Binding of Triton X-100 to bovine serum albumin as studied by surface tension measurements.

A previously published computerized drop-weight technique for surface tension measurements, not involving the use of radioactively labelled compounds, has been applied to the study of detergent binding to proteins. The procedure is based on the observation that the protein-surfactant complex is no longer surface-active. As an example, the binding of Triton X-100 to bovine serum albumin has been studied, and the results were found to be in good agreement with those obtained through established but less convenient methods. Our procedure should be useful for measurements of detergent binding to biomembranes.

Kinetics of purple membrane dark-adaptation in the presence of Triton X-100.

The kinetics of purple membrane dark adaptation were studied at pH 5 and 7, in the presence and absence of the nonionic detergent Triton X-100. The effect of both sublytic and lytic surfactant concentrations has been considered. Our results show that: (a) dark adaptation is faster at pH 5 than at pH 7, (b) dark adaptation is slower, and of smaller amplitude, in the presence than in the absence of Triton X-100. The data may be interpreted in terms of a simple first-order kinetic model, according to which light-dark adaptation would depend basically on the equilibrium between the 13-cis- and the all-trans-isomers. The experiments also suggest that at pH 5, but not at pH 7, solubilizing surfactant concentrations produce a considerable increase in the velocity of the dark adaptation reaction, perhaps through changes in the microenvironment of a protonable group.

Detergent solubilization of phospholipid vesicle. Effect of electric charge.

In order to explore the effect of electric charge on detergent solubilization of phospholipid bilayers, the interaction of nine electrically charged surfactants with neutral or electrically charged liposomes has been examined. The detergents belonged to the alkyl pyridinium, alkyl trimethylammonium or alkyl sulphate families. Large unilamellar liposomes formed by egg phosphatidylcholine plus or minus stearylamine or dicetyl phosphate were used. Solubilization was assessed as a decrease in light-scattering of the liposome suspensions. The results suggest that electrostatic forces do not play a significant role in the formation of mixed micelles and that hydrophobic interactions are by far the main forces involved in solubilization. In addition, from the study of thirty different liposome-surfactant systems, we have derived a series of empirical rules that may be useful in predicting the behaviour of untested surfactants: (i) the detergent concentration producing the onset of solubilization (Don) decreases as the alkyl chain length increases; the decrease follows a semi-logarithmic pattern in the case of alkyl pyridinium compounds; (ii) for surfactants with critical micellar concentrations (cmc) less than 6 x 10(-3) M, Don. is independent of the nature of the detergent and the bilayer composition; for detergents having cmc greater than 6 x 10(-3) M, Don. increases linearly with the cmc; and (iii) Don. varies linearly with the surfactant concentration that produces maximum solubilization.

Investigation of ribonuclease-catalysed kinetics by a micro-calorimetric method.

A rapid micro-calorimetric method for the simultaneous determination of the Michaelis-Menten parameters and the enthalpy of enzymic reactions is developed. The hydrolysis of 2': 3'-cyclic CMP by ribonuclease A is studied to test the proposed method; values obtained are in good agreement with already published data. Enzymic hydrolysis of yeast RNA, unlike that of cyclic phosphates, is shown to be endothermic. This result is explained by the two-step mechanism of this reaction.

Hydrogen ion titration of lysozyme in alcohol-water solutions.

H+ titration curves of hen egg-white lysozyme were obtained at 0.15 I in the presence of small amounts (less than 15%) of methanol, ethanol and n-propanol. The acidity constants of two groups (whose pK values in water are, respectively, 42 and 3.5) are increased in water-alcohol mixtures in comparison to water. From the evaluation of these constants as a function of alcohol concentration and hydrocarbon chain length, it is suggested that these alcohols interact specifically with lysozyme. As pK values of 4.2 and 3.5 in water are generally assigned to Asp-101 and Asp-52 respectively, it seems that interaction occurs within the active site of the enzyme.