ISSN:
0006-3525
Keywords:
Chemistry
;
Polymer and Materials Science
Source:
Wiley InterScience Backfile Collection 1832-2000
Topics:
Chemistry and Pharmacology
Notes:
The helix-coil transitions for poly-L-lysine (PL) were investigated by the methods of spectropolarimetry, viscometry and potentiometric titration in 0.2M NaCl at different temperatures as well as in 0.2MNaBr, 1MKCl, and in mixtures of 0.2MNaCl or NaBr with methanol at room temperature. The enthalpy and entropy differences between the helical and coillike states of uncharged PL molecules in 0.2.M NaCl were determined from the potentiometric titration curves. The cooperativity parameters σ for PL in different solvents were determined by two methods (from the sharpness of the transition and from the dependence of the intrinsic viscosity on the helical content in the transition region). In 0.2MNaCl σ has a value of (2.3 ± 0.5) × 10-4 and does not depend on temperature, i.e., the cooperativity of the helix-coil transition, as for PGA, is mainly of an entropy origin (the initiating of the helical region is accompanied by the entropy decrease ΔSi = -12 eu/mole of helical regions). A comparison of the obtained results for PGA and PL with the molecular theories of the helix-coil transitions shows that the role of dipole-dipole interactions of nonneighboring peptide groups is greatly overestimated in these theories, leading to a considerable enthalpy contribution to the free energy of initiating helical regions which is not observed in the experiment.
Additional Material:
12 Ill.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/bip.360101112
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