Extended Law of Corresponding States Applied to Solvent Isotope Effect on a Globular Protein

J Phys Chem Lett. 2016 May 5;7(9):1610-5. doi: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.6b00593. Epub 2016 Apr 18.

Abstract

Investigating proteins with techniques such as NMR or neutron scattering frequently requires the partial or complete substitution of D2O for H2O as a solvent, often tacitly assuming that such a solvent substitution does not significantly alter the properties of the protein. Here, we report a systematic investigation of the solvent isotope effect on the phase diagram of the lens protein γB-crystallin in aqueous solution as a model system exhibiting liquid-liquid phase separation. We demonstrate that the observed strong variation of the critical temperature Tc can be described by the extended law of corresponding states for all H2O/D2O ratios, where scaling of the temperature by Tc or the reduced second virial coefficient accurately reproduces the binodal, spinodal, and osmotic compressibility. These findings highlight the impact of H2O/D2O substitution on γB-crystallin properties and warrant further investigations into the universality of this phenomenon and its underlying mechanisms.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Deuterium Oxide / chemistry*
  • Solvents / chemistry
  • Temperature
  • Water / chemistry
  • gamma-Crystallins / chemistry*
  • gamma-Crystallins / isolation & purification

Substances

  • Solvents
  • crystallin, gammaB
  • gamma-Crystallins
  • Water
  • Deuterium Oxide