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Haemoglobin

Haemoglobin is a globular protein containing iron that facilitates the transport of oxygen in red blood cells.Haemoglobin is made up of two alpha and two beta subunits held together by hydrophobic interactions, hydrogen bonds and ionic bonds.Each subunit is attached to a haem prosthetic group. The haem prosthetic group contains iron Fe2+.The haem prosthetic group allows haemoglobin to combine reversibly with molecular oxygen. Each haem group binds one oxygen molecule to its Fe2+ ion.

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Specification: OCR Biology A (H020), AS-level, 2.1.2 Biological molecules. Topic: Biological Molecules.

Key terms in this lesson

disulfide bridge
A covalent bond formed between two cysteine residues that helps stabilise the tertiary or quaternary structure of a protein.
globular protein
A water-soluble, roughly spherical protein folded so that hydrophilic R groups face outwards, such as an enzyme or haemoglobin.
prosthetic group
A non-protein group that is permanently and tightly bound to a protein and is needed for it to function, such as the haem group in haemoglobin.

More in Biological Molecules

All 63 lessons in Biological Molecules · All OCR AS-level Biology topics