Thermodynamics of cross links

Comparison of the melting temperatures of native lysozyme and a cross-linked ester derivative of lysozyme (Imoto and Rupley, 1973) yielded a value of 5.5 kcal/mole for the free energy of stabilization developed through forming the cross link and a value of zero for the corresponding enthalpy. There is close agreement between experiment and calculation from the statistical theory of polymers.