On the molecular interaction between albumin and ibuprofen: An AFM and QCM-D study

The adsorption of proteins on surfaces often results in a change of their structural behavior and consequently, a loss of bioactivity. One experimental method to study interactions on a molecular level is single molecular force spectroscopy that permits to measure forces down to the pico-newton range. In this work, the binding force between human serum albumin (HSA), covalently immobilized on glutaraldehyde modified gold substrates, and ibuprofen sodium salt was studied by means of single molecular force spectroscopy. First of all, a protocol was established to functionalize atomic force microscopy (AFM) tips with ibuprofen. The immobilization protocol was additionally tested by quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (QCM-D) and contact angle measurements. AFM was used to characterize the adsorption of HSA on gold substrates, which lead to a packed monolayer of thickness slightly lower than the reported value in solution. Finally, single molecule spectroscopy results were used to characterize the binding force between albumin and ibuprofen and calculate the distance of the transition state (0.6 nm) and the dissociation rate constant (0.055 s(-1)). The results might indicate that part of the adsorbed protein still preserves its functionality upon adsorption.