Thermally induced protein unfolding/folding processes have been studied on alpha-lactalbumin and alpha-apolactalbumin. Experiments monitored by fluorescence and circular dichroism spectroscopic techniques on alpha-apolactalbumin showed the formation of an intermediate species, whereas in the case of alpha-lactalbumin, this intermediate species was not detected. The presence and resolution of this intermediate species, its spectrum, and the evolution of all conformations during protein unfolding/folding processes were estimated using the multivariate curve resolution-alternating least-squares method. Elucidation of the nature and contribution of the different secondary structure motifs in each of the resolved protein conformations, including the intermediate, was also carried out. Multivariate resolution has shown to be an excellent tool for the complete characterization of all protein conformations involved in folding processes, including intermediate species that cannot be isolated by physical or chemical means. Indeed, it is in the determination and modeling of these intermediates that this chemometric approach outperforms in power and reliability previous methodologies based on simpler measurements and data treatments and fills the void linked to the elucidation and interpretation of complex mechanisms in protein folding processes.

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The combination of near- and midinfrared spectroscopies (NIR and MIR) is proposed to monitor temperature-dependent transitions of proteins. These techniques offer a high discriminating power to distinguish among protein structural conformations but, in temperature-dependent processes, present the drawback associated with the intense and evolving absorption of the deuterium oxide, used as a solvent in the protein solutions. Multivariate curve resolution-alternating least squares (MCR-ALS) is chosen as the data analysis technique able to unravel the contributions of the pure protein and deuterium oxide species from the mixed raw experimental measurements. To do so, MCR-ALS works by analyzing simultaneously experiments from MIR and NIR on pure deuterium oxide solutions and protein solutions in D2O. This strategy has proven to be effective for modeling the protein process in the presence of D2O and, therefore, for avoiding the inclusion of artifacts in the data stemming from inadequate baseline corrections. The use of MIR and NIR and MCR-ALS has been tested in the study of the temperature-dependent evolution of beta-lactoglobulin. Only the combined use of these two infrared techniques has allowed for the distinction of the three pure conformations involved in the process in the working thermal range: native, R-type state, and molten globule.