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A single glass conical nanopore channel modified with 6-carboxymethyl-chitosan to study the binding of bovine serum albumin due to hydrophobic and hydrophilic interactions

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Abstract

A single glass conical nanopore functionalized with 6-carboxymethyl-chitosan (CMC) was applied to study the binding of bovine serum albumin (BSA) because of both hydrophobic and hydrophilic interactions. The interactions between the CMC-modified nanopore and BSA within the confined space were studied via the ionic current passing the nanopore by measuring the current–voltage (I–V) curves in 10 mM KCl solution. The hydrophilicity of CMC was varied by adjusting the pH values. Significant changes in the ionic current were observed following attachment of BSA. The relative contributions of hydrophobic and hydrophilic interactions depend on whether solutions are acidic or basic. A linear relationship exists between the concentration of BSA (up to 500 nM) and the ionic current at pH 12. This suggests a potential application of the method for sensing proteins via sweep voltammetry on a nanoscale. The nanodevice described here can be made reversible by ultrasonication to remove the attached BSA molecules.

A single glass conical nanopore functionalized with 6-carboxymethyl-chitosan (CMC) was used to study the hydrophobic/hydrophilic association with BSA molecules both in acid and basic conditions by using sweep voltammetry. A linear relationship between the concentration of additional BSA and the ionic current of the nanopore at pH 12 was achieved, which suggests a promising application in biosensing of proteins.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful for the financial support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant nos. 21375111, 21127005 and 20975084), the 973 Program of China (2013CB933703), and the Funds of the Ministry of Education of China (Grant no. 20110121110011, PCSIRT IRT13036).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry and the MOE Key Laboratory of Spectrochemical Analysis & Instrumentation, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361005, China

    Sheng-Lin Cai, Li-Xiang Zhang, Kai Zhang, Yu-Bin Zheng, Shuang Zhao & Yao-Qun Li

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  1. Sheng-Lin Cai
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  2. Li-Xiang Zhang
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  3. Kai Zhang
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  4. Yu-Bin Zheng
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  6. Yao-Qun Li
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Correspondence to Yao-Qun Li.

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Cai, SL., Zhang, LX., Zhang, K. et al. A single glass conical nanopore channel modified with 6-carboxymethyl-chitosan to study the binding of bovine serum albumin due to hydrophobic and hydrophilic interactions. Microchim Acta 183, 981–986 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00604-015-1527-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00604-015-1527-3

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