Proton glass freezing in hydrated lysozyme powders

Phys Rev E Stat Phys Plasmas Fluids Relat Interdiscip Topics. 1999 Dec;60(6 Pt B):7604-7. doi: 10.1103/physreve.60.7604.

Abstract

At room temperature, the dielectric relaxation of hydrated powder of the protein lysozyme is known to be due to protons migrating between ionized side chains. A recent study of this relaxation at lower temperatures suggested a behavior typical of proton glasses. An analysis of the complex dielectric susceptibility by a temperature-frequency plot presented here has revealed that ergodicity is broken due to the divergence of the longest relaxation time at 266 K, indicating specifically that this hydrated protein is a proton glass. A change in the temperature behavior of the static dielectric constant and the average relaxation frequency at 273 K indicates a further transition occurring at this temperature, whose nature remains to be investigated.

MeSH terms

  • Freezing
  • Glass / chemistry*
  • Muramidase / chemistry*
  • Powders / chemistry*
  • Protons*
  • Thermodynamics
  • Water / chemistry

Substances

  • Powders
  • Protons
  • Water
  • Muramidase