A covalent core–shell structured protein cluster composed of hemoglobin (Hb) at the center and human serum albumins (HSA) at the periphery, Hb-HSAm, is an artificial O2 carrier that can function as a red blood cell substitute. Here we described the preparation of a novel Hb-HSA3 cluster with antioxidant activities and its O2 complex stable in aqueous H2O2 solution. We used an approach of incorporating a Pt nanoparticle (PtNP) into the exterior HSA unit of the cluster. A citrate reduced PtNP (1.8 nm diameter) was bound tightly within the cleft of free HSA with a binding constant (K) of 1.1×107 M−1, generating a stable HSA-PtNP complex. This platinated protein showed high catalytic activities for dismutations of superoxide radical anions (O2•–) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), i.e., superoxide dismutase and catalase activities. Also, Hb-HSA3 captured PtNP into the external albumin unit (K = 1.1×107 M−1), yielding an Hb-HSA3(PtNP) cluster. The association of PtNP caused no alteration of the protein surface net charge and O2 binding affinity. The peripheral HSA-PtNP shell prevents oxidation of the core Hb, which enables the formation of an extremely stable O2 complex, even in H2O2 solution.
