M. Faraggi

Long range electron transfer between tyrosine and tryptophan in hen egg-white lysozyme

The azide, dibromide and dichloride radicals oxidize one or more tryptophan side chains in hen egg-white lysozyme. The indolyl radical produced in this second-order 1-electron oxidation subsequently oxidizes a tyrosine side chain to the phenoxy radical in an intramolecular reaction with a rate constant of 130 +/- 10 s-1 at pH 7, 25 degrees C. The final indolyl and phenoxy equilibrium mixture then decays with a t1/2 approximately 2 s. The faster intramolecular reaction exhibits a pH dependence; on decreasing the pH from 9 the first-order rate constant increases to a maximum near pH 5.4 and then declines as the pH is lowered further. In contrast, the first-order rate constant for the intramolecular electron transfer between the tyrosine and tryptophan of the peptide trpH-pro-tyrOH remains unchanged between approx. pH 11 and 6.5 and then increases as the pH is lowered further. This difference in the observed pH dependence suggests that changes in structure or ionization state influence the protein electron transfer rate. We also discuss the radiation inactivation of lysozyme in light of these observations.

Long range electron transfer along an α-helix

Abstract The many observations of long range electron transfer in proteins raises the question of whether a proteins structure can influence the rate or path of such transfers, and if so, then how. To answer these questions requires information on which of the various structural elements composing proteins support long range electron transfer. In this report, we present evidence for long range electron transfer along the α-helix of a synthetic leucine zipper dimer. We also present electron transfer rate data obtained with other helical peptides.

The methoxatin semiquinone: A pulse radiolysis study

Methoxatin is a novel o-quinone found in bacterial dehydrogenases and mammalian plasma amine oxidase. This is the first report of the redox potential and spectrum of the 1-electron reduced methoxatin semiquinone obtained by the method of pulse radiolysis in aqueous solution.

One-electron oxidations of ferrocenes: A pulse radiolysis study

Abstract Using the pulse radiolysis technique we have studied the oxidation by various inorganic radicals of four water soluble ferrocene derivatives, hydroxyethyl, dimethylaminomethyl, monocarboxylic acid and dicarboxylic acid. We report the second order rate constants for these reactions, the stabilities and spectral properties of the ferrocinium products, and the electrochemically determined ferrocinium/ferrocene redox potentials. We also present preliminary estimates of tyrosine and tryptophan radical redox potentials obtained with the dicarboxylic acid ferrocene derivative as reference, and we discuss the relationship between redox potential differences and the reactivities of the ferrocenes with the inorganic radicals.