AUTHOR=Hoppe Travis , Minton Allen P. TITLE=Non-specific Interactions Between Macromolecular Solutes in Concentrated Solution: Physico-Chemical Manifestations and Biochemical Consequences JOURNAL=Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences VOLUME=6 YEAR=2019 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/molecular-biosciences/articles/10.3389/fmolb.2019.00010 DOI=10.3389/fmolb.2019.00010 ISSN=2296-889X ABSTRACT=

A general thermodynamic formulation of the effect of hard and soft non-specific intermolecular interactions upon reaction equilibria is summarized. A highly simplified quantitative model for non-specific intermolecular interaction is introduced. This model is used to illustrate how the magnitudes of attractive and repulsive components of the overall intermolecular interaction, and the balance between them, influence the concentration-dependent properties of a highly concentrated solution of a single macromolecular solute. The properties calculated using the results of computer simulation and an approximate analytical model are found to agree qualitatively with the results of experimental measurements on protein solutions over a broad range of concentration.