Kinetics of cold-induced denaturation of metmyoglobin.

Using a slow temperature-jump spectrophotometer, we have studied the kinetics of cold-induced denaturation of metmyoglobin between 0 degrees C and 20 degrees C at acidic pH. The time-scale of the transition is slow and is of the order of minutes. The results are consistent with the transition's involving a total of three states, native (N), transient intermediate (I) and denatured (D), which are converted from one to the other in that order.