Glass transitions in aqueous solutions of protein (bovine serum albumin)

Measurements by adiabatic calorimetry of heat capacities and enthalpy relaxation rates of a 20% (w/w) aqueous solution of bovine serum albumin (BSA) by Kawai, Suzuki, and Oguni [Biophys. J. 2006, 90, 3732] have found several enthalpy relaxations at long times indicating different processes undergoing glass transitions. In a quenched sample, one enthalpy relaxation at around 110 K and another over a wide temperature range (120-190 K) were observed. In a sample annealed at 200-240 K after quenching, three separated enthalpy relaxations at 110, 135, and above 180 K were observed. Dynamics of processes probed by adiabatic calorimetric data are limited to long times on the order of 10(3) s. A fuller understanding of the processes can be gained by probing the dynamics over a wider time/frequency range. Toward this goal, we performed broadband dielectric measurements of BSA-water mixtures at various BSA concentrations over a wide frequency range of thirteen decades from 2 mHz to 1.8 GHz at temperatures from 80 to 270 K. Three relevant relaxation processes were detected. For relaxation times equal to 100 s, the three processes are centered approximately at 110, 135, and 200 K, in good agreement with those observed by adiabatic calorimetry. We have made the following interpretation of the molecular origins of the three processes. The fastest relaxation process having relaxation time of 100 or 1000 s at ca. 110 K is due to the secondary relaxation of uncrystallized water (UCW) in the hydration shell. The intermediate relaxation process with 100 s relaxation time at ca. 135 K is due to ice. The slowest relaxation process having relaxation time of 100 s at ca. 200 K is interpreted to originate from local chain conformation fluctuations of protein slaved by water. Experimental evidence supporting these interpretations include the change of temperature dependence of the relaxation time of the UCW at approximately T(gBSA) approximately = 200 K, the glass transition temperature of protein in the hydration shell, similar to that found for the secondary relaxation of water in a mixture of myoglobin in glycerol and water [Swenson et al. J. Phys.: Condens. Matter 2007, 19, 205109; Ngai et al. J. Phys. Chem. B 2008, 112, 3826]. The data all indicate in hydrated BSA or other proteins that the secondary relaxation of water and the conformation fluctuations of the protein in the hydration shell are inseparable or symbiotic processes.