ABSTRACT
The proteins involved in recognition, signaling, and catalysis are often intrinsically unstable and may have short functional lifetimes in a living organism. This is acceptable because proteins are continuously cleared from the body, and high concentrations of damaged proteins are not likely to accumulate in a healthy organism. However, these same types of intrinsically unstable proteins are used as therapeutics in biopharmaceutical and drug delivery applications where long-term stability is critically important. Protein degradation in a product leads to uncontrolled dosing of the active drug, and introduction of degraded protein into the body can lead to adverse immune response.
