Thermodynamic molecular switch in sequence‐specific hydrophobic interactions

This communication will demonstrate the existence of a thermodynamic molecular switch in the pairwise, sequence‐specific hydrophobic interaction of Ile–Ile, Leu–Ile, Val–Leu, or Ala–Leu over the temperature range of 273–333 K reported by Nemethy and Scheraga in 1962. Based on Chun's development of the Planck–Benzinger methodology, the change in inherent chemical bond energy at 0 K, Δ H °( T 0 ), is 3.0 kcal mol −1 for Ile–Ile, 2.4 for Leu–Ile, 1.8 for Val–Leu, and 1.2 kcal mol −1 for Ala–Leu. The value of Δ H °( T 0 ) decreases as the length of the hydrophobic side chain decreases. It is clear that the strength and stability of the hydrophobic interaction is determined by the packing density of the side chains, with Ala–Leu being the most stable. At 〈 T m 〉, the thermal agitation energy, \documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}$\int^{T}_{0}\Delta Cp^{\circ}(T)\,dT$\end{document} , is about five times greater than Δ H °( T 0 ) in each case. Additionally, the thermal agitation energy for the same series, evaluated at 〈 T m 〉, decreases in the same order, that is, as the length of the side chain decreases. This pairwise, sequence‐specific hydrophobic interaction is highly similar in its thermodynamic behavior to that of other biological systems, except that the negative Gibbs free energy change minimum at 〈 T s 〉 occurs at a considerably higher temperature, 355 K compared to about 300 K. The melting temperature, 〈 T m 〉, is also high, 470 K compared to 343 K in a biological system. The implication is that the negative Gibbs free energy minimum at a well‐defined 〈 T s 〉 has it origin in the hydrophobic interactions, which are highly dependent on details of molecular structure. In addition to the four specific dipeptide interactions described, we have shown in our unpublished work the existence of a thermodynamic molecular switch in the interactions of 32 dipeptides wherein a change of sign in Δ Cp °( T ) reaction leads to a true negative minimum in the Gibbs free energy of reaction, and hence, a maximum in the related K eq . Indeed, all interacting biological systems that we have thus far examined using the Planck–Benzinger approach point to the universality of thermodynamic molecular switches. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2001