Protein Adsorption to Multi-Component Glasses

Abstract

The adsorption of human serum albumin (HSA) to sodium silicate, soda lime silicate (SLS), and sodium aluminosilicate (SAS) glass microspheres was investigated using sodiumdodecylsulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) in conjunction with a colloidal silver stain for visualization. The 30 Na2O·70 SiO2 composition could not be evaluated due to an apparent chemical interference that occurred during silver staining. This inhibitory effect was attributed to the extensive corrosion that occurred during the protein elution and caused an elevation in the pH of the solution. The remaining glass compositions were sufficiently durable for further study. The HSA adsorption capacity of SLS glass microspheres containing 70 and 80 mol% SiO2 increased as CaO was substituted for Na2O. An abrupt decrease in the HSA adsorption capacity was observed for SLS glasses containing 60 mol% SiO2. A similar trend was observed for the SAS glass microspheres, although the SAS glasses adsorbed less HSA than the SLS glasses containing equivalent molar percentages of SiO2. The initial increase in HSA adsorption capacity for SLS and SAS glasses containing 70 and 80 mol% SiO2 was attributed to the introduction of positive charges into the glass surfaces via Ca2+ and Al3+ cations. The decrease in HSA adsorption capacity for SLS and SAS glasses containing 60 mol% SiO2 may be due to an enhanced affinity between the glasses and HSA, resulting in a “flattened” conformation that limits the total accessible area for adsorption.