ABSTRACT
The absolute molecular weight of polyaniline in the pernigraniline, emeraldine, and leucoemeraldine oxidation states has been measured by light scattering and the exact number of aniline repeat units determined for the first time. Using potential-time profiling to monitor the chemical oxidative polymerization of aniline using ammonium peroxydisulfate oxidant, all three oxidation states of polyaniline can be synthesized in one step and the evolution of polymer molecular weight monitored. The pernigraniline intermediate formed during the chemical oxidative polymerization of aniline increases by 17-20% when it is converted to emeraldine, which is consistent with a two-step polymerization mechanism. These findings establish a solid experimental framework to chemically synthesize block copolymers of polyaniline by using different monomers to intercept the reaction at the pernigraniline oxidation state.
ABSTRACT
Cysteine-rich Zn(II)-binding sites in proteins serve two distinct functions: to template or stabilize specific protein folds, and to facilitate chemical reactions such as alkyl transfers. We are interested how the protein environment controls metal site properties, specifically, how naturally occurring tetrahedral Zn(II) sites are affected by the surrounding protein. We have studied the Co(II)- and Zn(II)-binding of a series of derivatives of L36, a small zinc ribbon protein containing a (Cys)(3)His metal coordination site. UV-vis spectroscopy was used to monitor metal binding by peptides at pH 6.0. For all derivatives, the following trends were observed: (1) Zn(II) binds tighter than Co(II), with an average K (A) (Zn) /K (A) (Co) of 2.8(+/-2.0)x10(3); (2) mutation of the metal-binding ligand His32 to Cys decreases the affinity of L36 derivatives for both metals; (3) a Tyr24 to Trp mutation in the beta-sheet hydrophobic cluster increases K (A) (Zn) and K (A) (Co) ; (4) mutation in the beta-hairpin turn, His20 to Asn generating an Asn-Gly turn, also increases K (A) (Zn) and K (A) (Co) ; (5) the combination of His20 to Asn and Tyr24 to Trp mutations also increases K (A) (Zn) and K (A) (Co) , but the increments versus C(3)H are less than those of the single mutations. Furthermore, circular dichroism, size-exclusion chromatography, and 1D and 2D (1)H NMR experiments show that the mutations do not change the overall fold or association state of the proteins. L36, displaying Co(II)- and Zn(II)-binding sensitivity to various sequence mutations without undergoing a change in protein structure, can therefore serve as a useful model system for future structure/reactivity studies.
