Monitoring local unfolding of bovine serum albumin during denaturation using steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy.

In a previous report (J. Fluoresc. 16, 153, 2006) we studied the chaotropically induced denaturation of Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA) using the fluorescence decay kinetics at different stages in the denaturation of BSA by guanidinium hydrochloride (GuHCl). In this work, we gain a more detailed insight into the BSA denaturation process by investigating the thermodynamics of the process. Structural changes were monitored spectrophotometrically via the intrinsic protein fluorescence from tryptophan residues, and the extrinsic fluorescence from 1,8-anilinonaphthalene sulphonate (ANS). ANS tends to locate in a variety of binding sites in BSA which are located in different domains, and these can be selectively populated using different, 1:1 and 1:10 molar ratios of BSA to ANS. The data from steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy were analyzed using thermodynamic two-state and three-state models and the lifetime data clearly indicated the presence of an intermediate state during denaturation. A global analysis using non-linear regression gave a DeltaG(H(2)O,D)(0) = 6.7 kcal x mol(-1) for the complete unfolding of the BSA-ANS complexes, and a DeltaG(H(2)O,I) = 0.9 kcal x mol(-1) for the first step to the intermediate. Therefore, the unfolding energy of the intermediate, which appears mostly at intermediate GuHCl concentrations (1.0 to 1.5 M), to the denatured state, is 5.8 kcal x mol(-1). The lifetime analysis of the BSA-ANS complexes also shows clearly that there are differences in stability of the BSA domains, with domain III unfolding first at low GuHCl concentrations (<1.5 M).