The Open Biomaterials Journal
2010, 2 : 1-8Published online 2010 January 15. DOI: 10.2174/1876502501002010001
Publisher ID: TOBIOMTJ-2-1
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Spectroscopic Study of the Effects of Bioprotectant Systems on the Protein Stability
1
Dipartimento di Fisica, Università di Messina, S. Sperone C.da Papardo, P.O.Box 55 - 98166 Messina, Italy
2 Laboratoire de Dynamique et Structure des Matériaux Moléculaires, University of Lille 1, UMR CNRS 8024 - 59655 Villeneuve d’Ascq CEDEX, France
3 ISIS Facility, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Chilton, Oxon, OX11 0QX, UK
* Address correspondence to this author at the Dipartimento di Fisica, Università di Messina, P.O. Box 55, S.ta Sperone C.da Papardo, 98166 Messina, Italy; Tel: +390906765025; Fax: +39090395004; E-mail: smagazu@unime.it
2 Laboratoire de Dynamique et Structure des Matériaux Moléculaires, University of Lille 1, UMR CNRS 8024 - 59655 Villeneuve d’Ascq CEDEX, France
3 ISIS Facility, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Chilton, Oxon, OX11 0QX, UK
* Address correspondence to this author at the Dipartimento di Fisica, Università di Messina, P.O. Box 55, S.ta Sperone C.da Papardo, 98166 Messina, Italy; Tel: +390906765025; Fax: +39090395004; E-mail: smagazu@unime.it
ABSTRACT
In the present article the effect of kosmotrope compounds, i.e. systems having the capability to stabilize biological macromolecules, is investigated by using complementary techniques. The attention is focused on the kosmotrope character of trehalose, a glucose disaccharide, compared to its homologous maltose and sucrose. Complementary techniques of neutron scattering, such as Inelastic Neutron Scattering (INS) and Quasi Elastic Neutron Scattering (QENS) allow to point out the capability of trehalose to strongly affect both the structural and dynamical properties of water. Finally the stabilization effect of trehalose on a well know protein, lysozyme, is studied as a function of temperature by Small Angle Neutron Scattering (SANS).