Calculation of the Effective Macromolecular Radii of Human Serum Albumin from the Shear Viscosity Data for Its Aqueous Solutions

Abstract

The Malomuzh–Orlov theory is used to analyze the experimental shear viscosity data obtained for aqueous solutions of human serum albumin (HSA) at pH = 7.0 in wide temperature and concentration intervals, which allowed the effective radii of HSA macromolecules to be calculated. It is shown that three intervals of the effective molecular radius of HSA with different behaviors can be distinguished in a temperature interval of 278–318 K: 1) below the crossover concentration, the effective molecular radius of HSA remains constant; 2) in the interval from the crossover concentration to about 10 wt%, the effective molecular radius of HSA in the aqueous solution nonlinearly decreases; and 3) at concentrations of 10.2–23.8 wt%, the effective radius of HSA macromolecules linearly decreases, as the concentration grows. The assumption is made that the properties of water molecules in the solution bulk play a crucial role in the dynamics of HSA macromolecules at the vital concentrations of HSA in the solutions. The role of water near the surface of HSA macromolecules and the corresponding changes of its physical properties have been discussed.