Engineering Metal Binding Sites in Proteins

Publisher Summary The design of a metal-binding site provides a route to novel proteins with a host of interesting properties. The introduction of a ligand-binding site into a new context allows the delineation of the factors responsible for high-affinity ligand binding. The majority of designs concentrate on achieving correct positioning of the two, three, or four residues that will form the metal-binding site. This chapter discusses different metal-site designs according to the number of protein-to-metal ligands that are involved. All the designs that are discussed can be grouped in two main classes based on the intent of the design. The chapter discusses the specific aims of the design and the extent to which characterizations of the metal-binding properties of the protein provide support for the successful realization of the design.