Probing the interaction of cephalosporin with bovine serum albumin: A structural and comparative perspective

Cephalosporins belong the largest class of antibiotics used in the treatment of a wide range of infectious diseases caused by susceptible organisms. In the present study, we chose two typical antibiotics cefalexin/cefixime based on their structure, and investigated the interaction of cephalexin/cefixime with bovine serum albumin (BSA) using UV–vis absorption spectra, fluorescence spectroscopy, circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy and molecular modeling approaches. Spectroscopic experiments revealed the formation of a BSA ? cefalexin/cefixime complex. The binding parameters calculated using a modified Stern ? Volmer method and the Scatchard method reached 10³–10⁴ L·mol^?1. Thermodynamic parameter studies revealed that binding characteristics by negative enthalpy and positive entropy changes, and electrostatic interactions play a major role. Site marker competitive displacement experiments and molecular modeling approaches demonstrated that cefalexin and cefixime bind with appropriate affinity to site I (subdomain IIA) of BSA. Furthermore, synchronous fluorescence spectra, CD spectra and molecular modeling results indicated that the secondary structure of BSA was changed in the presence of cefalexin and cefixime. Additionally, the effects of metal ions on the BSA ? cefalexin/cefixime system were also assessed.