Fluorimetric determination of proteins using 4-chloro-(2′-hydroxylophenylazo)rhodanine-Ti(IV) complex as a spectral probe

Characterization of the interaction between 4-(tetrahydro-2-furanmethoxy)-N-octadecyl-1,8-naphthalimide and human serum albumin by molecular spectroscopy and its analytical application

A novel 4-(tetrahydro-2-furanmethoxy)-N-octadecyl-1,8-naphthalimide (TNN) was synthesized as a spectrofluorimetric probe for the determination of proteins. The effect of different solvents on the spectral characteristics of TNN was investigated. The results showed that TNN displayed dependent solvent polarity properties due to the effect of internal charge transfer. The interactions between TNN and human serum albumin (HSA) were studied by fluorescence and absorption spectroscopy. Fluorescence data revealed that the fluorescence quenching of HSA by TNN was the result of the formation of TNN-HSA complex. The binding parameters of interactions between TNN and HSA at different temperatures were obtained according to the Stern-Volmer equation. The thermodynamic parameters, enthalpy change (ΔH) and entropy change (ΔS), for the interactions were calculated to be -7.31 kJ mol(-1) and 72.75 J mol(-1) K(-1) according to the van't Hoff equation, indicating that the hydrogen bonds and hydrophobic interactions were the dominant intermolecular force in stabilizing the complex. The effect of TNN on the conformation of HSA was analyzed by circular dichroism and synchronous fluorescence spectroscopy. Furthermore, the results of displacement experiments using warfarin indicated that TNN could bind to site I of HSA. The fluorescence of TNN could be largely quenched by HSA, based on which a new fluorometric method for detecting HSA in the HCl-Tris buffer solution (pH = 7.4) was developed. The linear ranges of the calibration curves were 0.1~14.2 μM for HSA, 0.1~13.0 μM for bovine serum albumin (BSA), 0.2~9.7 μM for γ-globulin, and 0.3~11.3 μM for hemoglobin (Hb), with detection limits (3σ) of 1.37 × 10(-10) M for HSA, 1.84 × 10(-10) M for BSA, 3.14 × 10(-10) M for γ-globulin, and 6.86 × 10(-10) M for Hb. The effect of metal cations on the fluorescence spectra of TNN in ethanol was also investigated. The method has been applied to the determination of total proteins in human serum samples collected from the hospital and the results were in good agreement with those reported by the hospital.

Small change in structure leads to large difference in protein photocleavage: two porphyrins bearing rhodanine-based pendants

Two 5,10,15,20-tetraphenylporphyrins with one phenyl group anchored to a rhodanine-terminated side chain, RhD-TPP and RhDCOOH-TPP, were designed and synthesized, and their protein photocleavage activities were investigated using bovine serum albumin (BSA) as a model protein. Both porphyrins exhibit similar absorption spectra, fluorescence spectra, fluorescence quantum yields, and singlet oxygen ((1)O(2)) quantum yields in organic solvents due to their structure similarity. They also show similar binding affinities and binding sites toward BSA. However, RhD-TPP is nearly inactive in protein photocleavage while RhDCOOH-TPP can lead to distinct photocleavage of BSA under the same experimental conditions. Such a difference may be attributed to the different binding modes of the two porphyrin derivatives toward BSA, though the apparent binding affinities and the binding sites are similar, and consequently a great difference in the (1)O(2) quantum yields of the two porphyrins bound on BSA. The presence of the COOH group in RhDCOOH is proposed to play an important role, leading to less hydrophobic character and additional interactions towards BSA.