The effect of human serum albumin on ZIF-8 used in drug delivery: structural, linear and nonlinear optical properties

Abstract

Zeolitic Imidazolate Frameworks (ZIF-8) are extremely useful substances that have been utilized in a variety of commercial and medical applications due to their interesting properties. Understanding the properties of ZIF-8 doped human serum albumin with different concentrations can lead to the development of new applications in areas such as sensing, drug delivery, and catalysis. Here, we investigated the extent of interaction between ZIF-8 and HSA by examining the structural, linear, and nonlinear optical properties of ZIF-8@xHSA where x is 2.5, 5, 10 wt%. Scanning electron microscope and Transmission electron microscope images revealed that both ZIF-8 and ZIF-8@10 wt% HSA had regular cubic shapes, with average particle sizes of 38 nm and 49 nm, respectively. The X-ray diffraction shows a crystalline shape for ZIF-8 and ZIF-8@10 wt% HAS. The energy gap of our composite was calculated using the Wemple-Didomenico model, and it exhibited strong concentration-dependent behavior. The Z-scanner was used to investigate the nonlinear properties, which indicated that ZIF-8@10 wt%HSA had a high nonlinear response. As the understanding of this interaction deepens, it is expected that innovative applications in biomedical and pharmaceutical fields will emerge, highlighting the vital connection between HSA and ZIF-8.