Interaction-induced structural transformation of lysozyme and kappa-carrageenan in binary complexes.

The interactions between κ-carrageenan and hen egg-white lysozyme have been studied. In dilute solutions, the insoluble complexes with constant κ-carrageenan/lysozyme ratio of 0.3, or 12 disaccharide units per mole of protein are formed. FTIR-spectroscopy revealed that κ-carrageenan retains its unordered conformation and induces the rise of ß-structure in lysozyme. In the complexes formed in concentrated mixtures, κ-carrageenan adopts helical conformation and lysozyme retains its native-like structure. These complexes contain 21 disaccharide units per mole of protein. Molecular modeling showed that flexible coil and rigid double helix of κ-carrageenan have different binding patterns to lysozyme surface. The latter has a strong preference to positively charged spots in lysozyme α-domain while the former also interacts to protein ß-domain and stabilizes short-living ß-structures. The obtained results confirm the preference of unordered κ-carrageenan to ß-structure rich protein regions, which can be further used in the development of carrageenan-based protection of amyloid-like aggregation of proteins.

Solvation of apolar compounds in protic ionic liquids: the non-synergistic effect of electrostatic interactions and hydrogen bonds.

The solvation properties of protic ionic liquids such as alkylammonium salts are still virtually uncharacterized. Both electrostatic interactions between charged particles and hydrogen bond networks in a solvent are known to hinder the solubility of apolar species. Protic ionic liquids can be a priori expected to dissolve hydrocarbons worse than aprotic ionic liquids which do not form hydrogen bonds between the ions. We measured the limiting activity coefficients of several alkanes and alkylbenzenes in propylammonium and butylammonium nitrates at 298 K. Surprisingly, we observed the tendency of higher solubility than for the same compounds in aprotic ionic liquids with a similar molar volume. The calculations of the excess Gibbs free energies using test particle insertions into the snapshots of molecular dynamics trajectories reproduced lower values in protic rather than in aprotic ionic liquids for both methane molecules and hard sphere solutes. This can be explained by the favorable solvation of apolar species in the apolar domain of nanostructured PILs. For the first time, we point out at the essential difference between the solvation properties of two types of ionic liquids and prove that it arises from the cavity formation term.

Thermodynamic Functions of Solvation of Hydrocarbons, Noble Gases, and Hard Spheres in Tetrahydrofuran-Water Mixtures.

Thermodynamic solvation properties of mixtures of water with tetrahydrofuran at 298 K are studied. The Gibbs free energies and enthalpies of solvation of n-octane and toluene are determined experimentally. For molecular dynamics simulations of the binary solvent, we have modified a TraPPE-UA model for tetrahydrofuran and combined it with the SPC/E potential for water. The excess thermodynamic functions of neon, xenon, and hard spheres with two different radii are calculated using the particle insertion method. Simulated and real systems share the same characteristic trends for the thermodynamic functions. A maximum is present on dependencies of the enthalpy of solvation from the composition of solvent at 70-90 mol % water, making it higher than in both of the cosolvents. It is caused by a high enthalpy of cavity formation in the mixtures rich with water due to solvent reorganization around the cavity, which is shown by calculation of the enthalpy of solvation of hard spheres. Addition of relatively small amounts of tetrahydrofuran to water effectively suppresses the hydrophobic effect, leading to a quick increase of both the entropy and enthalpy of cavity formation and solvation of low polar molecules.