Ellipsometric detection of ferritin adsorption on gold after UV irradiation

Abstract

The regulation of iron in a living organism is extremely important as it can have lethal damage to the organism. Ferritin is an iron-storing protein that plays an essential role in the biochemical reactions and the iron transport of all living organisms. As such, the ferritin can play a key role in diagnosing neurodegenerative and cancer diseases by detecting low quantities of iron. The reason for the study is based on the increased number of skin diseases due to the influence of UV radiation. We study the adsorption properties of the protein Ferritin on a gold surface after UV irradiation using Variable Angle Spectroscopic Ellipsometry (VASE) in situ. Special equipment for irradiation of samples with UV (405 nm) was made. The results obtained show that with increasing irradiation time, the initial thickness of the ferritin proteins decreases, resulting either in an increase in molecular density when iron ions are released or in the deformation of the ferritin proteins. The data show that the methods are applicable for analysis and characterization of adsorption of biomolecules.