The study of the quenching mechanism of hemoglobin by curcumin in nanoemulsion

Steady state fluorescence spectroscopy was used to study the mechanism of electron transfer reaction between hemoglobin and curcumin (biologically active molecules) in nanoemulsion. Nanoemulsion is a thermodynamically stable heterogeneous system made-up of water, oil and a dispersing agent, usually a surfactant and a cosurfactant in appropriate ratios. The reaction is postulated as activation controlled and the requisite energies: Gibb’s free energy, ΔGo, (1.317 eV), the solvent reorganization energy, λ, (0.76 eV), the activation energy, ΔG±, (1.02 eV) and its attendant first order rate constant, kact, (1.68 x 1011/s) were determined. They were used to formulate a plausible electron transfer mechanism.