Studies on interaction of colloidal Ag nanoparticles with Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA)

Biofunctionalization of noble metal nanoparticles like Ag, Au is essential to obtain biocompatibility for specific biomedical applications. Silver nanoparticles are being increasingly used in bio-sensing applications owing to excellent optoelectronic properties. Among the serum albumins, the most abundant proteins in plasma, a wide range of physiological functions of Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA) has made it a model system for biofunctionalization. In absence of adequate prior reports, this study aims to investigate the interaction between silver nanoparticles and BSA. The interaction of BSA [0.05–0.85% concentrations] with Ag nanoparticles [50 ppm concentration] in aqueous dispersion was studied through UV–vis spectral changes, morphological and surface structural changes. At pH 7, which is more than the isoelectric point of BSA, a decrease in absorbance at plasmon peak of uninteracted nanoparticles (425 nm) was noted till 0.45% BSA, beyond that a blue shift towards 410 nm was observed. The blue shift may be attributed to enhanced electron density on the particle surfaces. Increasing pH to 12 enhanced the blue shift further to 400 nm. The conformational changes in BSA at alkaline pH ranges and consequent hydrophobic interactions also played an important role. The equilibrium adsorption data fitted better to Freundlich isotherm compared to Langmuir curve. The X-ray diffraction study revealed complete coverage of Ag nanoparticles by BSA. The scanning electron microscopic study of the interacted nanoparticles was also carried out to decipher morphological changes. This study established that tailoring the concentration of BSA and pH of the interaction it was possible to reduce aggregation of nanoparticles. Biofunctionalized Ag nanoparticles with reduced aggregation will be more amenable towards bio-sensing applications.