| Abstract: | Introduction Up to now,the interactions of Cu2+,Ni2+ and Zn2+ with serum albumin have been extensively studied[1-3].However,the interaction of serum with Co2+ has rarely been studied.Our study of Co2+-HSA by means of charge transfer spectra indicated that the metal center took an octahedron configuration and the binding site was probably located at the tripeptide segment of the N-terminal of albumin[4].Sadler et al.[5]has reported that the binding site of Co2+ in HSA is located at the tripeptide segment of HSA involving the four nitrogen atoms and a carboxyl oxygen atom of Aspl.In this paper the interaction of HSA and BSA with Co2+ at physiological pH is further studied by equilibrium dialysis.The number of binding sites and the cooperation among the binding sites are reported.According to the equilibrium dialysis results and the study of competition between Co2+ and Cu2+,Ca2+ or Zn2+ to be bound to HSA or BSA,it is suggested that there are three strong binding sites in both HSA and BSA.The possible locations of the strong binding sites of Co2+ in HSA and BSA have also been determined. |
