Comparative Structural Studies of Synthetic Metal-Binding Bovine Somatotropin Using Ultraviolet-Visible Electronic Absorption, Circular Dichroism, Fluorescence Emission, and Raman Spectroscopies

Abstract

Metal salts, such as zinc, have been shown to decrease protein solubility so as to provide a plausible sustained release formulation. Furthermore, the stability and solubility of the protein solution in the vehicle may also be enhanced by binding a metal ion to the protein. The focus of this research is to separately introduce copper(II) and zinc into rbSta and to determine the effects of their presence on protein structure using the techniques of optical spectroscopy.