Binding of calcium to serum albumin. IV. Effect of temperature and thermodynamics of calcium-albumin interaction

Albumin-Hyaluronan Interactions: Influence of Ionic Composition Probed by Molecular Dynamics

The lubrication mechanism in synovial fluid and joints is not yet fully understood. Nevertheless, intermolecular interactions between various neutral and ionic species including large macromolecular systems and simple inorganic ions are the key to understanding the excellent lubrication performance. An important tool for characterizing the intermolecular forces and their structural consequences is molecular dynamics. Albumin is one of the major components in synovial fluid. Its electrostatic properties, including the ability to form molecular complexes, are closely related to pH, solvation, and the presence of ions. In the context of synovial fluid, it is relevant to describe the possible interactions between albumin and hyaluronate, taking into account solution composition effects. In this study, the influence of Na⁺, Mg²⁺, and Ca²⁺ ions on human serum albumin–hyaluronan interactions were examined using molecular dynamics tools. It was established that the presence of divalent cations, and especially Ca²⁺, contributes mostly to the increase of the affinity between hyaluronan and albumin, which is associated with charge compensation in negatively charged hyaluronan and albumin. Furthermore, the most probable binding sites were structurally and energetically characterized. The indicated moieties exhibit a locally positive charge which enables hyaluronate binding (direct and water mediated).

Size-controlled synthesis of granular polyphosphate nanoparticles at physiologic salt concentrations for blood clotting

Size-controlled granular polyphosphate (PolyP) nanoparticles were synthesized by precipitation in aqueous solutions containing physiological concentrations of calcium and magnesium. We demonstrate using dynamic light scattering (DLS) that the solubility is correlated inversely with PolyP chain length, with very long chain PolyP (PolyP1000+, more than 1000 repeating units) normally found in prokaryotes precipitating much more robustly than shorter chains like those found in human platelet dense granules (PolyP80, range 76-84 repeating units). It is believed that the precipitation of PolyP is a reversible process involving calcium coordination to phosphate monomers in the polymer chain. The particles are stable in aqueous buffer and albumin suspensions on time scales roughly equivalent to catastrophic bleeding events. Transmission electron microscopy images demonstrate that the PolyP nanoparticles are spherical and uniformly electron dense, with a particle diameter of 200-250 nm, closely resembling the content of acidocalcisomes. X-ray elemental analysis further reveals that the P/Ca ratio is 67:32. The granular nanoparticles also manifest promising procoagulant effects, as measured by in vitro clotting tests assaying contact pathway activity.

Chemical surface alteration of biodegradable magnesium exposed to corrosion media

The understanding of corrosion processes of metal implants in the human body is a key problem in modern biomaterial science. Because of the complicated and adjustable in vivo environment, in vitro experiments require the analysis of various physiological corrosion media to elucidate the underlying mechanism of "biological" metal surface modification. In this paper magnesium samples were incubated under cell culture conditions (i.e. including CO(2)) in electrolyte solutions and cell growth media, with and without proteins. Chemical mapping by high-resolution electron-induced X-ray emission spectroscopy and infrared reflection microspectroscopy revealed a complex structure of the formed corrosion layer. The presence of CO(2) in concentrations close to that in blood is significant for the chemistry of the oxidised layer. The presence of proteins leads to a less dense but thicker passivation layer which is still ion and water permeable, as osmolality and weight measurements indicate.

Calcium and thiocyanate interactions with crosslinked albumin microcapsules: influence of the reticulation rate

Ca2+ and SCN- interactions with strongly or lightly crosslinked albumin microcapsules were studied, using 45Ca2+ for a pH range varying from 5.5 to 7.8 and 14SCN- ions for the range 2.15 to 3.0. With strongly crosslinked albumin, the Scatchard plots of equilibrium isotherms indicate a maximum number of binding sites for Ca2+ ions, when N is equal to 12 and an apparent association constant, K' is equal to 7.8 X 10(3) l/mol. For the weakly crosslinked albumin, this constant is equal to 11 X 10(3) l/mol and the variation of calcium absorption with pH has an unusual shape, with a maximum at pH 6.5. The measurement of SCN- ion absorption by lightly crosslinked microcapsules indicates a K' value of 5.4 X 10(3) l/mol and an N value of 7 for pH 2.15. These values are, respectively, 8.3 X 10(3) l/mol and 2 for pH 2.15 when using strongly crosslinked microcapsules.

The effects of pH, calcium and chloride ions on the binding of tolmetin to human serum albumin: circular dichroic, dialysis and fluorometric measurements

The binding of the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, tolmetin (1-methyl-5-p-toluoylpyrrole-2-acetic acid) to human serum albumin (HSA) has been shown by circular dichroism, fluorescence and equilibrium dialysis to be dependent on the N-B conformational change of the albumin. The influence of calcium and chloride ions on the interaction was also investigated using the same techniques. Experiments suggested that calcium ions increased the binding constant of tolmetin to HSA whereas chloride ions decreased it. The displacement study showed that tolmetin caused a significant increase in the affinity of diazepam to HSA whereas it decreased the binding of warfarin to HSA. Tolmetin seems to cause an allosteric change in the diazepam binding site in spite of it sharing a primary site with warfarin.

Influence of temperature on the binding of sodium aurothiosulphate to human serum albumin

The influence of temperature on the binding of aurothiosulphate by human serum albumin was studied in unbuffered solutions at pH 7.4 and ionic strength 0.15 M by means of equilibrium dialysis. It was found that the high affinity association constant was temperature dependent. The thermodynamic characteristics of binding delta G1 degrees less than 0, delta H1 degrees greater than 0 and delta S1 degrees greater than 0 indicated that the binding process was endothermic and entropically driven. It was concluded that electrostatic interaction was predominantly involved in the binding of aurothiosulphate to the high affinity binding site on albumin. This is consistent with the molecular mechanism that the ligand binds as Au+ to a sulfhydryl group of albumin by replacing a hydrogen ion.

Free ionised calcium--a critical survey

It is our aim to summarise and discuss procedures for the evaluation of the concentration of free ionised calcium in serum or plasma. Stress is laid upon the interrelations and relative validity of the most common algebraic expressions to appraise the calcium status. The multitude of formulae proposed in the literature are, by mathematical discussion, reduced to variations on a single theme. A second topic is the direct potentiometric measurement of free ionised calcium concentration. Finally we review the literature on the clinical utility of measuring or calculating the free ionised calcium concentration.