Investigation of the interaction of a polyamine-modified flavonoid with bovine serum albumin (BSA) by spectroscopic methods and molecular simulation

The interaction between BSA and compound 1 was studied by UV–vis, fluorescence and circular dichroism spectroscopy under physiological conditions (pH = 7.4). Molecular docking and molecular dynamics analyses were also performed. The results showed that compound 1 could bind to BSA. When compound 1 bound to BSA, there were a series of changes in the spectral properties of BSA, which were an enhancement effect of the UV–Vis spectrum of BSA, fluorescence quenching and a weak conformational change in the CD spectrum. The results of the fluorescence experiments at 298, 303 and 310 K showed that fluorescence quenching caused by the addition of compound 1 to BSA was generally static quenching accompanied by a dynamic quenching process, which was shown by the quenching constants of 2.010 × 104 L∙M−1, 1.850 × 104 L∙M−1, and 1.970 × 104 L∙M−1 at the three different temperatures, respectively. From the obtained binding constants and thermodynamic parameters, it was found that hydrophobic forces played an important role in the binding process of 1 to BSA. The results of synchronous fluorescence and three-dimensional fluorescence showed that compound 1 caused a weak conformational change in BSA. Docking results showed that compound 1 was located at binding site II of bovine serum albumin protease. In addition, the flavonoid moiety of compound 1 contributes to the hydrophobic binding of compound 1 to BSA. The results of molecular dynamics, including the root-mean-square deviation (RMSD) and RMS fluctuation (RMSF) values, showed that the binding of compound 1 to BSA did not cause a significant conformational change in BSA. The interaction between BSA and compound 1 was studied by spectroscopy under physiological conditions. Their molecular simulation was also investigated. [Display omitted] •Polyamine conjugates could bind to BSA by mainly hydrophobic forces.•Compound 1 could cause the weak conformational alteration of BSA.•The fluorescent quenching mechanism is a static one accompanied by dynamic quenching.•Molecular simulation showed that that compound 1 produced little influence on the conformational changes in BSA.