Improving the heat resistance of ribonuclease A by the addition of poly(N,N-diethylaminoethyl methacrylate)-graft-poly(ethylene glycol) (PEAMA-g-PEG)

Poly(N,N-diethylaminoethyl methacrylate)-graft-poly(ethylene glycol) (PEAMA-g-PEG) has previously been used as a novel additive to improve the heat resistance of lysozyme, which has a positive net charge and a negatively charged active site. In the present study, we show that PEAMA-g-PEG prevents heat inactivation of ribonuclease A (RNase A), which has a positive net charge and a positively charged active site. After treatment at 98 °C for 10 min, the enzymatic activity of RNase A complexed with PEAMA-g-PEG was maintained at up to 75% of the level of the native RNase A. The extents of inactivation of RNase A and the complex of RNase A with PEAMA-g-PEG were strongly dependent upon the heating temperature and incubation time. Circular dichroism (CD) spectral analysis revealed that heat-induced irreversible inactivation was largely suppressed when RNase A was complexed with PEAMA-g-PEG. These findings suggest that the heat resistance of RNase A is improved by the external addition of PEAMA-g-PEG.