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Chemistry 13 Online
OpenStudy (anonymous):

Describe how the following factors can affect the 3D shape of haemoglobin and its activity

OpenStudy (aaronq):

what factors

OpenStudy (anonymous):

1.Temperature 2.pH 3.Number of oxygen molecules bound

OpenStudy (abb0t):

Temperature: due to increased of liberation of heat from the metabolically-active cells, this promotes the release of oxygen from the haemoglobin as additional oxygen would be required by the cells to carry on with their metabolic processes. pH: oxygen affinity of hemoglobin decreases as pH decreases. Carbon dioxide in the tussus diffuses into erythrocytes, carbon anhydrase forms carbonic acid that dissociates (into H+) decreasing the pH inside the red blood cell. And I don't think that the amount of oxygen present really affects hemoglobin that much, maybe it's rate. but i know that hemoglobin is a tetramer and can bind to a maximum of 4 oxygen molecules and also depends on where in the tissues it's being taken to, some tissues require more oxygen than others.

OpenStudy (anonymous):

thank you abb0t

OpenStudy (aaronq):

actually the more dioxygens bound to individual hemoglobins the greater it's affinity to bind more due to conformational changes. affinity: 1<2<3

OpenStudy (abb0t):

Thanks @aaronq I REALLY need to brush up on my biochem badly. Lol. It's been a while :(

OpenStudy (anonymous):

aaronq,abb0t,thank you so much for helping me

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