Effect of ZnO#ZnS QDs heterojunctures on the stilbenes–plasma proteins interactions

Zero-dimensional nanostructures such as ZnO#ZnS QDs heterojunctures (QDHJs) are green nanoparticles and have gained a tremendous amount of attention. However, very little information is available on the effects of these heterojunctures on the transportation of drugs in blood. Herein, stilbenes were studied for their affinities for common bovine plasma proteins (CBPP) in the presence and absence of QDHJs with different diameters. The affinities of QDHJs for CBPP improved with increasing QDHJs size. QDHJs improved the affinities of resveratrol and polydatin for CBPP by 14.74% to 22.36% and 12.56% to 21.34% depending on the size of QDHJs. The number of binding sites (n) between resveratrol and polydatin for CBPP in the presence of QDHJs were 1.04 ± 0.03 and 1.06 ± 0.04, which were obviously higher than those in the absence of QDHJs (n = 0.89 and 0.92). QDHJs in blood will decrease the free concentration of stilbenes and weaken their pharmacological effects.