Design of a Three‐Helix Bundle Capable of Binding Heavy Metals in a Triscysteine Environment

Abstract

A dream becomes reality: Until now, the engineering of novel metal-binding sites into a three-helix bundle has been an unrealized dream. By using an existing three-helix bundle as a template, a 3-Cys metal-binding site was generated at the C-terminal end by rational design to yield a well-folded and stable construct that encapsulates the heavy metals HgII, CdII, and PbII with high affinity and predefined coordination geometry (see picture). Detailed facts of importance to specialist readers are published as ”Supporting Information”. Such documents are peer-reviewed, but not copy-edited or typeset. They are made available as submitted by the authors. Please note: The publisher is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting information supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing content) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article.