Co-ordination of copper(II) ions by prolyl-α,β-dehydroamino acids: comparative studies and general considerations

Potentiometric and spectroscopic measurements and theoretical calculations have revealed that α,β-dehydroamino acid residues have a considerable effect on the co-ordination ability of an adjacent amide nitrogen towards Cu2+ ions. Also the side chain of such residues affects the stability constants and, in some cases, the binding mode of short peptides containing α,β-dehydroamino acid residues. The theoretical calculations showed that all dehydroamino acids except α,β-dehydroalanine tend to bend a peptide chain towards a turn conformation. This has a very strong impact on the co-ordination ability of a dehydropeptide ligand.