Adsorption Kinetics and Binding Studies of Protein Quantum Dots Interaction: A Spectroscopic Approach

Protein Quantum dots interaction is crucial to investigate for better understanding of the biological interactions of QDs. Here in, the model protein Bovine serum albumin (BSA) was used to evaluate the process of protein QDs interaction and adsorption on QDs surface. The modified Stern-Volmer quenching constant (Ka), number of binding sites (n) at different temperatures (298 308 and 318 K ± 1) and corresponding thermodynamic parameters (ΔG < 0, ΔH < 0, and ΔS > 0) were calculated. The quenching constant (Ks) and number of binding sites (n) is found to be inversely proportional to temperature. It signified that static quenching mechanism is dominant over dynamic quenching. The standard free energy change (ΔG < 0) implies that the binding process is spontaneous, while the enthalpy change (ΔH < 0) suggest that the binding of QDs to BSA is an enthalpy-driven process. The standard entropy change (ΔS > 0) suggest that hydrophobic force played a pivotal role in the interaction process. The adsorption process were assessed and evaluated by pseudofirst-order, pseudosecond-order kinetic model, and intraparticle diffusion model.