Spinodal lines and Flory-Huggins free-energies for solutions of human hemoglobins HbS and HbA.

Gelation of deoxygenated solutions of sickle-cell human Hemoglobin (HbS) is of high theoretical interest and it has serious pathological consequences. For this reason HbS is probably the most studied protein capable of self-organization. This notwithstanding, the location in the T, c plane of the region of thermodynamic instability of solutions of deoxy-HbS (as bounded by the spinodal line and as distinct from the gelation region) has remained unknown, along with related values of Flory-Huggins enthalpies and entropies. In the present work this information is derived from experiments for the two cases of (deoxy) HbS and of human adult hemoglobin (HbA). Experiments also show critical exponents having mean-field values, which validates a Flory-Huggins approach. Altogether, the present work offers a quantitative understanding of the thermodynamic effects of the genetic HbA----HbS mutation and it opens the way to similar quantitative evaluations of contributions of pH, salts, cosolutes, and single peptides (even for nongelling hemoglobins), and of potential therapeutic strategies.