Correlation between the osmotic second virial coefficient and the solubility of proteins.

A correlation between the osmotic second virial coefficient and the solubility of proteins is derived from classical thermodynamics to support an empirical relation previously found by Wilson and co-workers (1). The model is based on the equality of fugacities of the protein in the equilibrium phases, with the details of the model depending on the standard state used. The parameters in this model have been fitted to data for several systems, mainly with lysozyme as the protein. The model is found to describe experimental data, with variations in protein concentration, salt type and concentration, temperature, and pH, both qualitatively and quantitatively. Agreement between the model and the experimental data is very good for protein solubilities up to 30 mg/mL. Above this value the model underpredicts the experimental data, probably as a result of multibody interactions that are not included in the model here. Variations of the model parameters with protein type, temperature, pH, and salt type are discussed.