Binding interaction of atorvastatin with bovine serum albumin: Spectroscopic methods and molecular docking

The interaction of atorvastatin with bovine serum albumin (BSA) was investigated using multi-spectroscopic methods and molecular docking technique for providing important insight into further elucidating the store and transport process of atorvastatin in the body and the mechanism of action and pharmacokinetics. The experimental results revealed that the fluorescence quenching mechanism of BSA induced atorvastatin was a combined dynamic and static quenching. The binding constant and number of binding site of atorvastatin with BSA under simulated physiological conditions (pH=7.4) were 1.41 × 10(5) M(-1) and about 1 at 310K, respectively. The values of the enthalpic change (ΔH(0)), entropic change (ΔS(0)) and Gibbs free energy (ΔG(0)) in the binding process of atorvastatin with BSA at 310K were negative, suggesting that the binding process of atorvastatin and BSA was spontaneous and the main interaction forces were van der Waals force and hydrogen bonding interaction. Moreover, atorvastatin was bound into the subdomain IIA (site I) of BSA, resulting in a slight change of the conformation of BSA.