Peroxidase-like Catalytic Activity of Copper-Mediated Protein–Inorganic Hybrid Nanoflowers and Nanofibers of β-Lactoglobulin and α-Lactalbumin: Synthesis, Spectral Characterization, Microscopic Features, and Catalytic Activity

By Atul Gajanan, Chebrolu Pulla Rao

July 28, 2017

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Title

Peroxidase-like Catalytic Activity of Copper-Mediated Protein–Inorganic Hybrid Nanoflowers and Nanofibers of β-Lactoglobulin and α-Lactalbumin: Synthesis, Spectral Characterization, Microscopic Features, and Catalytic Activity

Author

Atul Gajanan, Chebrolu Pulla Rao

Year

2016

Journal

Applied Materials and Interfaces

Abstract

A free Cys-SH-containing protein, β-lactoglobulin (β-LG), and another protein not possessing the same, viz., apo-α-lactoglobulin (apo-α-LA), were used in studies to demonstrate the role of this amino acid, along with its secondary structure, in the formation of a protein dimer and a protein–inorganic hybrid nanoflower and in the creation of the peroxidase-like activity of the nanomaterials produced when the proteins were treated with varying Cu2+ concentration under different pH conditions. An increase in the pH as well as the Cu2+ mole ratio results in increasing dimer formation in case of β-LG due to the presence of free Cys121-SH, while the dimer is not formed in case of apo-α-LA under the same conditions. The role of Cys in the dimer formation has been demonstrated both by MALDI and sodium dodecyl sulfate–polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis studies. Both of the proteins exhibited changes in their secondary structures to different extents as a function of pH, and the structures were stabilized by Cu2+ interactions, as studied by CD and fluorescence spectroscopy. The small and spherical nanoparticles formed at pH 7 with lower equivalents of Cu2+ join together to form larger aggregates at higher equivalents of Cu2+. For the same concentration at pH 9, both the aggregates and the nanoflowers were noticed. However, at pH 12, the Cu2+ binding induces the formation of fibers along with the flowers. Both the nanoflowers and nanofibers exhibited peroxidase-like activity in a catalytic manner. Nanoflowers were also shown to detect phenol in the concentration range from 10 to 200 μM. The copper-induced nanobiomaterial obtained in the case of apo-α-LA also exhibited peroxidase-like activity. Thus, this paper deals with the green synthesis of copper-induced protein (β-LG/apo-α-LA)–inorganic hybrid nanomaterials that are important due to their applications as nanobiomaterials.

Full Article

http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acsami.5b12591

Instrument

J-815

Keywords

Circular dichroism, Secondary structure, Protein denaturation, Ligand binding, Nanostructures, Materials, Biochemistry