Abstract
WE sought solvents which would dissolve proteins and associated substances at or below the temperature of ‘dry ice’ and form glasses remaining clear at the temperature of liquid nitrogen. These desiderata stem from the expectation that at temperatures below that of an irreversible process, reversible reactions occur, and that weakly bonded substances and intermediates may be more readily identified at lower temperatures1. The clear glasses would facilitate the determination of properties at still lower temperatures by optical means. In addition, the solvents would be removable at low temperatures, so that the proteins could be estimated in the usual way in aqueous media for their biological activity, and for the extent of their irreversible denaturation.
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References
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FREED, S., TURNBULL, J. & SALMRE, W. Proteins in Solutions at Low Temperatures. Nature 181, 1731–1732 (1958). https://doi.org/10.1038/1811731a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/1811731a0
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