Electrochemical study of bovine serum albumin damage induced by Fenton reaction using tris (2,2′-bipyridyl) cobalt (III) perchlorate as the electroactive indicator

Oxidative protein damage is the most critical factor implicated in carcinogenesis and other disorders. However, the electrochemical detection of oxidative protein damage and the protections of protein from damage by antioxidants have been reported rarely. In this work, a novel, sensitive and inexpensive method for direct electrochemical detection of bovine serum albumin (BSA) damage in aqueous solutions is described. The simple electrochemical procedure has been constructed on the glassy carbon electrode (GCE) surface by BSA direct adsorption technique. Co(bpy)33+ was used as a redox indicator to monitor BSA damage induced by hydroxyl radical (OH), which was produced from Fenton reaction. The simplest fabrication procedure and the most classic method of free radical production were used to research the protein damage, demonstrating obvious virtues of brachylogy, rigor and precise. The electrochemical behaviors of the underlying electrodes were characterized by differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Ultraviolet–visible (UV–vis) spectroscopy was used to verify the BSA damage with the universal index of the protein carbonyl group content. The optimizations of the Fe2+/H2O2 ratio and incubation time on BSA damage were explored. Moreover, the protections of BSA from damage by antioxidants were investigated. These conclusions demonstrated that the proposed method could be used to detect protein damage induced by Fenton reaction through a simple electrochemical approach.