Pressure Effects on the Intermolecular Interaction Potential of Condensed Protein Solutions

Knowledge of the intermolecular interaction potential of proteins as a function of their solution conditions is essential for understanding protein aggregation, crystallization, and the phase behavior of proteins in general. Here, we report on a combined small-angle X-ray scattering and liquid-state theoretical approach to study dense lysozyme solutions as a function of temperature and pressure, but also in the presence of salts and osmolytes of different nature. We show that the pressure-dependent interaction potential of lysozyme changes in a nonlinear fashion over a wide range of temperatures, salt and protein concentrations, indicating that changes of the bulk water structure mediate the pressure dependence of the intermolecular forces. We present also results on the effect of high hydrostatic pressure on the phase behavior of dense lysozyme solutions in the liquid-liquid phase-coexistence region. As also shown in this study, the application of pressure can be used to fine-tune the second virial coefficient of protein solutions, which can be used to control nucleation rates and hence protein crystallization, or to prevent protein aggregation. Moreover, these results are also important for understanding the hydration behavior of biological matter under extreme environmental conditions, and the high stability of dense protein solutions (as they occur intracellularly) in organisms thriving under hydrostatic pressure conditions such as in the deep sea, where pressures up to the 100 MPa-level are reached.