Konformaatioa

Konformaatioa is the Basque term for conformation. In chemistry and biochemistry, it denotes the three‑dimensional arrangement of atoms in a molecule that can change by rotation about single bonds. Conformations are interconvertible without breaking bonds and are distinguished from configurations, which require bond breaking or rearrangement.

In small molecules, conformational isomerism leads to different shapes such as anti, gauche, staggered, and eclipsed forms. The energy difference between conformers determines their populations at a given temperature. Classic examples include butane, which has anti and gauche conformations, and cyclohexane, which adopts chair and boat forms. Rotational analysis around carbon–carbon bonds is often visualized with Newman projections to compare steric interactions.

In biochemistry, proteins and nucleic acids adopt specific conformations; conformational changes regulate activity and interactions. Folding, allostery, and induced fit are driven by conformational dynamics. Misfolding or aberrant dynamics can cause diseases and functional failures, highlighting the importance of conformational control in biology.

Methods to study konformaatioa include experimental techniques such as nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, X-ray crystallography, and cryo-electron microscopy, along with computational approaches like molecular dynamics and conformational search. Energy landscapes and rotamer libraries help predict accessible conformations and transition states between them.

Applications range from drug design, where the bioactive conformation determines binding to receptors, to materials science, where conformational flexibility affects properties and performance.