Aggregation Properties of Albumin in Interacting with Magnetic Fluids

In this study, interactions of Fe₃O₄ magnetic nanoparticles with serum albumin biomolecules in aqueous solutions were considered. The studies were conducted with the laser correlation spectroscopy and optical analysis of dehydrated films. It was shown that the addition of magnetite to an albumin solution at low concentrations of up to 10^-6 g/L led to the formation of aggregates with sizes of up to 300 nm in the liquid phase and an increase in the number of spiral structures in the dehydrated films, which indicated an increase in their stability. With a further increase in the magnetite concentration in the solution (from 10^-4 g/L), the magnetic particles stuck together and to albumin, thus forming aggregates with sizes larger than 1000 nm. At the same time, the formation of morphological structures in molecular films was disturbed, and a characteristic decrease in their stability occurred. Most stable films were formed at low concentrations of magnetic nanoparticles (less than 10^-4 g/L) when small albumin-magnetic nanoparticle aggregates were formed. These results are important for characterizing the interaction processes of biomolecules with magnetic nanoparticles and can be useful for predicting the stability of biomolecular films with the inclusion of magnetite particles.