Neutron scattering explains how myoglobin can perform without water

Proteins do not need to be surrounded by water to carry out their vital biological functions, according to scientists from the Institut de Biologie Structurale (IBS) in Grenoble, the University of Bristol, the Australian National University, the Institut Laue Langevin and the Jülich Centre for Neutron Science.

In a new paper, published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, the team used a state-of-the-art neutron scattering technique to demonstrate that when myoglobin, an oxygen-binding protein found in the muscle tissue of vertebrates, is enclosed in a sheath of surfactant molecules, it moves in the same way as when it is surrounded by water. These motions are essential if a protein is to perform its biological function, and their findings make proteins a viable material for use in new wound dressings or even as chemical gas sensors.

Water is the natural environment for soluble proteins and an integral part of their structures which allows them to carry out their specific function. It had been perceived for many years that proteins required water or another solvent in order to function. But in 2010, the Bristol team proved that by grafting polymer chains onto the protein surface, it was possible to produce solvent- and water-free myoglobin liquids that could still perform their biological roles. Scientists have now demonstrated that protein dynamics is the reason why.