Destabilization and stabilization of proteins

Abstract

Introduction 351Part I. A succession of concepts 3521. Cooperativity 3522. Cosolvent interaction 3523. Linearity 3544. Solvent exchange 3545. Excluded volume 3566. Summation 357Part II 1. The Kirkwood–Buff approach 357Acknowledgments 360References 360In Part I the history of progress in the stabilization and destabilization of protein conformations by means of cosolvents is outlined in terms of distinct conceptual steps. In Part II it is shown that a straightforward application of the Kirkwood–Buff theory of solutions leads to formulas for the preferential interaction and the free energy of unfolding, which confirm and generalize the results of Part I.