In
biochemistry, the
tertiary structure of a
protein is its overall folding, the shape it has under physiological conditions (e.g., inside a
cell).
Protein folding is essential for its function as, for example, an
enzyme.
Bioinformatics tries to find ways to predict the folding from the
primary structure. An important type of
chemical bond involved in forming the tertiary structure of many proteins is the
disulfide bond.
See also: primary structure -- secondary structure -- quaternary structure -- translation