Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 26, 2025

Incorporating Target Protein Structure Flexibility and Dynamics in Computational Drug Discovery Using Ensemble-Based Docking Analysis
Published on: June 20, 2025
Characterizing the binding interactions of sodiumbenzoatewithlysozymeat the molecular level using multi-spectroscopy,
Chengqian Huo1, Guiliang Liu2, Mengchen Xu3
1School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shandong University, China-America CRC for Environment & Health, Shandong Province, 72# Jimo Binhai Road, Qingdao, Shandong, 266237, PR China.
Abstract:
In this paper, we mainly study the interaction mechanism between food additives and antioxidant enzymes. Spectral methods were used to study the effect of sodium benzoate on the structure and function of lysozyme at the molecular level. Multi-spectroscopic results showed that sodium benzoate statically quenched the intrinsic fluorescence of lysozyme, formed complexes with lysozyme, increased the polarity of the aromatic amino acid, effected the molecular skeleton of lysozyme and stretched the secondary structure. The molecular docking and isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) results showed that sodium benzoate entered the depression of the surface of lysozyme molecule both through hydrophobic interaction and hydrogen bond. Sodium benzoate was linked to tryptophan (Trp-63) by a hydrogen bond with a bond length of 2.48 Å. Thermodynamic studies showed that the combination was spontaneous, as the values of the enthalpy change (ΔH) and the entropy change (ΔS) were calculated to be 12.558 kJmol-1 and 25 kJmol-1k-1, respectively. Enzyme activity determination showed that Sodium benzoate increased lysozyme activity by 22.31%. This study can provide experimental support for evaluating the edible safety of sodium benzoate.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
The Equilibrium Binding Constant and Binding Strength
Ligand Binding Sites
Protein-ligand interactions are quite specific; even though numerous potential ligands surround a cellular protein at any given time, only a particular ligand can bind to that protein. Moreover, a ligand binds only to a dedicated area on the surface of the protein, known as the...

