Light scattering studies of the binding of bovine serum albumin to a cationic polyelectrolyte

Poly(dimethyldiallylammonium chloride) (PDMDAAC) exhibits a strong electrostatic interaction with bovine serum albumin (BSA) at pH 8.0 in 0.16M NaCl. Electrophoretic, dynamic, and static light scattering suggest that the mode of binding of BSA to PDMDAAC depends upon the weight concentration ratio (r) of BSA to PDMDAAC. When r is smaller than ca. 10, the system exhibits characteristics of cooperative binding, in that the BSA molecules are inhomogeneously distributed among the polymer chains, and free PDMDAAC molecules coexist with complex. When r reaches ca. 10, the amount of free PDMDAAC is too small to be observed. Further increase in r leads to a secondary binding process along with an increase in the amount of free protein. Hydrophobic interactions among the bound BSA are proposed as the driving force for the cooperative binding.