Fluorescence quenching of bovine serum albumin.

The fluorescence emission spectra and 3D fluorescence spectra of bovine serum albumin (BSA) in cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) reversed micelles were affected by the microenvironment. Blue shifts of the fluorescence emission peaks were found when BSA was present in CTAB reversed micelles. The fluorescence intensity changed with the water content. Similar changes in the peak regions of the 3D fluorescence spectra were also observed. CdS nanoparticles prepared in CTAB reversed micelles quenched the fluorescence of BSA significantly. The fluorescence of BSA was more effectively quenched by negative CdS nanoparticles than by positive or neutral CdS ones. The quenching degree increased linearly with increasing the concentration of negative CdS nanoparticles over the range of 5.0 x 10(-6) - 3.0 x 10(-5) mol L(-1). The quenching mechanism is discussed and the quenching constant is 1.32 x 10(4) L mol(-1).