Applicability of the extended Derjaguin–Landau–Verwey–Overbeek theory on the adsorption of bovine serum albumin on solid surfaces

Abstract

Protein adsorption is the prerequisite for bacterial attachment and cellular adhesion, which are critical for many biomedical applications. To understand protein adsorption onto substrates, predictive models are generally informative prior to experimental studies. In this study, the extended Derjaguin–Landau–Verwey–Overbeek (XDLVO) theory was employed to determine whether or not it could interpret the protein adsorption behaviors. The experimental results of fluorescein isothiocyanate labeled bovine serum albumin (BSA) adsorbed on six different surfaces: glass, octadecyltrichlorosilane modified glass, 2-[methoxypoly(ethyleneoxy)propyl]trimethoxy-silane (PEG)-modified glass, polystyrene, poly(dimethylsiloxane), and poly(methyl methacrylate) were utilized. The XDLVO interaction energy curves, especially from the contribution of acid–base interactions, obtained using the surface properties of substrates and BSA molecules qualitatively predict/interpret the protein adsorption behaviors on these surfaces. Some derivation of the experimental results from the prediction was noticed for the glass and the PEG-modified glass. When including a hydration layer to the PEG-modified glass surface, the nonfouling result of such surface by proteins was also elucidated by the XDLVO theory.