Synthesis, characterization, and biophysical interaction studies of water-dispersible polypyrrole/polythiophene co-oligomers with bovine serum albumin and human serum albumin: an experimental and theoretical approach

Abstract

The present work reports the synthesis of water-dispersible polypyrrole (WD-PPy) and polythiophene (WD-PTh) copolymers in different weight ratios and their characterization using experimental and theoretical techniques. The copolymers were spectroscopically characterized using experimental ¹³C-NMR, FTIR, and UV-visible studies, and theoretical FTIR and UV-visible studies. The theoretical frequency and UV-visible data were computed using Gaussian 09 software with the functional DFT/B3LYP method and 6-31G(d) basis set. For the first time, biophysical interaction studies were carried out using bovine serum albumin (BSA) and human serum albumin (HSA) for these polymers which are not yet reported in the literature. The results showed strong binding of the co-oligomers with BSA/HSA which could be utilized in designing potent inhibitors and biosensors.