How does protein denaturation affect its functionality in biotechnological applications?

Denaturation changes a protein’s shape, so the sites that bind substrates or other molecules are no longer in the right positions. Because the active or binding sites are misfolded, the protein can’t perform its usual chemical reaction or recognition task. In biotechnological uses, such as enzymes in detergents or in drug production, this loss of function means the process stops or becomes much slower. For example, a heat‑labile enzyme used to break down starch in bread making will lose its activity if the dough is heated too high, so the bread will not rise properly.