Glass Transition in Biomolecules and the Liquid-Liquid Critical Point of Water

Pradeep Kumar, Z. Yan, L. Xu, M. G. Mazza, S. V. Buldyrev, S.-H. Chen, S. Sastry, and H. E. Stanley
Phys. Rev. Lett. 97, 177802 – Published 27 October 2006

Abstract

Using molecular dynamics simulations, we investigate the relation between the dynamic transitions of biomolecules (lysozyme and DNA) and the dynamic and thermodynamic properties of hydration water. We find that the dynamic transition of the macromolecules, sometimes called a “protein glass transition,” occurs at the temperature of dynamic crossover in the diffusivity of hydration water and also coincides with the maxima of the isobaric specific heat CP and the temperature derivative of the orientational order parameter. We relate these findings to the hypothesis of a liquid-liquid critical point in water. Our simulations are consistent with the possibility that the protein glass transition results from crossing the Widom line, which is defined as the locus of correlation length maxima emanating from the hypothesized second critical point of water.

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  • Received 29 May 2006

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.97.177802

©2006 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

Pradeep Kumar1, Z. Yan1, L. Xu1, M. G. Mazza1, S. V. Buldyrev2,1, S.-H. Chen3, S. Sastry4, and H. E. Stanley1

  • 1Center for Polymer Studies and Department of Physics, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, USA
  • 2Department of Physics, Yeshiva University, 500 West 185th Street, New York, New York 10033, USA
  • 3Nuclear Science and Engineering Department, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
  • 4Javaharlal Nehru Center for Advanced Scientific Research, Jakur Campus, Bangalore, 560061, India

Comments & Replies

Comment on “Glass Transition in Biomolecules and the Liquid-Liquid Critical Point of Water”

S. R. Accordino, D. C. Malaspina, J. A. Rodríguez Fris, and G. A. Appignanesi
Phys. Rev. Lett. 106, 029801 (2011)

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Vol. 97, Iss. 17 — 27 October 2006

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