Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 20, 2026

Protein WISDOM: A Workbench for In silico De novo Design of BioMolecules
Published on: July 25, 2013
Catalysis and Electron Transfer in De Novo Designed Helical Scaffolds
Tyler B J Pinter1, Karl J Koebke1, Vincent L Pecoraro1
1Department of Chemistry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 48109-1055, USA.
Abstract:
The relationship between protein structure and function is one of the greatest puzzles within biochemistry. De novo metalloprotein design is a way to wipe the board clean and determine what is required to build in function from the ground up in an unrelated structure. This Review focuses on protein design efforts to create de novo metalloproteins within alpha-helical scaffolds. Examples of successful designs include those with carbonic anhydrase or nitrite reductase activity by incorporating a ZnHis3 or CuHis3 site, or that recapitulate the spectroscopic properties of unique electron-transfer sites in cupredoxins (CuHis2 Cys) or rubredoxins (FeCys4 ). This work showcases the versatility of alpha helices as scaffolds for metalloprotein design and the progress that is possible through careful rational design. Our studies cover the invariance of carbonic anhydrase activity with different site positions and scaffolds, refinement of our cupredoxin models, and enhancement of nitrite reductase activity up to 1000-fold.
More Related Videos
12:38Structure of HIV-1 Capsid Assemblies by Cryo-electron Microscopy and Iterative Helical Real-space Reconstruction
Published on: August 9, 2011
05:08Application of I TASSER, trRosetta, UCSF Chimera, HADDOCK server, and HEX loria for De Novo and In Silico Design of Proteins
Published on: July 8, 2025
Related Concept Videos
Catalysis
Ionic Bonding and Electron Transfer
Introduction to Mechanisms of Enzyme Catalysis
Group Design
Electron Carriers
Over the many stages of cellular respiration, glucose breaks down into carbon dioxide and water. Electron carriers pick up electrons lost by glucose in these reactions, temporarily storing and releasing them into the electron...
Electron Transport Chains
The ETC is comprised of...