Enhancing Peroxidase Activity of Cytochrome c by Modulating Interfacial Interaction Forces with Graphene Oxide

Graphene oxide (GO) has drawn worldwide attention in various biomedical fields due to its unique properties, and great progress has been made in the past years. Probing the interaction between GO and proteins, understanding and evaluating potential impact of GO on protein structure and function, is of significant importance for design and optimization of functional interfaces and revealing the bio-effect of GO materials. Cytochromec c (cyt c), one of the key components of respiratory chain, has played important roles in energy generation / consumption and many cellular process including growth, proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis. In this study, by combination of solution chemistry and spectroscopy, we systematically studied the interfacial interaction between GO and cyt c. Results suggest that GO could slightly perturb active site of cyt c, enhancing its peroxidase activity. Structure of active site is obviously changed with elapsed time, which in turn reduces peroxidase activity. Further study ...