can a molten globule like intermediate be induced by the decrease in dielectric constant?
Uversky VN; Narizhneva NV; Kirschstein SO; Winter S; Lber G Institute of Protein Research, Russian Academy of Sciences, Pushchino, Moscow Region, Russia. BACKGROUND: It is known that nonnative states of protein molecules can exist in living cells and can be involved in a number of physiological processes. It has also been established that the membrane surface can be responsible for the partial denaturation of proteins due to negative charges on it. The local decrease in the effective dielectric constant of water near the organic surface has been suggested to be an additional driving force for protein denaturation in the membrane field, but data to confirm this suggestion were lacking. RESULTS: Conformational transitions induced in beta-lactoglobulin by methanol, ethanol, isopropanol, dimethylformamide and dioxane were studied by near and far UV circular dichroism, steady-state tryptophan fluorescence and fluorescence decay of 8-anilinonaphthalene-1-sulfonate (8-ANS). The existence of a
