Electron Transfer Binding Site of Cytochrome c to Carboxylic Acid-Terminated Alkanethiol Self-assembled Monolayers Immobilized on Gold Electrode

It is proposed that Lys-13 of mammalian cytochrome cfacilitates the most efficient electron transfer (ET) pathway to the carboxylate terminus of alkanethiol self-assembled monolayers (SAM) on gold electrodes. In order to confirm the proposed ET pathway, the ET reaction rate of a rat cytochrome c mutant (RC9K13A), in which lysine-13 is replaced by alanine, is measured at a 3-mercaptopropionate SAM on a gold electrode. The ET rate of K13A is more than six orders of magnitude smaller than that of the native one. In the mutant, Ala-13 can no longer facilitate the ET pathway. Based on the measurements, the potential candidate for the binding site of RC9K13A is Lys-8.     

Intermolecular biological electron transfer: an electrochemical approach.

We investigated the electron transfer (ET) rates between a well-defined gold electrode and cytochrome c immobilized at the carboxylic acid terminus of alkanethiol self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) by using the potential modulated electroreflectance technique. A logarithmic plot of ET rates against the chain length of the alkanethiol is linear with long chain alkanethiols. The ET rates become independent of the chain length with short alkanethiols. It is proposed that the rate-limiting ET step through short alkyl chains results from a configurational rearrangement process preceding the ET event. This "gating" process arises from a rearrangement of the cytochrome c from a thermodynamically stable binding form on the carboxylic acid terminus to a configuration, which facilitates the most efficient ET pathways (surface diffusion process). We propose that the lysine-13 of mammalian cytochrome c facilitates the most efficient ET pathway to the carboxylate terminus and this proposal is supported by the ET reaction rate of a rat cytochrome c mutant (RC9-K13A) [Elektrokhimiya (2001) in press], in which lysine-13 is replaced by alanine. The ET rate of K13A is more than six orders of magnitude smaller than that of the native protein.