Study on the interaction between pelargonidin-3-O-glucoside and bovine serum albumin using spectroscopic, transmission electron microscopy and molecular modeling techniques.

The aim of this study is to evaluate the binding behavior between pelargonidin-3-O-glucoside (P3G) and bovine serum albumin (BSA) using multi-spectroscopic, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and molecular docking methods under physiological conditions. Fluorescence spectroscopy and time-resolved fluorescence showed that the fluorescence of BSA could be quenched remarkably by P3G via a static quenching mechanism, and there is a single class of binding site on BSA. In addition, the thermodynamic functions ΔH and ΔS were -21.69 kJ/mol and 24.46 J/mol/K, indicating that an electrostatic interaction was a main acting force. The distance between BSA and P3G was 2.74 nm according to Förster's theory, illustrating that energy transfer occurred. In addition, the secondary structure of BSA changed with a decrease in the α-helix content from 66.2% to 64.0% as seen using synchronous fluorescence, UV/vis, circular dichroism and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopies, whereas TEM images showed that P3G led to BSA aggregation and fibrillation. Furthermore, site marker competitive experiments and molecular docking indicated that P3G could bind with subdomain IIA of BSA. The calculated results of the equilibrium fraction showed that the concentration of free P3G in plasma was high enough to be stored and transported from the circulatory system to its target sites to provide therapeutic effects.