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The molecular recognition of polyoxometalates by human serum albumin is studied using two different polyoxometalates (POMs) at pH 7.5. The results are compared with those obtained at pH 3.5 and 9.0. At pH 7.5, both POMs strongly interact with the protein with different binding behaviors. The Keggin shaped POM, [H(2)W(12)O(40)](6-) (H2W12), specifically binds the protein, forming a complex with a 1:1 stoichiometry with Ka = 2.9 x 10(6) M(-1). The binding constant decreased dramatically with the increase of the ionic strength, thus indicating a mostly electrostatic binding process. Isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) experiments show that the binding is an enthalpically driven exothermic process. For the wheel shaped POM [NaP(5)W(30)O(110)](14-) (P5W30), there are up to five binding sites on the protein. Increasing the ionic strength changes the binding behavior significantly, leading to a simple exothermic process, with several binding sites. Competitive binding experiments indicate that the two POMs share one common binding site. In addition, they show the existence of another important binding site for P5W30. The two POMs exhibit different binding dependences on the pH. The combination of the experimental results with the knowledge of the surface map of the protein in its N-B conformation transition domain leads to the proposal for the probable binding site of POMs. The present work reveals a protein conformation change upon P5W30 binding, a new feature not explicitly documented in previous studies.

As a step toward the elucidation of the mechanistic pathways governing the known bioactivity of polyoxometalates (POMs), two representative molecules of this class of chemicals, the wheel-shaped [NaP(5)W(30)O(110)]14- (P(5)W(30)) and the Keggin-type anion [H(2)W(12)O(40)]6- (H(2)W(12)), are shown, by two independent techniques, to interact with the fatty-acid-free human serum albumin (HSA). The excited-state lifetime of the single tryptophan molecule of this protein is dramatically decreased by the binding. The quenching mechanism is found to constitute the first example of energy transfer between HSA and POMs. Such molecular recognition is believed to be a key step for subsequent evolution of the systems. Circular dichroism (CD) was used to assess the structural effects of POM binding on HSA and to confirm the interaction revealed by fluorescence studies. CD experiments showed that the two POMs have different effects on the secondary structure of the protein. Binding P(5)W(30) partially unfolds the protein whereas H(2)W(12) has no remarkable effect on the structure of the protein.

The polyoxometalate (NH(4))(6)H(2)(CeMo(12)O(42)).9H(2)O (abbreviated as Ce(IV)Mo(12)) was synthesized, and its Ce(III) form was obtained by exhaustive electrochemical reduction. Both forms are fairly stable in pH 0.0 media. This stability decreases when the pH increases. The Ce(IV) species, in which the central metal is in the f(0) electronic configuration, is found to fluoresce, a feature that is only straightforwardly explained with the Ce(III) state. As the results of a series of experiments converge to confirm the stability of Ce(IV)Mo(12) in the media studied, a suggested rationale is that the emission originates from a higher-energy ligand-to-metal charge transfer and follows a scheme which is ultimately equivalent to the classical metal-centered fluorescence of Ce(III). Detailed studies of the influences of pH and ionic strength were carried out and suggest that protonated and/or ion-paired assemblies are the fluorescent species. A reproducible increase of the fluorescence intensity of Ce(IV)Mo(12) as a function of time was also observed.