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Results for “coordination motifs”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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Metal-Templated Design of Chemically Switchable Protein Assemblies with High-Affinity Coordination Sites

To mimic a hypothetical pathway for protein evolution, we previously tailored a monomeric protein (cyt cb562) for metal-mediated self-assembly, followed by re-design of the resulting oligomers for enhanced stability and metal-based functions. We show that a single hydrophobic mutation on the cyt cb562 surface drastically alters the outcome of metal-directed oligomerization to yield a new trimeric architecture, (TriCyt1)3. This nascent trimer was redesigned into second and third-generation variants (TriCyt2)3 and (TriCyt3)3 with increased structural stability and preorganization for metal coordination. The three TriCyt variants combined furnish a unique platform to 1) provide tunable coupling between protein quaternary structure and metal coordination, 2) enable the construction of metal/pH-switchable protein oligomerization motifs, and 3) generate a robust metal coordination site that can coordinate all mid-to-late first-row transition-metal ions with high affinity.

Albert Kakkis↗

Minor groove RNA triplex in the crystal structure of a ribosomal frameshifting viral pseudoknot

Many viruses regulate translation of polycistronic mRNA using a -1 ribosomal frameshift induced by an RNA pseudoknot. A pseudoknot has two stems that form a quasi-continuous helix and two connecting loops. A 1.6 A crystal structure of the beet western yellow virus (BWYV) pseudoknot reveals rotation and a bend at the junction of the two stems. A loop base is inserted in the major groove of one stem with quadruple-base interactions. The second loop forms a new minor-groove triplex motif with the other stem, involving 2'-OH and triple-base interactions, as well as sodium ion coordination. Overall, the number of hydrogen bonds stabilizing the tertiary interactions exceeds the number involved in Watson-Crick base pairs. This structure will aid mechanistic analyses of ribosomal frameshifting.

Non-NASA Center↗

Synthesis of Two New Group 13 Benzoato-Chloro Complexes: A Structural Study of Gallium and Indium Chelating Carboxylates

Two new heteroleptic chelated-benzoato gallium (III) and indium (III) complexes have been prepared and structurally characterized. The molecular structures of [GaCl2(4-Mepy)2(O2CPh)]4-Mepy (1) and [InCl(4-Mepy)2(O2CPh)2]4-Mepy (2) have been determined by single-crystal x-ray diffraction. The gallium compound (1) is a distorted octahedron with cis-chloride ligands co-planar with the chelating benzoate and the 4-methylpyridines trans to each other. This is the first example of a Ga(III) structure with a chelating benzoate. The indium compound (2) is a distorted pentagonal bipyramid with two chelating benzoates, one 4-methylpyridine in the plane and a chloride trans to the other 4-methylpyridine. The indium bis-benzoate is an unusual example of a seven-coordinate structure with classical ligands. Both complexes, which due to the chelates, could also be described as pseudo-trigonal bipyramidal, include a three-bladed motif with three roughly parallel aromatic rings that along with a solvent of crystallization and electron-withdrawing chloride ligand(s) stabilize the solid-state structures.

Duraj, Stan A.↗

Mission-Clock-Display Software Tool

Displays including images of alarm clocks illustrate temporal statuses of multiple events. MCLK is customizable clock-display computer program with Motif user interface. Used to keep track of such multiple "milestone" events as those occurring during countdowns in spacecraft launches, and alerts user when event time reached. In addition, program displays time from several time zones. Real time measured in Coordinated Universal Time. Written in C language.

Aguilera, Christine↗