Molecular dynamics simulation of heavy metal ion binding to β-Lactoglobulin and 7S soybean globulin

Анотація

Industrialization and rapid urban development have drastically increased heavy metal pollution in water sources worldwide. Even minimal exposure to these metals can pose severe health risks, affecting different systems in the human body. Biosorption is currently considered one of the most efficient and inexpensive methods for removing heavy metals from contaminated water using biomass as sorbents. Protein-based nanomaterials have emerged as highly promising biosorbents for heavy metal adsorption due to their diverse amino acid functional groups demonstrating exceptional metal-binding capabilities. Numerous studies demonstrated the effectiveness of whey and soybean proteins in formulating protein-based nanomaterials for heavy metal removal. However, to the best of our knowledge, a gap exists in understanding the intermolecular interactions between heavy metal ions and proteins in the various proteins-based nanomaterials. The study of the metal-protein interactions is an important step in the development of protein-based nanomaterials for heavy metal sorption.