Mechanism of immunoglobulin G adsorption on polystyrene microspheres

The adsorption of polyclonal immunoglobulin G (IgG) on negatively charged polystyrene microparticle suspension (latex) was studied by using the Laser Doppler Velocimetry (LDV) measurements. Using this technique, the dependence of the electrophoretic mobility of particles on the IgG concentration in the suspension was measured for various ionic strengths and pH 3.5. The increase in the electrophoretic mobility was quantitatively interpreted in terms of the 3D electrokinetic model. On the other hand, the maximum coverage of IgG on latex was determined using the depletion method based on AFM imaging. It was shown that IgG adsorption was irreversible and that its maximum coverage on the microspheres increased from 1.4mgm(-2) for 0.001M NaCl to 2.0mgm(-2) for 0.15M NaCl. This was interpreted in terms of reduced electrostatic repulsion among adsorbed molecules. The stability of IgG monolayers on the particles was confirmed in separate experiments where changes in its electrophoretic mobility were monitored over prolonged time periods. Additionally, the acid-base properties of the IgG monolayers on latex were determined in pH cycling experiments. The isoelectric point of the IgG monolayers on the microspheres was 4.8. The results obtained in this work indicate that basic physicochemical characteristics of IgG can be acquired via electrophoretic mobility measurements using microgram quantities of the protein.