Spectroscopic study on the conformation of serum albumin in film state

Protein is a promising material for fabricating the biocompatible films used in the biomedical fields and food industry. Previously, we successfully prepared a water-insoluble albumin film possessing native albumin properties such as resistance to cell adhesion and drug-binding ability. Here, I quantitatively investigated the conformation of albumin in a film state using circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy. The albumin film was prepared by crosslinking albumin with ethylene glycol diglycidyl ether (EGDE). CD measurements of albumin films revealed that approximately 70% of the α-helical structure was retained after film formation. Albumin molecules in the films acquired high stability. The conformation of albumin was completely retained even after heating at 100 °C for 1 h. For comparison, crosslinked albumin film was also prepared using glutaraldehyde (GA). Unlike EGDE-crosslinking, GA-crosslinking induced significant conformational changes in albumin; 46% of the α-helical structure was destroyed in GA-crosslinked albumin films. Cell adhesion studies showed that EGDE-crosslinked albumin film maintained the cell-nonadhesive property inherent in native albumin. This property was lost in GA-crosslinked albumin film, and cells adhesion occurred at a level comparable to that of cell culture dishes. These results indicate that EGDE-crosslinking is a useful method for preparing albumin films in which the native albumin structure and property are retained. The approach described here provides valuable information for creating protein films possessing high functionality.