Title: quaternary structure
Long Title: IUPAC Gold Book - quaternary structure
DOI: 10.1351/goldbook.Q05004
Status: current

Definition
The defined organization of two or more macromolecules with tertiary structure such as a protein that are held together by hydrogen bonds and van der Waals and coulombic forces.

Related Terms
- primary structure: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/P04843
- secondary structure: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/S05530
- tertiary structure: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/T06282

Source
- PAC, 1996, 68, 2193. 'Basic terminology of stereochemistry (IUPAC Recommendations 1996)' on page 2216 (https://doi.org/10.1351/pac199668122193)

Related Reference
- White Book, 2nd ed., p. 80 (https://iupac.qmul.ac.uk/bibliog/white.html)

Other Outputs
- html: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/Q05004/html
- json: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/Q05004/json
- xml: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/Q05004/xml

Citation: Citation: 'quaternary structure' in IUPAC Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 5th ed. International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry; 2025. Online version 5.0.0, 2025. 10.1351/goldbook.Q05004
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Disclaimer: The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) is continuously reviewing and, where needed, updating terms in the Compendium of Chemical Terminology (the IUPAC Gold Book). Users of these terms are encouraged to include the version of a term with its use and to check regularly for updates to term definitions that you are using.
Accessed: 2026-05-28T11:30:41+00:00