Structural Stability of Azurin Encapsulated in Sol-Gel Glasses: A Fluorometric Study

In this study we investigated the structural features of azurin, a blue copper-containing enzyme, upon encapsulation in tetramethoxysilane derived sol-gel glasses. Fluorescence spectroscopy revealed that gelation of inorganic networks does not affect the protein tertiary structure and only after two months solvent phase loss altered protein stability. In case of organically modified sol-gel matrices, the protein stability was reduced after encapsulation into hosts modified by adding 3-Mercaptopropyl-trimethoxysilane, 3-Glycidyloxypropyl-trimethoxysilane and Trimethoxy octylsilane, while it was found to be enhanced in networks doped with 3-Trimethoxysilyl-propyl methacrylate and 3-Aminopropyl-trimethoxysilane. In order to better investigate the effects of silica glasses on azurin stability, unfolding experiments of the protein, in solution or entrapped, were also performed in the presence of both methanol and guanidinium hydrochloride (GdHCl). Our results suggest that the matrix protects azurin against the aggregation induced by alcohol, and that the free energy change value upon unfolding by GdHCl was lower than the value calculated for azurin in solution and was dependent on the surface chemistry of silica matrix.