Hydrogen bond
Hydrogen bonds can be intermolecular (occurring between separate molecules) or intramolecular (occurring among parts of the same molecule). Depending on the nature of the donor and acceptor atoms which constitute the bond, their geometry, and environment, the energy of a hydrogen bond can vary between 1 and 40 kcal/mol. This makes them somewhat stronger than a van der Waals interaction, and weaker than fully covalent or ionic bonds. This type of bond can occur in inorganic molecules such as water and in organic molecules like DNA and proteins.
Hydrogen bond
In the secondary structure of proteins, hydrogen bonds form between the backbone oxygens and amide hydrogens. When the spacing of the amino acid residues participating in a hydrogen bond occurs regularly between positions "i" and "i" + 4, an alpha helix is formed. When the spacing is less, between positions "i" and "i" + 3, then a 3 helix is formed. When two strands are joined by hydrogen bonds involving alternating residues on each participating strand, a beta sheet is formed. Hydrogen bonds also play a part in forming the tertiary structure of protein through interaction of R-groups. (See also protein folding).