6533b7d1fe1ef96bd125cec3

RESEARCH PRODUCT

COBALT SUBSTITUTED PROTEINS

subject

description

Cobalt(II) has been extensively used as a spectroscopic probe in many proteins, mainly replacing zinc, but also substituting iron, manganese and copper ions. The relatively short electronic relaxation times of high spin cobalt(II) makes this ion suitable as a paramagnetic probe for Nuclear Magnetic Resonance spectroscopy. A survey of the NMR studies performed in cobalt substituted proteins is shown. In the zinc enzymes Carboxypeptidase A, Carbonic Anhydrase and Superoxide Dismutase the implications of these studies on their catalytic mechanisms are commented. Finally, a further insight in the research of the blue copper protein Azurin by applying NMR to its cobalt derivative is also reported.