Incorporation of a molybdenum atom in a Rubredoxin-type Centre of a de novo-designed αDIV-L21C three-helical bundle peptide.

The rational design and functionalization of small, simple, and stable peptides scaffolds is an attractive avenue to mimic catalytic metal-centres of complex proteins, relevant for the design of metalloenzymes with environmental, biotechnological and health impacts. The de novo designed αDIV-L21C framework has a rubredoxin-like metal binding site and was used in this work to incorporate a Mo-atom. Thermostability studies using differential scanning calorimetry showed an increase of 4 °C in the melting temperature of the Mo-αDIV-L21C when compared to the apo-αDIV-L21C.