Optimising processing parameters for immobilisation of protein on graphene oxide

Immobilisation of protein on a support material preserves its activity and stability. The properties of the support such as surface area and abundance of functional groups, play a major role in the attachment of protein to the substrate. The physical and chemical attachment of bovine serum albumin (BSA) as a model protein onto graphene oxide (GO) as a substrate have been investigated in this research. The adsorption efficiency of BSA to synthesized GO in both acidic and neutral media was greater than 70%. However, BSA demonstrated stronger attachment to graphene oxide in acidic environment (pH=4). In addition to experimental studies, the preferred interaction site on BSA with lowest binding energy and the suitable design for the structure of GO have been explored by molecular docking.