Dimers of Azurin as model systems for electron transfer

Abstract

This thesis describes the investigation of crosslinked complexes of the blue copper protein azurin by means of spectroscopic techniques such as Uv-Vis and NMR as well as by X-ray crystallography. These non-physiological dimers serve as model systems for interprotein electron transfer (ET) and allow the investigation of various parameters that can influence the ET dynamics. By site-directed mutagenesis several mutant complexes have been created with tunable properties and/or high rates of electron transfer. The work presented here offers interesting new perspectives for the development of protein based biosensors on the nanometer scale.