Reference no: EM132439861

Proteins can go from a disordered state, typically referred to as a random coil, to a highly ordered (folded) state. For many proteins, this process occurs spontaneously under biological conditions (i.e. inside cells). In fact, one common folding model is the "folding funnel" which describes how configurational entropy decreases from a large number of microstates in the disordered state to a small number in the folded state. Describe how these processes can occur spontaneously without requiring an external energy source even though the entropy of the protein decreases?