Thermostability

Crystal structure of β-glucosidase from Thermotoga neapolitana (PDB: 5IDI). Thermostable protein, active at 80°C and with unfolding temperature of 101°C.[1]

In materials science and molecular biology, thermostability is the ability of a substance to resist irreversible change in its chemical or physical structure, often by resisting decomposition or polymerization, at a high relative temperature.

Thermostable materials may be used industrially as fire retardants. A thermostable plastic, an uncommon and unconventional term, is likely to refer to a thermosetting plastic that cannot be reshaped when heated, than to a thermoplastic that can be remelted and recast.

Thermostability is also a property of some proteins. To be a thermostable protein means to be resistant to changes in protein structure due to applied heat.

  1. ^ Kulkarni TS, Khan S, Villagomez R, Mahmood T, Lindahl S, Logan DT, et al. (May 2017). "Crystal structure of β-glucosidase 1A from Thermotoga neapolitana and comparison of active site mutants for hydrolysis of flavonoid glucosides". Proteins. 85 (5): 872–884. doi:10.1002/prot.25256. PMID 28142197. S2CID 27832389.