The interactions of dodecyltrimethylammonium bromides (DTABs) with hen egg lysozyme have been investigated at pH = 7.0 and 27 degrees C in phosphate buffer by isothermal titration calorimetry. DTAB interacts endothermically and activate lysozyme. The endothermicity of the lysozyme-DTAB interaction is in marked contrast to the exothermic interactions between sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) and lysozyme which have been attributed to specific binding between the anionic sulphate head groups and cationic amino acid residues. The enthalpies of interaction between the cationic surfactant (DTAB) and lysozyme are dominated by the endothermic unfolding of the native structure followed by an exothermic solvation of the lysozyme-DTAB complex by the addition of extra DTAB. A new direct calorimetric method to follow protein denaturation, and the effect of surfactants on the stability of proteins was introduced. The extended solvation model was used to reproduce the enthalpies of lysozyme-DTAB interaction over the whole range of DTAB concentrations. The solvation parameters recovered from the new equation, attributed to the structural change of lysozyme and its biological activity. At low concentrations of DTAB, the binding is mainly electrostatic, with some simultaneous interaction of the hydrophobic tail with nearby hydrophobic patches on the lysozyme. These initial interactions presumably cause some protein unfolding and expose additional hydrophobic sites. The DTAB-induced denaturation enthalpy of lysozyme is 86.46 +/- 0.02 kJ mol(-1).
2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.