However, these salts also interact directly with proteins (which are charged and have strong dipole moments) and may even bind specifically (e.g., phosphate and sulfate binding to ribonuclease A). Ions that have a strong salting in effect such as I− and SCN− are strong denaturants, because they salt in the peptide group, and thus interact much more strongly with the unfolded form of a protein than with its native form.
However, these salts also interact directly with proteins (charged and having strong dipole moments) and may bind specifically (e.g., phosphate and sulfate binding to ribonuclease A). Ions that have a significant salting effect, such as I− and SCN−, can denature proteins by interacting strongly with the unfolded form rather than the native form.