Hemoglobin Denaturation Caused by Surfactants

The properties of hemoglobin denaturation caused by two anionic surfactants (sodium dodecylsulfate and sodium lauroylmethyltaurate) were examined using spectrophotometry (multi-plate reader), circular dichroism (CD) and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), and their denaturating action on hemoglobin and sorption to it were examined by various methods. Correlation and factorial analyses were applied to the experimental data and the following results were obtained : (1) High correlations were found among sorption, denaturation and α-helix content and the random structure of hemoglobin. (2) The α-helix of hemoglobin is randomized as the surfactants denature hemoglobin. (3) Factorial analysis indicates that there are two factors involved in hemoglobin denaturation, one related to the destruction of the α-helix and the other related to a change in the β-structure. These two factors are related to change in the environment around the heme group. (4) Destruction of the α-helix seems to be one of the causes of the eye irritation produced by anionic surfactants.