Intramolecular Electron Transfer in Pentaammineruthenium(III)-Modified Cobaltocytochrome c

Ji Sun, Chang Su, and James F. Wishart

Inorg. Chem., 35, 5893-5901 (1996) [Find paper at ACS Publications] or use ACS Articles on Request

Abstract:

The iron in the heme group of horse-heart cytochrome c was replaced by cobalt according to established methods. The resulting cobalticytochrome c was subsequently modified at histidine-33 with a pentaammineruthenium group. Proof of correct derivatization was obtained by atomic absorption analysis of cobalt and ruthenium, differential pulse voltammetry, and enzymatic proteolysis analyzed by diode-array HPLC. Cobalt(II)-to-ruthenium(III) intramolecular electron transfer rates were measured as a function of temperature by electron pulse radiolysis. The azide radical (N3) was used to oxidize the fully reduced form in order to generate the desired electron transfer precursor. The intramolecular electron transfer rate is 1.28 ± 0.04 s-1 at 25 šC (Hý = 5.7 ± 0.2 kcal/mol, Sý = -38.7 ± 0.5 cal/(deg mol)) for a driving force of 0.28 ± 0.02 eV. The results are compared with those for analogous pentaammineruthenium-modified, native iron, and zinc-substituted cytochromes c. The 0.4 eV increase in driving force for intramolecular electron transfer when iron is replaced by cobalt is largely compensated by an increase in reorganization energy.