Kinetics of stearic acid transfer between human serum albumin and sterically stabilized liposomes

Binding of human serum albumin to PEGylated liposomes: insights into binding numbers and dynamics by fluorescence correlation spectroscopy

Liposomes for medical applications are often administered by intravenous injection. Once in the bloodstream, the liposomes are covered with a "protein corona", which impacts the behavior and eventual fate of the liposomes. Currently, many aspects of the liposomal protein corona are not well understood. For example, there is generally a lack of knowledge about the liposome binding affinities and dynamics of common types of blood plasma proteins. Fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) is a powerful experimental technique that potentially can provide such knowledge. In this study, we have used FCS to investigate the binding of human serum albumin (HSA) to standard types of PEGylated fluid-phase liposomes (consisting of DOPC and DOPE-PEG2k) and PEGylated gel-phase liposomes (consisting of DSPC and DSPE-PEG2k) with various PEG chain surface densities. We detected no significant binding of HSA to the PEGylated fluid-phase liposomes. In contrast, we found that HSA bound tightly to the PEGylated gel-phase liposomes, although only a low number of HSA molecules could be accommodated per liposome. Overall, we believe that our data provides a useful benchmark for other researchers interested in studying the liposomal protein corona.

Influence of stearic acids on resveratrol-HSA interaction

The interaction between the natural polyphenol resveratrol and human serum albumin (HSA), the most abundant transport protein in plasma, has been studied in the absence and in the presence of up to six molecules of stearic acids (SA) pre-complexed with the protein. The study has been carried out by using the intrinsic fluorescence of both HSA and resveratrol. Protein and polyphenol fluorescence data indicate that resveratrol binds to HSA with an association constant k(a) = (1.10 ± 0.14) × 10(5) M(-1) and (1.09 ± 0.02) × 10(5) M(-1), respectively, whereas Job plot evidences the formation of an equimolar protein/drug complex. Low SA content associated with HSA does not affect significantly the structural conformation of the protein and its interaction with resveratrol, whereas high SA content induces conformational changes in the protein, and reduces resveratrol binding affinity. The photostability of resveratrol in the different samples changes in the order: buffer < (high [SA]/HSA) < HSA < (low [SA]/HSA). The results on (SA/HSA)-resveratrol samples highlight the ability of the protein to bind hydrophobic and amphiphilic ligands and to protect from degradation an important antioxidant molecule under biologically relevant conditions.