Publication

The Need to Distinguish Colloidal and Thermal Stability for Proteins

2026

Abstract

Protein stability is crucial in the development of drug formulations and in understanding many aspects of protein behavior. It is known that both thermal and colloidal protein stability are modulated by the presence of small molecules. Because thermal stability is easier to assess than colloidal stability, it is often used as a proxy for evaluating the latter. In this Mini-Review, we argue that these two aspects of stability have to be considered separately, although they should be related in some complex way.

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2026

Abstract

Official source

Related concepts (32)

Protein

Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, responding to stimuli, providing structure to cells and organisms, and transporting molecules from one location to another. Proteins differ from one another primarily in their sequence of amino acids, which is dictated by the nucleotide sequence of their genes, and which usually results in protein folding into a specific 3D structure that determines its activity.

Protein folding

Protein folding is the physical process where a protein chain is translated into its native three-dimensional structure, typically a "folded" conformation, by which the protein becomes biologically functional. Via an expeditious and reproducible process, a polypeptide folds into its characteristic three-dimensional structure from a random coil. Each protein exists first as an unfolded polypeptide or random coil after being translated from a sequence of mRNA into a linear chain of amino acids.

Colloid

A colloid is a mixture in which one substance consisting of microscopically dispersed insoluble particles is suspended throughout another substance. Some definitions specify that the particles must be dispersed in a liquid, while others extend the definition to include substances like aerosols and gels. The term colloidal suspension refers unambiguously to the overall mixture (although a narrower sense of the word suspension is distinguished from colloids by larger particle size).

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