Investigations of effects of environmental factors in unfolding/refolding pathway of proteins on 8-anilino-1-naphthalene-sulfonic acid (ANS) fluorescence

The effects of various environmental factors in unfolding/refolding pathway of proteins on ANS fluorescence were investigated. In phosphate buffer of pH 7.4, ANS bound cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (CTMAB) and resulted in significant increase of ANS fluorescence and a sudden blue-shift in emission maximum wavelength. Sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) caused less increase in ANS fluorescence and less blue-shift in emission maximum wavelength than CTMAB and Tween 20. Tween 20, urea, polyethylene glycol 8000 (PEG 8000) and glycerol which contains hydrophobic groups also enhanced ANS fluorescence and caused their emission maximum wavelength blue-shift. For guanidine hydrochloride (GdmCl), due to its shorter hydrophobic chain, it caused less increase in ANS fluorescence and less decrease in emission maximum wavelength than CTMAB although GdmCl also has a positive charge. The results demonstrated the need for caution in interpreting enhancement of ANS fluorescence as an evidence for the existence of partially folded protein intermediates.