Interaction of benzothiadiazides with human serum albumin studied by dialysis and spectroscopic methods.

The interaction of a series of benzothiadiazides with human serum albumin (HSA) was investigated by equilibrium dialysis (ED) and spectroscopic methods including circular dichroism (CD). The primary binding site of benzothiadiazides was designated site II, the diazepam site on the HSA molecule, as indicated by displacement experiments using different site-selective probes. Tyrosine and lysine amino acid residues were probably involved in the binding site of these compounds to HSA. Both electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions were found to play a role in the binding of these compounds to HSA. Among the compounds tested, chlorothiazide had the highest affinity (K1 = 5.5 x 10(4) M-1, K2 = 5.8 x 10(3) M-1). The primary binding affinity of the compounds for HSA was of the order: chlorothiazide > cyclopenthiazide > polythiazide > ethiazide > trichlormethiazide = methyclothiazde > hydrochlorothiazide. Binding was insensitive to the N-B transition of HSA. The binding site is proposed to consist of a cationic site on the surface of the HSA molecular with a hydrophobic crevice to accommodate the aromatic ring of the compounds. Positions 3 and 7 of the benzothiadiazide molecule is thought to affect the binding affinity to HSA.