"Ion-Specific effects in Biological Systems"

Abstract:

The addition of salt to aqueous solvent affects the thermodynamics of bio-molecules in an ion specific manner. The most well-known of these effects is seen in the salt induced precipitations of proteins, where the rank ordering of ions in terms of their precipitation efficacy results in the Hofmeister series. In addition to protein precipitation, ion-specific effects are also observed in protein folding, protein aggregation and enzyme kinetics. In this talk, I would like to demonstrate a general methodology for analyzing salt effects on bio-molecular processes through introducing salt specific effects on folding and catalysis in a few model protein systems (RNase A, Melittin and Paratox), and also suggest interaction mechanisms that may contribute to the observed ion specificity.