Amino Acids Enhance Stability of Proteins and Colloids
The article explores how amino acids (AAs) stabilize protein and colloidal dispersions by weakly interacting with particles, modulating their interactions and increasing stability. It presents experimental evidence showing AAs raise the second virial coefficient (B22), indicating enhanced repulsion, and develops a theoretical framework modeling proteins as patchy particles with adsorption sites blocked by AAs. The findings suggest AAs have a generic colloidal effect, influencing biological processes like phase separation and stress granule formation, and can improve pharmaceutical formulations, exemplified by increased insulin bioavailability with proline.