Influence of PAMAM Dendrimers on the Human Insulin.

Dendrimers are specific class of polymeric macromolecules with wide spectrum of properties. One of the promising activities of dendrimers involves inhibition of protein fibril formation. Aggregation and fibrillation of insulin occurs in insulin-dependent diabetic patients after repeated administration, due to these processes being very easily triggered by the conditions of drug administration. The aim of this work was to study the influence of various generations PAMAM dendrimers on human insulin zeta potential, secondary structure and dithiotreitol (DTT)-induced aggregation. We observed the dependence between the number of positive charges on the surface of the PAMAM dendrimer and the values of zeta potential. Addition of dendrimers to insulin caused insignificant changes in the secondary structure. There was a small decrease in ellipticity, but it did not result in alterations in the circular dichroism (CD) spectrum shape. Dendrimers neither induced protein aggregation nor inhibited the aggregation process induced by DTT, except for 0.01 mol/l concentration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]