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Solvent effect on binding thermodynamics of biopolymers
Author(s) -
BenNaim A.,
Ting K. L.,
Jernigan R. L.
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
biopolymers
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.556
H-Index - 125
eISSN - 1097-0282
pISSN - 0006-3525
DOI - 10.1002/bip.360290604
Subject(s) - chemistry , thermodynamics , solvent , organic chemistry , physics
Abstract The indirect solvent‐induced effect on the free energy of binding of biopolymers is examined within the framework of classical statistical mechanics. We focus specifically on the role of the solute–solvent hydrogen bonding. In particular, we have estimated the first order solvent effedt on the indirect interaction between two biopolymers. We find that the solvent‐induced interactios between two hydrophilic groups through water‐bridged hydrogen bonds could significantly enhance the binding free energy. Some preliminary estimates indicate that this effect is significant and perhaps could be crucial in molecular recognition processes. Furthermore, we have calculated, from crystal structure data, the distance distribution between all the oxygens and nitrogens on the surface of some proteins that do not belong to the binding domain. In most cases we found an enhanced peak in the range of 4–5 Å, which is where we expect to find strong solvent‐induced interactions.