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Published on: February 11, 2019
Stability of lysozyme in aqueous extremolyte solutions during heat shock and accelerated thermal conditions
Christina Avanti1, Vinay Saluja2, Erwin L P van Streun3
1Department of Pharmaceutics, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Surabaya (Ubaya), Surabaya, Indonesia ; Department of Pharmaceutical Technology and Biopharmacy, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.
Abstract:
The purpose of this study was to investigate the stability of lysozyme in aqueous solutions in the presence of various extremolytes (betaine, hydroxyectoine, trehalose, ectoine, and firoin) under different stress conditions. The stability of lysozyme was determined by Nile red Fluorescence Spectroscopy and a bioactivity assay. During heat shock (10 min at 70°C), betaine, trehalose, ectoin and firoin protected lysozyme against inactivation while hydroxyectoine, did not have a significant effect. During accelerated thermal conditions (4 weeks at 55°C), firoin also acted as a stabilizer. In contrast, betaine, hydroxyectoine, trehalose and ectoine destabilized lysozyme under this condition. These findings surprisingly indicate that some extremolytes can stabilize a protein under certain stress conditions but destabilize the same protein under other stress conditions. Therefore it is suggested that for the screening extremolytes to be used for protein stabilization, an appropriate storage conditions should also be taken into account.
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