Isothermal titration calorimetric study on the interaction of apo-human transferrin with sodium n-dodecyl sulfate

Isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) was utilized at conditions close to physiologic (50 mM HEPES buffer, pH 7.4 and 160 mM NaCl) and at various temperatures (20, 25, 30, 35, and 40 °C) to evaluate the enthalpy and heat capacity changes for the interactions of sodium n-dodecyl sulfate (SDS) as an anionic surfactant with apo-human transferrin (apo-hTf). The obtained results are very informative due to importance of heat capacity change as a major thermodynamic quantity that is one of the richest potential sources of information in physical terms. The obtained precise curves and heat capacity curves were interpreted in terms of molecular events such as specific and non-specific binding and the unfolding process. A three step mechanism for the interaction of SDS with apo-hTf has been figured out on basis of ITC studies: $ N leftrightarrow I_{1} leftrightarrow I_{2} leftrightarrow D $ , where N, I, and D correspond to native, partially unfolded, and denatured states, respectively.