Spectroscopic studies on the interaction between 3,4,5-trimethoxybenzoic acid and bovine serum albumin

The interaction between 3,4,5-trimethoxybenzoic acid (TMBA) and bovine serum albumin (BSA) was studied by fluorescence and UV-vis absorption spectroscopy. In the mechanism discussion, it was proved that the fluorescence quenching of BSA by TMBA is a result of the formation of TMBA-BSA complex. Quenching constants were determined using the Stern-Volmer equation to provide a measure of the binding affinity between TMBA and BSA. The thermodynamic parameters Delta H, Delta G, Delta S at different temperatures were calculated, and electrostatic interactions play an important role to stabilize the complex. The distance r between donor (BSA) and acceptor (TMBA) was obtained according to fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET). (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.