Effects of solvent concentration and composition on protein dynamics: 13C MAS NMR studies of elastin in glycerol–water mixtures

• 13C CP MAS NMR provides detailed insights into protein-solvent couplings in a broad temperature range
• Protein mobility is governed by solvent viscosity
• Large scale elastin dynamics requires a minimum glycerol concentration of 0.6 g/g.

We use 13C CP MAS NMR to investigate the dependence of elastin dynamics on the concentration and composition of the solvent at various temperatures. For elastin in pure glycerol, line-shape analysis shows that larger-scale fluctuations of the protein backbone require a minimum glycerol concentration of ~ 0.6 g/g at ambient temperature, while smaller-scale fluctuations are activated at lower solvation levels of ~ 0.2 g/g. Immersing elastin in various glycerol–water mixtures, we observe at room temperature that the protein mobility is higher for lower glycerol fractions in the solvent and, thus, lower solvent viscosity. When decreasing the temperature, the elastin spectra approach the line shape for the rigid protein at 245 K for all studied samples, indicating that the protein ceases to be mobile on the experimental time scale of ~ 10− 5 s. Our findings yield evidence for a strong coupling between elastin fluctuations and solvent dynamics and, hence, such interaction is not restricted to the case of protein–water mixtures. Spectral resolution of different carbon species reveals that the protein-solvent couplings can, however, be different for side chain and backbone units. We discuss these results against the background of the slaving model for protein dynamics.