Thermodynamic compensation process in interacting protein systems: definition of thermodynamic compensatory...

In our thermodynamic analysis of the non-linear Van't Hoff expression as applied to several self-associating systems -- specifically in the cases of bovine liver L-glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH), glucagon and S-carboxymethylated apo A-II protein from human high density lipoprotein -- we have examined the interrelationships of a number of thermodynamic temperatures as they affect the association process. We found the principal determinants of the linear thermodynamic compensation process to be delta S0(T)/delta C0p(T) = (delta T'C)/(Texp), where (delta T'C) = Texp). We have defined the unique compensatory temperature, (TC), for any interacting system, at which the contributions of enthalpy and entropy to the association process are balanced.