Blue Copper Proteins: A rigid machine for efficient electron transfer, a flexible device for metal uptake

摘要

Blue Copper Proteins (BCPs) are small and generally soluble copper-containing proteins which participate in monoelectron transfer processes in biological systems. An overview of their electronic and tertiary structure is detailed here. The well-established entatic/rack-induced mechanism is explained by comparing thermodynamic parameters between the folded (tense) and the unfolded (relaxed) forms of the BCP rusticyanin.