Redox potential charged cluster

For clusters of higher nuclearity too, the kinetic method for determining the redox potential °(M]] /M ) is based on electron transfer, for example, from mild reductants of known potential which are used as reference systems, towards charged clusters M](. [31] Note that the redox potential differs from the microelectrode potential M /M ) by the... 

The kinetics of oxidation and reduction of [4Fe-4S] proteins by transition metal complexes and by other electron-transfer proteins have been studied. These reactions do not correlate with their redox potentials.782 The charge on the cluster is distributed on the surface of HiPIP through the hydrogen bond network, and so affects the electrostatic interaction between protein and redox agents such as ferricyanide, Co111 and Mnin complexes.782 783 In some cases, limiting kinetics were observed, showing the presence of association prior to electron transfer.783... 

Mitochondrial cytochrome c is perhaps the most widely studied of all metalloproteins with respect to its electrochemical properties. It is located in the inner-membrane space of mitochondria and transfers electrons between membrane-bound complex III and complex IV. The active site is an iron porphyrin with a redox potential (7) of -1-260 mV vs. NHE. The crystal structures of cytochrome c from tuna have been determined (8, 9) in both oxidation states at atomic resolution. It is found that the heme group is covalently linked to the protein via two thioether bridges, and part of its edge is exposed at the protein surface. Cytochrome c is a very basic protein, with an overall charge of -1-7/-l-8 at neutral pH. Furthermore, many of the excess basic lysine residues are clustered around the mouth of the heme crevice, giving rise to a pronounced charge asymmetry. 

A charged cluster may constitute an electron acceptor, but that depends on its own redox potential value, E (A -Agn) relative to the threshold imposed by the monitor potential, E°(Q -QH2). As the redox potential increases with cluster nuclearity (5, 6), a certain time after the pulse is required to allow the first supercritical clusters to be formed and their potential to reach the threshold value imposed by the hydroquinone. When time, t, is less than tc, where n < Uc, the transfer is not allowed. During this induction period, the kinetics at 380 nm correspond to pure coalescence of clusters (Figure 4), and hydroquinone is stable (the bleaching OD512 is constant). That means, obviously, that none of the silver species present at that time can react with hydroquinone, especially free Ag ions and Ag ions associated with the smallest clusters. 

Interestingly, the crystal structure of the R17/266/268A triple mutant was solved and it was revealed that SAM could still coordinate to the N-terminal [4Fe-4S] cluster, although the mutant was no longer able to reductively cleave SAM. This suggests that the redox potential of the [4Fe-4S] cluster was perturbed by the reduced positive charge in the R A triple mutant, which speaks toward the importance of the protein microenvironment in defining the properties of Fe—S clusters. 

---