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Published on: August 20, 2012
Characterization of Folic Acid and Poly(amidoamine) Dendrimer Interactions with Folate Binding Protein: A
Pascale R Leroueil, Stassi DiMaggio1, Abigail N Leistra2
1Department of Chemistry, Xavier University , New Orleans, Louisiana 70125, United States.
Abstract:
Atomic force microscopy force-pulling experiments have been used to measure the binding forces between folic acid (FA) conjugated poly(amidoamine) (PAMAM) dendrimers and folate binding protein (FBP). The generation 5 (G5) PAMAM conjugates contained an average of 2.7, 4.7, and 7.2 FA per dendrimer. The most probable rupture force was measured to be 83, 201, and 189 pN for G5-FA2.7, G5-FA4.7, and G5-FA7.2, respectively. Folic acid blocking experiments for G5-FA7.2 reduced the frequency of successful binding events and increased the magnitude of the average rupture force to 274 pN. The force data are interpreted as arising from a network of van der Waals and electrostatic interactions that form between FBP and G5 PAMAM dendrimer, resulting in a binding strength far greater than that expected for an interaction between FA and FBP alone.
