Localization of ligands within human carbonic anhydrase II using F pseudocontact shift analysis.

Unraveling the native structure of protein-ligand complexes in solution enables rational drug design. We report here the use of F pseudocontact shift (PCS) NMR as a method to determine fluorine positions of high affinity ligands bound within the drug target human carbonic anhydrase II with high accuracy. Three different ligands were localized within the protein by analysis of the obtained PCS from simple one-dimensional F spectra with an accuracy of up to 0.

Neutralizing the detrimental effect of glutathione on precious metal catalysts.

We report our efforts to enable transition-metal catalysis in the presence of cellular debris, notably Escherichia coli cell free extracts and cell lysates. This challenging goal is hampered by the presence of thiols, mainly present in the form of glutathione (GSH), which poison precious metal catalysts. To overcome this, we evaluated a selection of oxidizing agents and electrophiles toward their potential to neutralize the detrimental effect of GSH on a Ir-based transfer hydrogenation catalyst.

High-level secretion of recombinant full-length streptavidin in Pichia pastoris and its application to enantioselective catalysis.

Artificial metalloenzymes result from the incorporation of a catalytically competent biotinylated organometallic moiety into full-length (i.e. mature) streptavidin.

Scoring multipole electrostatics in condensed-phase atomistic simulations.

Permanent multipoles (MTPs) embody a natural extension to common point-charge (PC) representations in atomistic simulations. In this work, we propose an alternative to the computationally expensive MTP molecular dynamics simulations by running a simple PC simulation and later reevaluate-"score''-all energies using the more detailed MTP force field. The method, which relies on the assumption that the PC and MTP force fields generate closely related phase spaces, is accomplished by enforcing identical sets of monopoles between the two force fields-effectively highlighting the higher MTP terms as a correction to the PC approximation.

A dual anchoring strategy for the localization and activation of artificial metalloenzymes based on the biotin-streptavidin technology.

Artificial metalloenzymes result from anchoring an active catalyst within a protein environment. Toward this goal, various localization strategies have been pursued: covalent, supramolecular, or dative anchoring. Herein we show that introduction of a suitably positioned histidine residue contributes to firmly anchor, via a dative bond, a biotinylated rhodium piano stool complex within streptavidin.

Human carbonic anhydrase II as a host for piano-stool complexes bearing a sulfonamide anchor.

d(6)-piano-stool complexes bearing an arylsulfonamide anchor display sub-micromolar affinity towards human Carbonic Anhydrase II (hCA II). The 1.3 Å resolution X-ray crystal structure of [(η(6)-C(6)Me(6))Ru(bispy 3)Cl](+)⊂ hCA II highlights the nature of the host-guest interactions.