Systematical investigation of in vitro interaction of InP/ZnS quantum dots with human serum albumin by multispectroscopic approach.
Cadmium-free quantum dots (QDs) have attracted great attention in biological and biomedical applications due to their less content of toxic metals, but their potential toxicity investigations on molecular biology level are rarely involved. Since few studies have addressed whether InP/ZnS QDs could bind and alter the structure and function of human serum albumin (HSA), in vitro interaction between InP/ZnS QDs and HSA was systematically characterized by multispectroscopic approaches. InP/ZnS QDs could quench the intrinsic fluorescence of HSA via static mode. The binding site of InP/ZnS QDs was mainly located at subdomain IIA of HSA. Some thermodynamic parameters suggested that InP/ZnS QDs interacted with HSA mainly through electrostatic interactions. As further revealed by three-dimensional spectrometry, FT-IR spectrometry and circular dichroism technique, InP/ZnS QDs caused more global and local conformational change of HSA than CdSe/ZnS QDs, which illustrated the stronger binding interaction and higher potential toxicity of InP/ZnS QDs on biological function of HSA. Our results offer insights into the in vitro binding mechanism of InP/ZnS QDs with HSA and provide important information for possible toxicity risk of these cadmium-free QDs to human health.
College of Chemistry and Material Science, Guangxi Teachers Education University, Nanning, 530001, PR China.
Shan
S
Huang
College of Chemistry and Material Science, Guangxi Teachers Education University, Nanning, 530001, PR China.
Hangna
H
Qiu
College of Chemistry and Material Science, Guangxi Teachers Education University, Nanning, 530001, PR China; State Key Laboratory of Virology, College of Chemistry and Molecular Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, PR China.
Yi
Y
Liu
College of Chemistry and Material Science, Guangxi Teachers Education University, Nanning, 530001, PR China.
Chusheng
C
Huang
College of Chemistry and Material Science, Guangxi Teachers Education University, Nanning, 530001, PR China.
Jiarong
J
Sheng
College of Chemistry and Material Science, Guangxi Teachers Education University, Nanning, 530001, PR China.
Jianguo
J
Cui
College of Chemistry and Material Science, Guangxi Teachers Education University, Nanning, 530001, PR China.
Wei
W
Su
College of Chemistry and Material Science, Guangxi Teachers Education University, Nanning, 530001, PR China; State Key Laboratory of Virology, College of Chemistry and Molecular Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, PR China. Electronic address: qi.xiao@whu.edu.cn.
Qi
Q
Xiao
D006801:Humans; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D007204:Indium / Q000737:chemistry*; D045663:Quantum Dots; D012709:Serum Albumin / Q000378:metabolism*; D013050:Spectrometry, Fluorescence; D013056:Spectrophotometry, Ultraviolet; D013440:Sulfides / Q000737:chemistry*; D017967:Zinc Compounds / Q000737:chemistry*
D012709:Serum Albumin; D013440:Sulfides; D017967:Zinc Compounds; D007204:Indium; C031238:zinc sulfide
Human serum albumin; InP/ZnS quantum dots; Molecular interaction; Multispectroscopic approach