Interactions of the osmolyte glycine betaine with molecular surfaces in water: thermodynamics, structural interpretation, and prediction of m-values.

ABSTRACT: Noncovalent self-assembly of biopolymers is driven by molecular interactions between functional groups on complementary biopolymer surfaces, replacing interactions with water. Since individually these interactions are comparable in strength to interactions with water, they have been difficult to quantify. Solutes (osmolytes, denaturants) exert often large effects on these self-assembly interactions, determined in sign and magnitude by how well the solute competes with water to interact with the relevant biopolymer surfaces. Here, an osmometric method and a water-accessible surface area (ASA) analysis are developed to quantify and interpret the interactions of the remarkable osmolyte glycine betaine (GB) with molecular surfaces in water. We find that GB, lacking hydrogen bond donors, is una

SUBMITTER: Capp MW 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2783871 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature