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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 11, 2026

Ion Mobility-Mass Spectrometry Techniques for Determining the Structure and Mechanisms of Metal Ion Recognition and Redox Activity of Metal Binding Oligopeptides

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Published on: September 7, 2019

Borate binding to siderophores: structure and stability.

Wesley R Harris¹, Shady A Amin, Frithjof C Küpper

¹Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, San Diego State University, San Diego, California 92182-1030, USA.

Journal of the American Chemical Society

|September 14, 2007

Summary

Certain siderophores bind boron, not just iron. This unexpected affinity, dependent on specific chemical groups, suggests roles in marine cell signaling and boron uptake.

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Ion Mobility-Mass Spectrometry Techniques for Determining the Structure and Mechanisms of Metal Ion Recognition and Redox Activity of Metal Binding Oligopeptides

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Quantification of Metal Leaching in Immobilized Metal Affinity Chromatography

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Published on: January 17, 2020

Area of Science:

Biochemistry
Environmental Chemistry
Microbiology

Background:

Siderophores are bacterial iron chelators.
Boron is essential in marine environments.
Boron's biological roles are not fully understood.

Purpose of the Study:

Investigate siderophore-boron interactions.
Determine the structural requirements for boron binding.
Explore potential biological functions of boron-siderophore complexes.

Main Methods:

Electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS).
Multinuclear Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy.
Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations.
Measurement of boron binding constants.

Main Results:

Siderophores with citrate or catecholate groups bind boron.
Boron complexes with vibrioferrin, rhizoferrin, and petrobactin characterized.
Significant boron binding constants measured at oceanic pH.
Boron binding induces a distinct siderophore conformation.

Conclusions:

Specific siderophores exhibit unexpected boron affinity.
Boron-siderophore complexes may form in marine environments.
Potential roles in biological boron uptake and cell signaling hypothesized.
Conformational changes allow differentiation between iron and boron binding roles.