Voltammetric Studies on Chromotrope 2B‐Protein Interaction and Its Analytical Application

In this paper the interaction of chromotrope 2B (Ch2B) with proteins was studied by the electrochemical method. Ch2B is an azo dye and shows irreversible electrochemical responses on the mercury electrode in a pH 3.0 Britton‐Robinson (B‐R) buffer solution. After the addition of human serum albumin (HSA) into the Ch2B solution, an interaction took place, and a supramolecular complex was formed in the mixed solution. The electrochemical parameters of the Ch2B‐HSA interaction system were calculated and compared. The results showed that in the absence and presence of HSA in Ch2B solution, the electrochemical parameters such as the formal potential E⁰, the electrode reaction standard rate constant k_s, etc. showed no significant changes, which indicated that an electro‐inactive supramolecular biocomplex was formed. The free concentration of Ch2B in reaction solution was decreased, and this resulted in the decrease of the peak current. The binding constant and the binding ratio were calculated as 7.85 × 10⁹ and 1:2, respectively, and the interaction mechanism was discussed. Based on the decrease of the peak current, this new electrochemical method was proposed for the determination of HSA in the concentration range of 2.0?25.0 mg/L with the linear regression equation as ΔIp′ (nA) = 50.56C (mg/L) — 6.72 (γ = 0.995). This method was further used to determine other different kinds of proteins, such as bovine serum albumin (BSA), oval albumin, etc‥ The new method was successfully applied to detect the content of albumin in healthy human serum samples with the results in good agreement with the traditional Coomassie Brilliant Blue G‐250 spectrophotometric method.     

A New Electrochemical Method for the Determination of Proteins with Cupferron‐Cadmium(II) Complex

A new electrochemical method was proposed for the determination of trace amounts of proteins based on the cupferron (Cup) and cadmium(II) complex [Cup‐Cd(II)] as the voltammetric probe. In the selected pH 6.5 Britton–Robinson (B–R) buffer solution, Cup can interact with Cd(II) to form a stable complex of [Cup‐Cd(II)], which had a sensitive linear sweep voltammetric reductive peak at ?0.654 V (vs. SCE). The addition of human serum albumin (HSA) into [Cup‐Cd(II)] complex solution could greatly decrease the reductive peak current without the change of the reductive peak potential, which indicated that HSA could interact with [Cup‐Cd(II)] complex to form a supramolecular biocomplex. The interaction mechanism was discussed and the decrease of reductive peak current was proportional to the concentration of HSA, which could be further used for the proteins determination. The optimal conditions of the binding reaction and the electrochemical detection were carefully investigated. Under the optimal conditions a new quantitative determination method for different kinds of proteins such as HSA, bovine serum albumin (BSA) and bovine hemoglobin (BHb) etc. was developed. The proposed method was simple, practical and relatively free from the interferences of coexisting substances, and it was further applied to the samples determination with satisfactory results. The binding constant (β_s) and the binding number (m) of HSA with [Cup‐Cd(II)] complex were calculated by the voltammetric data with the results as β_s=1.12×10⁶ and m=1.     

Effect of the immobilisation of DNA aptamers on the detection of thrombin by means of surface plasmon resonance

We report a multichannel surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensor for detection of thrombin via DNA aptamers immobilized on the SPR sensor surface. A detailed investigation of the effect of the immobilisation method on the interaction between thrombin and DNA aptamers is presented. Three basic approaches to the immobilisation of aptamers on the surface of the SPR sensor are examined: (i) immobilisation based on chemisorption of aptamers modified with SH groups, (ii) immobilisation of biotin-tagged aptamers via previously immobilized avidin, neutravidin or streptavidin molecular linkers, and (iii) immobilisation employing dendrimers as a support layer for subsequent immobilisation of aptamers. A level of nonspecific binding of thrombin to immobilized human serum albumin (HSA) for each of the immobilisation methods is determined. Immobilisation of aptamers by means of the streptavidin–biotin system yields the best results both in terms of sensor specificity and sensitivity.     

Nucleus‐Targeted Organoiridium–Albumin Conjugate for Photodynamic Cancer Therapy

An organoiridium–albumin bioconjugate ( Ir1‐HSA ) was synthesized by reaction of a pendant maleimide ligand with human serum albumin. The phosphorescence of Ir1‐HSA was enhanced significantly compared to parent complex Ir1 . The long phosphorescence lifetime and high ¹O₂ quantum yield of Ir1‐HSA are highly favorable properties for photodynamic therapy. Ir1‐HSA mainly accumulated in the nucleus of living cancer cells and showed remarkable photocytotoxicity against a range of cancer cell lines and tumor spheroids (light IC₅₀; 0.8–5 μm , photo‐cytotoxicity index PI=40–60), while remaining non‐toxic to normal cells and normal cell spheroids, even after photo‐irradiation. This nucleus‐targeting organoiridium‐albumin is a strong candidate photosensitizer for anticancer photodynamic therapy.     

Electrochemical investigation of carbon nanotube nanoweb architecture in biological media

The as-synthesised carbon nanotube nanoweb modified carbon fibre paper (CNT-NW/CFP) was investigated to study the effect of surface protein adsorption in electrochemical activities using immunoglobulin G (IgG) and human serum albumin (HSA). Detail chemical characterisation was carried out using 125I radiolabeling, cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Both HSA and IgG were adsorbed onto the electrode at levels of approximately 120 mg/m². Cyclic voltammetry indicated that the surface-adsorbed protein had a detrimental effect on oxidation/reduction of ferri/ferricyanide whilst EIS spectra revealed a slight increase in impedance and decrease in capacitance.     

Development of piezoelectric immunosensors for measurement of albuminuria

The development of piezoelectric immunosensors for human serum albumin (HSA) is reported. The piezoelectric crystals were modified either with monoclonal antibody AL-01 (direct assay) or with HSA (competitive assay). Measurements were carried out in the flow-through mode. Affinity interaction between albumin and the antibody was characterised. With immobilised antibody and HSA in solution, the kinetic association rate constant k(a) was 18 100 l mol(-1) s(-1) and the dissociation constant k(d) was 0.00369 s(-1). For the opposite arrangement (immobilised HSA), a slower dissociation was observed, k(d) was 0.00085 s(-1). A competitive assay for HSA was developed with working range of 1-5 mug ml(-1) and a total time for one analysis equal to 17 min. Samples of urine were analysed after tenfold dilution. The developed system was successfully evaluated on real samples from diabetic patients and the obtained results correlated well with the standard reflectometric assay of proteins in urine.     

Identification and Characterization of a Single High‐Affinity Fatty Acid Binding Site in Human Serum Albumin

A single high‐affinity fatty acid binding site in the important human transport protein serum albumin (HSA) is identified and characterized using an NBD (7‐nitrobenz‐2‐oxa‐1,3‐diazol‐4‐yl)‐C₁₂ fatty acid. This ligand exhibits a 1:1 binding stoichiometry in its HSA complex with high site‐specificity. The complex dissociation constant is determined by titration experiments as well as radioactive equilibrium dialysis. Competition experiments with the known HSA‐binding drugs warfarin and ibuprofen confirm the new binding site to be different from Sudlow‐sites I and II. These binding studies are extended to other albumin binders and fatty acid derivatives. Furthermore an X‐ray crystal structure allows locating the binding site in HSA subdomain IIA. The knowledge about this novel HSA site will be important for drug depot development and for understanding drug‐protein interaction, which are important prerequisites for modulation of drug pharmacokinetics.     

Study of Hemoglobin and Human Serum Albumin Glycation with Electrochemical Techniques

High concentration glucose in diabetes mellitus may stimulate nonenzymatic glycation of proteins. Hemoglobin (Hb) and human serum albumin (HSA) are among the most sensitive proteins for the modification by glucose. In this paper, we report our study of Hb and HSA modification by glucose using electrochemical methods. Compared with native Hb, it is found that highly glycated Hb presents lower electron transfer reactivity and electrocatalytic activity toward O₂ and H₂O₂, and the glycation is glucose concentration and time dependent. Meanwhile, the changes of the electrochemical signal of heme after binding with HSA and glycated HSA have also suggested that proteins modified by high concentration glucose lasting for months and years in diabetes mellitus might be the reason for diabetes mellitus complication.     

Binding equilibrium study between Mn( Ⅱ ) and HSA or BSA

The binding of Mn( Ⅱ ) to human serum albumin (HSA) or bovine serum albumin (BSA) has been studied by equilibrium dialysis at physiological pH (7. 43). The Scatchard analysis indicates that there are 1.8 and 1.9 strong binding sites of Mn( Ⅱ ) in HSA and BSA, respectively. The successive stability constants which are reported for the first time are obtained by non-linear least-squares methods fitting Bjerrum formula. For both Mn( Ⅱ )-HSA and Mn( Ⅱ )-BSA systems, the order of magnitude of K1 was found to be 104. The analyses of Hill plots and free energy coupling show that the positive cooperative effect was found in both Mn( Ⅱ )-HSA and Mn( Ⅱ )-BSA systems . The results of Mn ( Ⅱ ) competing with Cu ( Ⅱ ) 、 Zn(Ⅱ)、Cd( Ⅱ) or Ca( Ⅱ ) to bind to HSA or BSA further support the conjecture that there are two strong binding sites of Mn( Ⅱ) in both HSA and BSA. One is most probably located at the tripeptide segment of N- terminal sequence of HSA and BSA molecules involving four groups composed of n     

Application of arsenazo III for the polarographic detection of proteins

In this paper, a diazo dye of arsenazo III (AAIII) was selected as a new electrochemical probe for the determination of proteins. In Britton-Robinson (B-R) buffer solution of pH 2.4, AAIII had a sensitive second order derivative linear sweep voltammetric reductive peak at ?0.39 V (vs. SCE). After the addition of human serum albumin (HSA) into AAIII solution, an interaction was taken place in the mixed solution and a biosupramolecular complex was formed, which resulted in the decreased reductive peak currents of AAIII. Based on the observed decrease in peak current, a sensitive electrochemical method was proposed for the determination of different proteins such as HSA, bovine serum albumin (BSA) and bovine hemoglobin (BHb). The optimal conditions for the interaction and the interfering effects of coexisting substances on the detection were investigated. The proposed method was successfully applied to the determination of HSA in synthetic samples with the recoveries in the range of 99.13–100.50%. The stoichiometry of HSA-AAIII biocomplex was calculated by voltammetric data with a binding number of 2 and a binding constant of 7.53 × 10⁹.     

Use of a linear gradient flow program for liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry protein-binding studies

A rapid screening method to measure drug-protein binding using an immobilized human serum albumin (HSA) column was developed. This method utilizes a linear gradient flow-rate to accelerate the elution of strong binders to the HSA column. Post-column addition of a pressure relief valve enables mass spectrometric detection at relatively high mobile phase flow-rates (i.e., 2 ml/min).     

Mechanism of interaction of hypoglycemic agents glimepiride and glipizide with human serum albumin

The mechanism of interaction of hypoglycemic drugs, glimepiride and glipizide with human serum albumin (HSA) has been studied using fluorescence spectroscopy. The results are discussed in terms of the binding parameters, thermodynamics of the binding process, nature of forces involved in the interaction, identification of drug binding site on serum albumin and the fluorescence quenching mechanism involved. The association constants were of the order of 10⁵ and glipizide was found to have much higher affinity for HSA than glimepiride at all temperatures. Thermodynamic parameters for the binding suggested that hydrophobic interactions are primarily involved in the binding of these drugs to HSA. However, glimepiride and glipizide appear to cause temperature-dependent conformational changes in the albumin molecule and, therefore, the nature of interaction varied with temperature. Glimepiride and glipizide bind to both site I and site II on HSA, but the primary interaction occurs at site II. The binding region in site II is different for the two drugs. Stern-Volmer analysis of quenching data indicated that tryptophan residues of HSA are not fully accessible to the drugs and a predominantly dynamic quenching mechanism is involved in the binding. Results can provide useful insight into prediction of competitive displacement of these drugs by other co-administered drugs and excipients, resulting in serious fluctuations of the blood glucose levels in diabetic patients.      

Electrokinetic chromatographic estimation of the enantioselective binding of nomifensine to human serum albumin and total plasma proteins

This report is the first evidence of enantioselective binding of nomifensine to human serum albumin (HSA) and plasma proteins. The overall process with HSA included: (i) consistent experimental design along two independent sessions; (ii) incubation of nomifensine–HSA designed mixtures; (iii) ultrafiltration for separating the unbound enantiomers fraction; (iv) electrokinetic chromatography (EKC) using heptakis‐2,3,6‐tri‐O‐methyl‐β‐cyclodextrin as chiral selector to provide experimental data for enantiomers (first, E1, and second, E2, eluted ones); and (v) a recent direct equation allowing univariate tests and robust statistics to provide consistent parameters and uncertainty. A significant enantioselectivity to HSA (2.7 ± 0.1) was encountered, related to a 1:1 stoichiometry and log affinity constants of 3.24 ± 0.10 and 3.67 ± 0.08 for E1 and E2, respectively. The protein binding (PB) estimated at physiological concentration levels was 40 ± 5 and 63 ± 4% for E1 and E2, respectively. The use of synthetic human sera allowed in vitro estimation of the total plasma PB for the racemate (61 ± 5%; coincident with in vivo values), and its enantiomers (58 ± 7 and 64 ± 4% for E1 and E2, respectively). Comparison allowed the relative importance of HSA respect to other plasma proteins for binding nomifensine to be established. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Electrochemical Study on the Interaction of Protein with Bromothymol Blue and Its Analytical Application

The interaction of bromothymol blue（BB） with human serum albumin（HSA） was studied by electrochemical techniques and a sensitive method for proteins assay was developed. When BB interacted with HSA, the voltammetric peak current value of BB decreased linearly with the concentration of HSA in a range of 1.0--40.0 mg/L, and the peak potential shifted negatively. Based on the results, a sensitive assay method for proteins, such as HSA, bovine serum albumin（BSA）, and egg albumin etc. was established. This method was further applied to determining the HSA in healthy human blood samples, and the results are not significantly different from those obtained by the classic Coomassie Brilliant Blue G-250 spectrophotometic method. The detecting conditions of this method were optimized and the interaction mechanism was discussed. The results show that the electrochemical parameters（formal potential E^0, standard rate constant of the electrode reaction ks, parameter of kinetic nα） of BB have no obvious changes before and after the interaction, which indicate that BB can interact with HSA, forming an electrochemical non-active complex. The equilibrium constant（βs） and the binding ratio（m） for this complex were calculated. The m is 4 and βs is 1.41 × 10^19. This method is fast, simple, highly sensitive, and has good selectivity, which can be used in clinical measurements.     

Resonance double light scattering method for the determination of proteins with morin-CTMAB

A new determination method of proteins with the limit of determination at nanogram levels is proposed by using a common spectrofluorimeter to detect intensity of resonance double line scattering (RDLS). Proteins including bovine serum albumin (BSA), human serum albumin (HSA) can combine with morin and cetyltrimethylammonium briomide (CTMAB) in the pH range 7.0-8.0 and produce enhanced RDLS signal at lambda(ex)/lambda(em) 305.0/610.0 nm. Optimization conditions for the morin-protein-CTMAB interaction were tested. In the studied system, BSA/CTMAB/morin = 1:2:3. The association constant of morin with BSA is 5.2 x 10(4). Under the optimum conditions, the linear range is 7.5 x 10(-8)-1.0 x 10(-5) g/ml for BSA, 2.5 x 10(-8)-5.0 x 10(-6) g/ml for HSA. The detection limits (S/N = 3) are 66.0 ng/ml for BSA and 23.0 ng/ml for HSA, respectively. Four synthetic samples were analyzed satisfactorily.     

Effects of the Interaction of Rifamycin SV with Serum Albumins on the Resonance Rayleigh Scattering Spectra and Their Analytical Application

In pH 4.5–4.8 Britton‐Robinson buffer solution, rifamycin SV (i.e. rifamycin sodium) can react with serum albumin such as human serum albumin (HSA) and bovine serum albumin (BSA) to form macromolecular complexes by electrostatic attraction and hydrophobic force. As a result, the resonance Rayleigh scattering (RRS) of the drug was enhanced remarkably and the RRS peaks were at 374 and 552 nm. The enhancement of RRS (ΔI) is directly proportional to the concentration of HSA or BSA. The linear ranges and the detection limits are 0.03–6.0 µg/mL and 9.0 ng/mL for HSA, and 0.01–8.0 µg/mL and 2.0 ng/mL for BSA, respectively. In this work, a sensitive, selective, simple and fast method for the determination of trace amounts of serum albumin by RRS technique has been developed, which was applied to the determination of serum albumin in the synthesized samples and human urine samples with satisfactory results.     

Gel electrophoresis in combination with laser ablation–inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry to quantify the interaction of cisplatin with human serum albumin

Cisplatin and its second and third generation analogues are widely used in the treatment of cancer. To study their reactions with proteins, we present a method based on SDS‐PAGE separation and laser ablation–inductively coupled plasma‐mass spectrometry (LA–ICP‐MS) for platinum detection in the reaction between human serum albumin (HSA) and cisplatin. We developed matrix‐matched standards of HSA/cisplatin mixtures and used them to quantify the amount of adducts formed at different HSA:cisplatin ratios. We noted that cisplatin incubation with HSA resulted in the formation of higher order HSA n‐mers, depending on the amount of cisplatin added. This caused a depletion of the HSA dimer bands, while the majority of HSA was present as the monomer. Inducing the formation of such higher molecular weight species may have an impact on the mode of action of metallodrugs.     

Studies of Interaction between Ergosta‐4,6,8(14),22‐tetraen‐3‐one (Ergone) and Human Serum Albumin by Molecular Spectroscopy and Modeling

Our previous experimental results have shown that ergosta‐4,6,8(14),22‐tetraen‐3‐one (ergone) is one of the main bioactive components of Polyporus umbellatus. The efficacy of ergone binding to human serum albumin (HSA) is critical for pharmacokinetic behavior of ergone. The interactions between ergone and HSA under simulative physiological conditions were investigated by the methods of fluorescence spectroscopy, absorption and circular dichroism spectroscopy. Fluorescence data revealed that the fluorescence quenching of HSA by ergone was the result of the formation of the ergone‐HSA complex. According to the modified Stern‐Volmer equation, the binding constants (K_a) between ergone and HSA were determined. The thermodynamic parameters, enthalpy change (ΔH) and entropy change (ΔS) for the reaction were calculated to be 0.989 kJ mol^‐1 and 11.214 J mol^‐1 K^‐1, indicating that the hydrogen bonds and hydrophobic interactions played a dominant role in the binding of ergone to HSA. The conformational investigation showed that the presence of ergone decreased the α‐helical content of HSA and induced the slight unfolding of the polypeptides of protein. Furthermore, displacement experiments using warfarin and ibuprofen indicated that ergone could bind to site I of HSA, which was also in agreement with the results of the molecular modeling.     

Effect of protein binding on the disposition of cephalexin and cefazolin in a simultaneous perfusion system of rat liver and kidney

The effect of protein binding on the disposition of cephalexin (CEX) and cofazolin (CEZ) was investigated in a simultaneous perfusion system of rat liver and kidney. In the present study, we used bovine serum albumin (BSA) or human serum albumin (HSA) as plasma protein to control the degree of perfusate protein binding of drugs. Total clearance (CLt) of CEX perfused with BSA (0.70 +/- 0.27 ml/min) was slightly smaller than that with HSA (0.89 +/- 0.08 ml/min), corresponding to the unbound fraction of the drug in the perfusate plasma. On the other hand, CLt of CEZ perfused with BSA (0.90 +/- 0.20 ml/min) was significantly larger than that with HSA (0.32 +/- 0.10 ml/min). The unbound fraction of CEZ to BSA (0.703 +/- 0.052) was much larger than that to HSA (0.253 +/- 0.017) and the clearance of the unbound drug did not differ significantly between two kinds of albumin perfusate (1.30 +/- 0.40 ml/min for BSA and 1.26 +/- 0.40 ml/min for HSA). These results suggest that plasma protein binding is an important factor determining the biliary clearance as well as the urinary clearance of drugs.     

Disposable Electrodes for Capacitive Immunosensor

Disposable electrodes were fabricated by coating chromium (5 nm) and gold (200 nm) on glass strips (5.0 mm×25.4 mm) and used in a label‐free immunosensor. Human serum albumin (HSA) and its antigen (anti‐HSA) were used as a model system. Electropolymerization of o‐phenylenediamine was used for the immobilization of anti‐HSA by covalent binding. A linear relationship was obtained in the range from 1.0×10^?14 to 1.0×10^?9 M with a limit of detection of 8.0×10^?15 M. Each modified electrode can be reused up to 30 times. The developed system was applied for human serum samples and compared to Albumin BCG method.