DEER in biological multispin-systems: a case study on the fatty acid binding to human serum albumin

In this study, self-assembled systems of human serum albumin (HSA) and spin-labeled fatty acids are characterized by double electron-electron resonance (DEER). HSA, being the most important transport protein of the human blood, is capable to host up to seven paramagnetic fatty acid derivatives. DEER measurements of these self-assembled multispin clusters are strongly affected by correlations of more than two spins, the evaluation of the latter constituting the central topic of this paper. While the DEER modulation depth can be used to obtain qualitative information of the number of coupled spins, the quantitative analysis is hampered by the occurrence of cluster mixtures with different numbers of coupled spins and contributions from unbound spin-labeled material. Applying flip angle dependent DEER measurements, unwanted multispin correlations were found to lead not only to a broadening of the distance peaks but also to cause small distances to be overestimated and large distances to be suppressed. It is thus favorable to use spin-diluted systems with an average of two paramagnetic molecules per spin cluster when a quantitative analysis of the distance distribution is sought.     

Complexation of fluoroquinolone antibiotics with human serum albumin: A fluorescence quenching study

Mechanism of interaction and detailed physico-chemical characterization of the binding of four fluoroquinolones: levofloxacin, sparfloxacin, ciprofloxacin HCl and enrofloxacin with human serum albumin has been studied at physiological pH (7.4) using fluorescence spectroscopic technique. The stoichiometry of interaction was found to be 1:1 for all the drugs used. The association constants for the interaction were of the order of 10⁴ in most cases. At low drug:protein ratios, a significant fraction of the added drug was bound. The predominant interactions involved are hydrogen bonding and Van der Waal’s interactions in the case of levofloxacin, hydrophobic interactions in the case of ciprofloxacin hydrochloride and enrofloxacin and hydrogen bonding, hydrophobic and electrostatic interactions in the case of sparfloxacin.The drug binding region did not coincide with that of the hydrophobic probe, 1-anilinonaphthalene-8-sulfonate (ANS). From the displacement of site-specific probes and site-marker drugs, it was concluded that ciprofloxacin hydrochloride is site II-specific while enrofloxacin is a site I-specific drug. Levofloxacin binds at both site I and site II with equal affinity. Sparfloxacin had higher affinity for site II than site I. It is also possible that sparfloxacin binds at the interface between site I and site II. Stern-Volmer analysis of the data showed that the quenching mechanism is predominantly collisional for the binding of ciprofloxacin HCl and enrofloxacin while both static and collisional quenching mechanisms are operative in the case of levofloxacin and sparfloxacin. High magnitude of the rate constant for quenching showed that the process is not entirely diffusion controlled. Circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopic studies showed that the presence of drugs did not cause any major changes in the secondary structure of HSA.     

Structure of molecular associates of fluorescent probes in solutions of human serum albumin

Spectral-luminescent characteristics and molecular association processes in solutions of human serum albumin are analyzed at different pH values for three fluorescent probes (eosin, erythrosin, and fluorescein). Common features for all three probes in protein solutions are quenching of the fluorescence, a red shift of the fluorescence maximum, a decrease in the degree of association, and an increase in the angle between dipole moments of dye molecules in dimers. This being so, differences between fluorescein and its halogen derivatives (eosin and erythrosin) are observed in the pH dependences of fluorescence, degree of association, and the angle between dipole moments of probe molecules in dimers. Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Spektroskopii, Vol. 75, No. 6, pp. 782–787, November–December, 2008.     

Cooperative binding of drugs on human serum albumin

In order to explain the adsorption isotherms of the amphiphilic penicillins nafcillin and cloxacillin onto human serum albumin (HSA), a cooperative multilayer adsorption model is introduced, combining the Brunauer–Emmet–Teller (BET) adsorption isotherm with an amphiphilic ionic adsorbate, whose chemical potential is derived from Guggenheim's theory. The non-cooperative model has been previously proved to qualitatively predict the measured adsorption maxima of these drugs [Varela, L. M., García, M., Pérez-Rodríguez, M., Taboada, P., Ruso, J. M., and Mosquera, V., 2001, J. chem. Phys., 114, 7682]. The surface interactions among adsorbed drug molecules are modelled in a mean-field fashion, so the chemical potential of the adsorbate is assumed to include a term proportional to the surface coverage, the constant of proportionality being the lateral interaction energy between bound molecules. The interaction energies obtained from the empirical binding isotherms are of the order of tenths of the thermal energy, therefore suggesting the principal role of van der Waals forces in the binding process.     

Extrinsic fluorescence probe study of human serum albumin using Nile red

Nile red bound to human serum albumin (HSA) shows an order of magnitude increase in the probe's fluorescence intensity. Here, we report on the fluorescence characteristics of the probe-protein complex in Trizma buffer (pH 7.1), urea, guanidine hydrochloride, and AOT/isooctane/buffer reverse micelles using both steady—state and time-resolved fluorescence techniques. With a view to illustrating the use of extrinsic probe fluorescence spectroscopy in protein research, we demonstrate that protein unfolding can be observed through measurements of the probe's time-resolved anisotropy and steady-state fluorescence spectrum. Moreover, this shows that thermal unfolding is fundamentally different from using denaturant, with respect to changes in both the nanosecond diffusional rotation of the probe at intermediate stages and in the denatured protein's structure. Also, the large Stokes shift of Nile red allows the changes in the environment of the probe-protein complex in reverse micelles of varying waterpool size to be easily identified in the steady-state fluorescence. This was not seen in earlier work exploiting the intrinsic tryptophan fluorescence of HSA and further demonstrates the complementary information that extrinsic fluorescence probe studies can offer protein science. We discuss the complex acrylamide quenching characteristics of Nile red bound to HSA in terms of the possibility of at least two binding sites for the probe and the effect of acrylamide on the probe-protein structure at very high quencher concentrations.     

Combined molecular docking and multi-spectroscopic investigation on the interaction between Eosin B and human serum albumin

The binding of Eosin B to human serum albumin (HSA) was studied using molecular docking, fluorescence, UV–vis, circular dichroism (CD) and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. The mechanism of interaction between Eosin B and HSA in terms of the binding parameters, the thermodynamic functions and the effect of Eosin B on the conformation of HSA were investigated. Protein-ligand docking study indicated that Eosin B bound to residues located in the subdomain IIA of HSA and Eosin B–HSA complex was stabilized by hydrophobic force and hydrogen bonding. In addition, fluorescence data revealed that Eosin B strongly quenched the intrinsic fluorescence of HSA through a static quenching procedure. Furthermore, alteration of the secondary structure of HSA in the presence of the dye was conformed by UV–vis, FT-IR and CD spectroscopy.     

Study on the interaction between tabersonine and human serum albumin by optical spectroscopy and molecular modeling methods

The mechanism of interaction between tabersonine (TAB) and human serum albumin (HSA) was investigated by the methods of fluorescence spectroscopy, UV–vis absorption spectroscopy and molecular modeling under simulative physiological conditions. Results obtained from analysis of fluorescence spectrum and fluorescence intensity indicated that TAB has a strong ability to quench the intrinsic fluorescence of HSA through a static quenching procedure. The binding site number n and apparent binding constant K_a, corresponding thermodynamic parameters ΔG, ΔH and ΔS at different temperatures were calculated. The distance r between donor (human serum albumin) and acceptor (tabersonine) was obtained according to the Förster theory of non-radiation energy transfer. The effect of common ions on binding constant was also investigated. The synchronous fluorescence and three-dimensional fluorescence spectra were used to investigate the structural change of HSA molecules with addition of TAB. Furthermore, the study of molecular modeling indicated that TAB could bind to the site I of HSA and hydrophobic interaction was the major acting force, which was in agreement with the binding mode study.     

Interaction of nobiletin with human serum albumin studied using optical spectroscopy and molecular modeling methods

The binding of nobiletin to human serum albumin (HSA) was investigated by fluorescence, UV-vis, FT-IR, CD, and molecular modeling. Fluorescence data revealed the presence of a single class of binding site on HSA and its binding constants (K) at four different temperatures (289, 296, 303 and 310 K) were 4.054, 4.769, 5.646 and 7.044×10⁴ M⁻¹, respectively. The enthalpy change (ΔH⁰) and the entropy changes (ΔS⁰) were calculated to be 1.938 kJ mol⁻¹ and 155.195 J mol⁻¹ K⁻¹ according to the Van’t Hoff equation. The binding average distance, r, between the donor (HSA) and the acceptor (nobiletin) was evaluated and found to be 2.33 nm according to the Förster's theory of non-radiation energy transfer. Changes in the CD and FT-IR spectra were observed upon ligand binding along with a significant degree of tryptophan fluorescence quenching on complex formation. Computational mapping of the possible binding sites of nobiletin revealed the molecule to be bound in the large hydrophobic cavity of subdomain IIA.     

光谱法和分子对接法研究盐酸氨溴索与人血清白蛋白的相互作用

在模拟生理条件下,用光谱法和分子对接技术研究了盐酸氨溴索与人血清白蛋白的相互作用.不同温度下的Steen-Volmer曲线和紫外-可见吸收光谱表明:盐酸氨溴索主要以动态猝灭方式使人血清白蛋白的荧光猝灭.由热力学数据确定了两者的主要作用力类型为疏水作用力.根据F(o)rster非辐射能量转移理论,得到给体-受体间的作用距...     

Growth inside a corner: the limiting interface shape

We investigate the growth of a crystal that is built by depositing cubes inside a corner. The interface of this crystal approaches a deterministic growing limiting shape in the long-time limit. Building on known results for the corresponding two-dimensional system and accounting for basic three-dimensional symmetries, we conjecture a governing equation for the evolution of the interface profile. We solve this equation analytically and find excellent agreement with simulations of the growth process. We also present a generalization to arbitrary spatial dimension.     

Au-Pd共晶纳米粒子熔化行为的分子动力学研究

采用分子动力学方法结合嵌入原子势, 对Au-Pd共晶纳米粒子的热稳定性进行了模拟研究. 计算结果表明: Au-Pd纳米粒子的熔点明显高于Au单质纳米粒子而低于Pd纳米粒子. 通过计算Lindemann指数发现Au-Pd共晶纳米粒子中的Au原子首先熔化, 然后带动Pd原子的熔化; 熔化所经历的温度区间明显要宽于单质纳米粒子.     

Hydration and protein dynamics: an ESR and ST-ESR spin labelling study of human serum albumin

Human serum albumin has been studied at low hydration level by the ESR spin labelling technique, under the assumption that a covalently bound spin-label is a reporter of the protein internal dynamics. At room temperature, the presence of a double component signal allowed us to monitor the influence of increasing hydration level on internal protein dynamics as well as on the superficial water dynamics. The ESR results have shown that the first 20 g of water per 100 g of protein activate the internal protein dynamics and that superficial water dynamics starts at higher hydration values. ESR experiments at low temperature have shown that at ?160°C ?T??80°C, the label experiences an increasing environmental polarity with increasing temperature in the samples with hydration values higher than about 20 g of water per 100 g of protein. The results are discussed in connection with both conformational substates of the protein and hydration water dynamics.     

Interactions between imazethapyr and bovine serum albumin: Spectrofluorimetric study

The interaction between imazethapyr (IMA) and bovine serum albumin (BSA) was investigated by fluorescence spectroscopy. The Stern–Volmer quenching constant (K_SV) at three temperatures was evaluated in order to determine the quenching mechanism. The dependence of fluorescence quenching on viscosity was also evaluated for this purpose. The results showed that IMA quenches the fluorescence intensity of BSA through a static quenching process. The values of the binding constant for the formed BSA–IMA complex and the number of binding sites were found to be 1.51×10⁵ M^?1 and 0.77, respectively, at room temperature. Based on the calculated thermodynamic parameters, the forces that dominate the binding process are hydrogen bonds and van der Waals forces, and the binding process is spontaneous and exothermic. The quenching of protein fluorescence by iodide ion was used to probe the accessibility of tryptophan residues in BSA and the change in accessibility induced by the presence of IMA. According to the obtained results, the BSA–IMA complex is formed in the site where the Trp-134 is located, causing it to become less exposed to the solvent.     

Complexation of insecticide chlorantraniliprole with human serum albumin: Biophysical aspects

Chlorantraniliprole is a novel insecticide belonging to the diamide class of selective ryanodine receptor agonists. A biophysical study on the binding interaction of a novel diamide insecticide, chlorantraniliprole, with staple in vivo transporter, human serum albumin (HSA) has been investigated utilizing a combination of steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence, circular dichroism (CD), and molecular modeling methods. The interaction of chlorantraniliprole with HSA gives rise to fluorescence quenching through static mechanism, this corroborates the fluorescence lifetime outcomes that the ground state complex formation and the predominant forces in the HSA-chlorantraniliprole conjugate are van der Waals forces and hydrogen bonds, as derived from thermodynamic analysis. The definite binding site of chlorantraniliprole in HSA has been identified from the denaturation of protein, competitive ligand binding, and molecular modeling, subdomain IIIA (Sudlow's site II) was designated to possess high-affinity binding site for chlorantraniliprole. Moreover, using synchronous fluorescence, CD, and three-dimensional fluorescence we testified some degree of HSA structure unfolding upon chlorantraniliprole binding.     

Nonenzymatic glycosylation of human serum albumin: Fluorescence and chemiluminescence behavior

In the present study the progress of the cross-linking reaction between glyceraldehyde (GCA) and human serum albumin (HSA) was followed by monitoring the development of new absorption bands characteristic of the cross-linked product. Generation of electronically excited species (EES) during horseradish peroxidase (HRP)-catalyzed oxidation of glycosylated HSA was followed by measuring direct chemiluminescence. It was found that adducts of HSA with GCA in the presence of HRP are capable of forming EES. The mechanism of EES generation is discussed further on the basis of fluorescence and chemiluminescence measurements. Formation of EES in studied systems thus could be a possible source of free radicals generatedin vivo during age- and diabetes-related complications.     

Quinolinesulfonamides: Interaction between bovine serum albumin,molecular docking analysis,and antiproliferative activity against human breast carcinoma cells

The complex formation of bovine serum albumin (BSA) with library of all seven regioisomeric quinolinesulfonamides (QSAs) under physiological condition is studied in this paper. The fluorescence quenching mechanism of BSA by QSAs was discussed and the association constants, as well as the number of binding sites, were calculated. In addition, a molecular docking study of the tested sulfamoylquinolines on the active site of serum albumin is performed. The experimental data and molecular docking studies reveal that sulfamoylquinolines bind in the large hydrophobic cavity of subdomain IB, and in the hydrophobic pockets of BSA subdomains IIA and IIIA by hydrophobic interactions with tryptophanyl (Trp-213) and tyrosyl residues. Moreover, the antiproliferative activity of QSAs against two human breast cancer cell lines (human adenocarcinoma (MCF-7) and human ductal carcinoma (MDA-MB-231)) and a human normal fibroblast is also studied in this paper. The antiproliferative activity of the tested QSAs was comparable to those of cisplatin. The returned data indicate that some of the tested quinolinesulfamoyl derivatives display significant cytotoxic activity.     

The fluorescence characteristics and the molecular association of the Rose Bengal nanomarker in human serum albumin solutions

The decrease in the degree of molecular association of the Rose Bengal nanomarker in solutions with the addition of human serum albumin (HSA) has been revealed. It has been observed that in solutions with the addition of HSA the fluorescence quenching and the shifting of the fluorescence spectrum peaks of Rose Bengal to the red take place. It has been shown that the dependence of the effective binding constant of binding Rose Bengal to HSA steadily decreases with an increase in the pH value. It has been established that the values of the molecular association degree of Rose Bengal and the values of the effective constant of its binding to HSA depend on the magnitude of the electronegativity of the atoms in its structural formula, as well as on the pK values of its ionizable groups.     

Study on the interaction of La with bovine serum albumin at molecular level

The interaction of La³⁺ to bovine serum albumin (BSA) has been investigated mainly by fluorescence spectra, UV-vis absorption spectra, and circular dichroism (CD) under simulative physiological conditions. Fluorescence data revealed that the quenching mechanism of BSA by La³⁺ was a static quenching process and the binding constant is 1.75×10⁴ L mol⁻¹ and the number of binding sites is 1 at 289 K. The thermodynamic parameters (ΔH=−20.055 kJ mol⁻¹, ΔG=−23.474 kJ mol⁻¹, and ΔS=11.831 J mol⁻¹ K⁻¹) indicate that electrostatic effect between the protein and the La³⁺ is the main binding force. In addition, UV-vis, CD, and synchronous fluorescence results showed that the addition of La³⁺ changed the conformation of BSA.     

Separate and simultaneous binding effects of aspirin and amlodipine to human serum albumin based on fluorescence spectroscopic and molecular modeling characterizations: A mechanistic insight for determining usage drugs doses

The binding of aspirin (ASA) and amlodipine (AML) to human serum albumin (HSA) in aqueous solution was investigated by multiple techniques such as fluorescence quenching, resonance light scattering (RLS), three-dimensional fluorescence spectroscopy, FT-IR and zeta-potential measurements in an aqueous solution at pH=7.4. For the protein-ligand association reaction, fluorescence measurements can give important clues as to the binding of ligands to proteins, e.g., the binding mechanism, binding mode, binding constants, binding sites, etc. Fluorescence spectroscopy showed that ASA and AML could quench the HSA fluorescence spectra, and this quenching effect became more significant when both ASA and AML coexisted. The results pointed at the interaction between HSA and both drugs as ternary systems decreasing the binding constant and binding stability of the HSA-drug complex as a binary system. Therefore, by reducing the amount of drugs transported to their targets, the free drug concentration of the target would be reduced, lowering the efficacy of the drugs. It was demonstrated that there exists antagonistic behavior between the two drugs when it comes to binding of HSA. Furthermore, the fluorescence results also showed that the quenching mechanism of HSA-drug complexes as binary and ternary systems is a static procedure. The number of binding sites of HSA-ASA, (HSA-AML)ASA, HSA-AML and (HSA-ASA) AML were 1.31, 0.92, 1 and 0.93, respectively. Due to the existence of the antagonistic action between ASA and AML, the binding distance r was reduced. The results of synchronous fluorescence and three-dimensional fluorescence spectra showed that the antagonistic action between ASA and AML would alter the micro-environment around Trp and Tyr residues. Moreover, the simultaneous presence of ASA and AML during binding to HSA should be taken into account in multidrug therapy, as it induces the necessity of a monitoring therapy owing to the possible increase of uncontrolled toxic effects. Molecular dynamic studies showed that the affinity of each of the drugs to HSA was reduced in the presence of significant amounts of the other. In the interaction of HSA with both drugs, the zeta potential of the ternary system is more negative than its binary counterpart. The zeta-potential results suggested induced conformational changes on HSA that confirmed the experimental and theoretical results.     

Role of surface ligands in nanoparticle permeation through a model membrane: a coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations study

How nanoparticles interact with biological membranes is of significant importance in determining the toxicity of nanoparticles as well as their potential applications in phototherapy, imaging and gene/drug delivery. It has been shown that such interactions are often determined by nanoparticle physicochemical factors such as size, shape, hydrophobicity and surface charge density. Surface modification of the nanoparticle offers the possibility of creating site-specific carriers for both drug delivery and diagnostic purposes. In this work, we use coarse-grained molecular dynamic simulations to explore the permeation characteristics of ligand-coated nanoparticles through a model membrane. We compare permeation behaviors of ligand-coated nanoparticles with bare nanoparticles to provide insights into how the ligands affect the permeation process. A series of simulations is carried out to validate a coarse-grained model for nanoparticles and a lipid membrane system. The minimum driving force for nanoparticles to penetrate the membrane and the mechanism of nanoparticle–membrane interaction were investigated. The potential of the mean force profile, nanoparticle velocity profile, force profile and density profiles (planar and radial) were obtained to explore the nanoparticle permeation process. The structural properties of both nanoparticles and lipid membrane during the permeation, which are of considerable fundamental interest, are also studied in our work. The findings described in our work will lead to a better understanding of nanoparticle–lipid membrane interactions and cell cytotoxicity and help develop more efficient nanocarrier systems for intracellular delivery of therapeutics.