Stabilizing effect of amino acids on protein and colloidal dispersions.

ABSTRACT: Amino acids (AAs) have a long history of being used as stabilizers for biological media¹. For example, they are important components in biomedical formulations. The effect of AAs on biological systems is also starting to be appreciated. For example, it is believed that water-stressed cells increase the levels of AAs to prevent protein aggregation². Several hypotheses have been put forward regarding their function, ranging from water-structuring³ to hydrotropic⁴ to specific effects such as stabilization against misfolding, yet it is not known whether their stabilizing function is protein specific or a generic colloidal property. Here we deduce that AAs possess a new and broad colloidal property: they stabilize patchy nanoscale colloids by adsorbin

SUBMITTER: Mao T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12460156 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature