Theory and simulation of short-range models of globular protein solutions

Abstract

We report theoretical and simulation studies of phase coexistence in model globular protein solutions, based on short-range, central, pair potential representations of the interaction among macro-particles. After reviewing our previous investigations of hard-core Yukawa and generalised Lennard-Jones potentials, we report more recent results obtained within a DLVO-like description of lysozyme solutions in water and added salt. We show that a one-parameter fit of this model based on Static Light Scattering and Self-Interaction Chromatography data in the dilute protein regime, yields demixing and crystallization curves in good agreement with experimental protein-rich/protein-poor and solubility envelopes. The dependence of cloud and solubility points temperature of the model on the ionic strength is also investigated. Our findings highlight the minimal assumptions on the properties of the microscopic interaction sufficient for a satisfactory reproduction of the phase diagram topology of globular protein solutions.

17 pages, 8 figures, Proc. of Conference "Structural Arrest Transitions in Colloidal Systems with Short-Range Attractions", Messina (ITALY) 17-20 December 2003

References in corpus (8)

• Phase equilibria and glass transition in colloidal systems with short-ranged attractive interactions. Application to protein crystallization
• Phase behaviour of a simple model of globular proteins
• Effective potentials for polymers and colloids: Beyond the van der Waals picture of fluids?
• Influence of solvent quality on effective pair potentials between polymers in solution
• Discrete charge patterns, Coulomb correlations and interactions in protein solutions
• Free energy determination of phase coexistence in model C60: A comprehensive Monte Carlo study
• A liquid state theory that remains successful in the critical region
• Theoretical description of phase coexistence in model C60

Cited by in corpus (10)

• An effective long-range attraction between protein molecules in solutions studied by small angle neutron scattering
• Extended law of corresponding states for protein solutions
• The vanishing limit of the square-well fluid: the adhesive hard sphere model as a reference system
• The effect of the range of interaction on the phase diagram of a globular protein
• Brownian dynamics simulations with hard-body interactions: Spherical particles
• Protein-Polymer Mixtures in the Colloid Limit: Aggregation, Sedimentation and Crystallization
• Effective pair potentials for spherical nanoparticles
• Hard-core attractive Yukawa fluid global isomorphism with the lattice gas model
• Theoretical study of phase behaviour of DLVO model for lysozyme and $\gamma$-crystalline aqueous electrolyte solutions
• Gaussian approximation to single particle correlations at and below the picosecond scale for Lennard-Jones and nanoparticle fluids