Electrochemical and Spectrometric Study of GFP-AZT Interaction

In the last 18 years the highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) has been used for the treatment of HIV and consists of the combination of various drugs. The introduction of this type of treatment caused a significant extension of lives of patients and a reduction of side effects. However, the complete recovery of patients with HIV is still impossible. Azidothymidine (AZT) was the first drug used for the treatment of HIV and it is used in a combination with other drugs in HAART. Although the mechanism of effect of this drug is known, the mechanisms of side effects are still not sufficiently clarified. The way how to orient even in these reactions is the use of markers that allow in vivo monitoring of biological processes associated with the drug. As a fluorescent label the green fluorescent protein (GFP) can be used. In this study, we evaluated the link between AZT and GFP by electrochemical methods and also the change of the properties of GFP fluorescence after the binding/intercalating of AZT. We can conclude from the results obtained that the interaction between the drug and GFP takes place, but it does not adversely affect the fluorescent properties of GFP. Therefore, this protein may serve as a suitable fluorescent marker for observation of biological processes