Energetics of ion-protein interactions

In keeping with the goals of our laboratory, efforts in this thesis are directed towards improving our understanding, and therefore our ability to calculate, the energetics of protein-ligand interactions. Electrostatic contributions to protein-ligand binding events are poorly understood, and underrepresented in data sets used to parameterize the energetics of protein unfolding and binding. Therefore, the focus in this thesis is placed on ion-protein interactions as model systems that can give insight into the contribution of charge-charge interactions to the enthalpy, entropy, and heat capacity changes associated with binding. In order to measure the energetics of charge-charge interactions, both differential scanning calorimetry and isothermal titration calorimetry