CURRENT RESEARCH TOPICS IN BIOINORGANIC CHEMISTRY Progress in In0rgunic Chemistry Volume 18
Progress in Inorganic Chemistry Editor: STEPHEN J. LIPPARD D E P A R T M E N T OF CHEMISTRY, COLUMBIA U N I V E R S I T Y , N E W YORK, N E W YORK
Advisory Board THEODORE L. BROWN U N I V E R S I T Y OF ILLINOIS, U R B A N A , ILLINOIS
JAMES P. COLLMAN S T A N F O R D U N I V E R S I T Y , STANFORD, CALIFORNIA
F. ALBERT COTTON T E X A S A&M U N I V E R S I T Y , COLLEGE STATION, T E X A S
RILEY SCHAEFFER I N D I A N A U N I V E R S I T Y , RLOOMINGTON, I N D I A N A
GEOFFREY WILKINSON I M P E R I A L COLLEGE OF S C I E N C E A N D TECHNOLOGY, LONDON, E N G L A N D
CURRENT RESEARCH TOPICS IN BIOINORGANIC CHEMISTRY Edited by
STEPHEN J. LIPPARD DEPARTMEXT O F CHEMISTRY
COLUMBIA UNIVEFBITY
NEW YORK,NEWYORK
AN
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JOHN WILEY & SONS, New York Sydney Toronto
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[email protected] Copyright @ 1973, by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved. Published simultaneously in Canada.
No part of this book may be reproduced by any means, nor transmitted, nor translated into a machine language without the written permission of the publisher. Library of Congress Catalogue Card Number: 59-13035 ISBN 0-471-540889 Printed in the United States of America. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Work a t the interface between the areas of inorganic and biological chemistry has greatly intensified in recent years. Organization of the subject material of this growing field of bioinorganic chemistry along topical lines is fairly straightforward, if not completely satisfying. Thus whole literatures have grown up around such problems as nitrogen fixation, heme proteins, vitamin BIZ chemistry, carboxypeptidaa! structure and biochemistry, metal ion transport through membranes, non-heme iron proteins, metal activation of ATP, and copper oxidases. I n planning this special topics volume, somc attempt was made to achieve a broader scope. For example, instead of a chapter on iron-sulfur redox proteins, it seemed desirable t o have a discussion of the entire family of metallo-redox proteins. To the extent that the subject matter was amenable to such a n approach, the chapters reflect this philosophy. The choice of topics for this particular volume was dictated by two criteria. First, it was decided to sustain the long-standing policy of this series to provide critical, comprehensive, in-depth coverage of material. This decision necessitated a high selectivity since only a few such chapters could be accomodated in a single volume. The second criterion was to assure reasonably broad coverage by including subjects that represented the various kinds of available biological ligands, namely proteins and nucleic acids and their constituents, in addition to special-function ligands such as the heme or corrin ring. To the extent that we have been successful, this book should serve as a useful introduction and guide to scientists in all fields who are interested in obtaining an overview of the emerging discipline of bioinorganic chemistry. At the same time, the individual chapters should provide current information and critical discussion of the more specialized areas for both research workers and students. Parts of certain chapters have already been adopted in manuscript form for instructional purposes at the graduate student level. I wish to thank the authors for their cooperation and efforts required to produce this volume. If there is sufficient posi