Search

Mucin is a complex glycoprotein consisting of a wide variety of functional groups that can interact with exogenous agents. The binding to mucin plays a crucial role in drug pharmacokinetics especially in diseases, such as cystic fibrosis (CF), where mucin is overexpressed. In this study, we have investigated the interaction between mucin and several drugs used in CF therapy. Protein-drug interaction was carried out by UV-Vis and fluorescence spectroscopy; quenching mechanism, binding constants, number of binding sites, thermodynamic parameters and binding distance of the interaction were obtained., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The interaction between two mucin types (mucin from porcine stomach - PGM and mucin from bovine submaxillary glands - BSM) and gold nanoparticles (GNPs) of various size (5, 20 and 40 nm) and functionalization (with cysteamine or thioglycolic acid) was studied under physiological conditions, in order to investigate the affinity of the nanoparticles to the proteins. Different methods are employed to monitor the interactions: UV-vis and fluorescence spectroscopy, fluorescence lifetime, circular dichroism and transmission electron microscopy. These studies have shown the formation of a complex between GNPs and both PGM and BSM. This aspect could be of great importance for the use of gold nanoparticles for biomedical purposes in those diseases where qualitative and quantitative mucin anomalies play an essential role in mucus composition and rheology., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The study highlights the balance of the intermolecular forces governing the interaction between drugs and mucin. The interaction strength is expressed as a retention factor k (data retrieved from the literature (Gargano et al., 2014)) obtained by a new bio-affinity chromatographic method in which the stationary phase is based on covalently immobilized mucin (porcine gastric mucin, PGM). A quantitative structure-property relationship (QSPR) between logk and 82 VolSurf+ descriptors was established and mechanistically interpreted. Results evidence that all blocks contribute similarly to the model; moreover, hydrogen bonding donor (HBD) properties of solutes favor the interaction with mucin; and thus, support their detrimental role on drug permeability., (Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier B.V.)