Biophysical Interaction Specificity of Naringenin Functionalized Silver Nanoparticles with Human Serum Albumin

The natural drug, Naringenin (Nar) based synthesis of drug-functionalized silver nanoparticles (AgNPs), has gained much attention in biomedicine owing to its unique optical and therapeutic properties. The present study deals with the biosynthesis of drug-functionalized AgNPs using Naringenin as a capping agent. Further characterization of Naringenin-AgNPs (Nar-AgNPs) was done by a combination of FTIR, XRD & TEM analysis. The TEM analysis revealed that most of the Nar-AgNPs attained a spherical morphology of around 30 nm. The mode of interaction between Nar-AgNPs with human serum albumin (HSA) was explored using a series of spectroscopic, calorimetric and CD analysis. The thermodynamic kinetics, including the binding energy, binding stoichiometry and thermal variations coupled with the AgNPs-HSA complexation, was also evaluated by ITC. The fluorescence spectroscopic study revealed that the intrinsic fluorescence of HSA was significantly quenched upon the binding of Nar-AgNPs. The minor local conformational alterations attained by the secondary structure of HSA when being complexed with Nar-AgNPs were further explored by CD spectral analysis. The comprehensive and better understanding of Nar-AgNPs interactions with medically significant plasma protein, HSA, threw new light towards drug delivery thereby suggesting its diverse applications in nano medicine.