Effects of chemical chaperones and detergents on thermostability of pepper leaf proteins

Scope and method of study.;Findings and conclusions. The goal of my research project is to explore structure-function relationships between cosolvents and protein thermostability. Effects of cosolvents, including chemical chaperones and detergents, are monitored as changes in protein solubility and activity following high temperature exposure. Additive effects of chaperones such as glucose and glycine have been observed. Additive effect of glycine and CHAPS on both pepper leaf proteins and commercial ovalbumin were tested. The relationship between the observed stabilizing effect and the polarity of the chemical was discussed. Ionic detergents yield a dual response mode on thermostability of pepper leaf proteins as concentrations increase. The relationship between response transition and micelle formation was discussed.