Techniques used to study protein folding include circular dichroism and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, which can provide information about the secondary, tertiary, and quaternary structure of proteins.
How does the arrangement of amino acids in irregular secondary structures contribute to the function of a protein?
The arrangement of amino acids in irregular secondary structures can contribute to the function of a protein by providing specific binding sites for other molecules or by influencing the overall shape of the protein. For example, a loop of amino acids may contain a binding site for a small molecule that the protein interacts with, or the loop may play a role in maintaining the proper overall shape of the protein.