The pH dependent Cu(II) and Zn(II) binding behavior of an analog methanobactin peptide.

The pH dependent reactivity of an analog methanobactin peptide (amb) with the sequence acetyl-His1-Cys2-Gly3-Pro4-His5-Cys6 (Mw = 694.79 Da) was investigated for its binding ability for a series of biologically active metal ions using ion mobility-mass spectrometry. Cu(II), Zn(II) and, to a lesser extent, Ni(II) were observed to form complexes with amb from 1 : 1 molar equivalent amb:metal(II) solutions at pH > 6, indicating the deprotonation of the imidazole N of His (pKa = 6.