Spectroscopic investigation on the sonodynamic damage to proteins in the presence of berberine in vitro

In this paper, bovine serum albumin (BSA) was selected as a target molecule, and the sonodynamic damage to proteins in the presence of berberine (BER) and its mechanism were studied by means of absorption and fluorescence spectra. The results of hyperchromic effect of absorption spectra, and quenching of intrinsic fluorescence spectra indicated that the ultrasound-induced BSA molecules damage was enhanced by BER. The damage degree of BSA molecules increased with the increase in ultrasonic irradiation time and BER concentration. The results of synchronous fluorescence and three-dimensional fluorescence spectra confirmed that the synergistic effects of ultrasound and BER induced the damage of BSA molecules. The results of oxidation–extraction photometry with several reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavengers indicated that the damage of BSA molecules could be mainly due to the generation of ROS, and 1O2 was the major mediator of the ultrasound-induced BSA molecules damage in the presence of BER.