Impact of Synthesized AuNPs from Crocin Against Aggregation and Conformational Change in α-Lactalbumin

Numerous neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer diseases are characterized by the abnormal deposition of proteins in the brain. Inhibition or attenuation of the formation of protein aggregates is considered as a potential approach to cure these overwhelming illnesses. Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) have been extensively used in biomedical application including drug delivery, photothermal and photodynamic therapy, bio-imaging and other biological activities. The present study examines the effect of different concentrations of crocin-functionalized AuNPs from crocin on the aggregation of alpha-lactalbumin (alpha-LA). The results showed that aggregation of alpha-LA decreased by green synthesized AuNPs in a concentration-dependent manner, which has been proved by comparative analysis of the data obtained using, light scattering, thioflavin T (ThT) binding assay, fluorescence study, circular dichroism spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy and SDS PAGE. The inhibitory effects of crocin-functionalized AuNPs may be due to the absorption of protein on the surface of nanoparticle and consequently preventing hydrophobic interactions and amyloid fibril formation and/or facilitate the refolding of protein into native like structure. Another possibility is to stabilize the protein structure due to inaccessibility of the denaturant agent. Thus, results of this study show that biosynthesized AuNPs mediated by crocin has a potential ability to inhibit pathological protein aggregation and/or degrade already existing aggregates and can be a promising approach in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases.

Automated summary

The study investigated the effects of crocin-functionalized gold nanoparticles on protein aggregation, showing a potential inhibitory role in preventing or reducing aggregation. This inhibition may be attributed to the absorption of proteins on the nanoparticle surface, preventing aggregation or promoting protein refolding.