Mechanism of polyol-induced protein stabilization: solubility of amino acids and diglycine in aqueous polyol solutions.

The solubilities of several amino acids and diglycine have been measured in water and at several concentrations of methanol and various polyols (glycerol, erythritol, xylitol, sorbitol, and inositol). The solubility data were used to calculate the free energy of transfer of amino acid side chains and peptide group from water to the aqueous alcohol solutions. The results for methanol systems were similar to those reported for ethanol and dioxane systems. The free energy of transfer to aqueous solutions of linear polyols was positive for most nonpolar side chains and peptide group, but high concentrations of the polyols may disrupt the hydrophobic interactions of large nonpolar side chains. Moreover, the linear polyols appeared to stabilize the hydrophobic interaction more effectively and the peptide-peptide hydrogen bond less effectively with increasing hydroxymethyl chain length of polyols. A cyclic polyol, inositol, had a very strong stabilizing ability on hydrophobic interactions of nonpolar side chains, but it may act as a destabilizing reagent for peptide-peptide hydrogen bonds. From these results, it was concluded that the protein stabilization by polyols is a manifestation of polyol-induced strengthening of the hydrophobic interaction of protein molecules.