique sound.

Delivering synths with lots of soul; Ahead of their EP release, electronic act Denature chat to SARAH JEFFERY

Washington, March 12 (ANI): Washington, March 5 (ANI): In a move which would be taken positively by advocates of world peace, a team of engineers has developed a technique to "denature" plutonium created in large nuclear reactors, making it unsuitable for use in nuclear arms.

"Denaturing" plutonium in nuclear bombs makes them unsuitable for warfare

For proteins, we're still learning because of the problems everyone has handling them." Proteins can denature or clump if conditions aren't just right.

Shedding tears for scientific study

Because dendritic molecules fan out from a central core, they can't denature. "It's like a pom-pom," Tomalis suggests.

Trekking in the molecular forest: entering a new league, scientists create enormous tree-like molecules

Analysis on the system was performed at a temperature sufficient to partially denature (melt) the DNA heteroduplexes.

Novel mutation and polymorphisms of the HMBS gene detected by denaturing HPLC

"The energy released is of the same order of magnitude as the total energy required to completely denature a protein."

Shaking up a protein's tangled world