The soluble domain of the subunit II of cytochrome c oxidase from Paracoccus versutus was cloned, expressed, and studied by 1H NMR at 600 MHz. The properties of the redox-active dinuclear CuA site in the paramagnetic mixed-valence Cu(I)-Cu(II) state were investigated in detail. A group of relatively sharp signals found between 30 and 15 ppm in the 1H NMR spectrum correspond to the imidazole protons of the coordinated histidines (H181 and H224). A second group of broader and farther shifted signals between 50 and 300 ppm are assigned to Hbeta protons of the bridging cysteines (C216 and C220); the protons from the weak M227 and E218 ligands do not shift outside of the diamagnetic envelope. About 40% of the total spin density appears delocalized over the cysteine-bridging ligands while a much smaller amount is delocalized on the two ligand histidines. The latter have similar spin density distributions. Analysis of the pattern of the hyperfine shifts of the Cys H beta protons shows that the ground state bears 2B3u character, in which the sulfur lobes in the singly occupied molecular orbital are aligned with the Cu-Cu axis. Analysis of the temperature dependence of the shifts of the Cys H beta signals leads to the conclusion that the 2B2u excited state is thermally accessible at room temperature (Delta E approximately kT).

Using cobalt or nickel to replace copper in native azurin allows one to fingerprint the metal coordination site of the protein. The metal sites of wild type Alcaligenes denitrificans azurin and its M121Q mutant are clearly distinguishable through the paramagnetic 1H NMR spectra of the Ni(II) and Co(II) derivatives. In the wild type azurin, Gly45 coordinates to nickel or cobalt, while Met121 appears as a weak metal ligand. On the contrary, in the M121Q azurin mutant, the metal exhibits a clear preference for the Gln121, which coordinates through the side chain carbonyl oxygen, and Gly45 is not a ligand. Changes in the isotropic shifts and relaxation properties of signals from the Cys112, His46, and His117 metal ligands suggest a movement of the metal ion out of the equatorial plane, indicating that the metal site is tetrahedral. These effects are less pronounced in the Ni(II) M121Q azurin than in the Co(II) metalloderivative. The similarity between the NMR spectra of the Co(II) derivatives of stellacyanin and the M121Q azurin is in agreement with a very similar metal site in both proteins and supports the existence of a coordinated Gln in stellacyanin.

The changes in the reduction potential of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Alcaligenes denitrificans azurins following point mutations and residue ionizations were factorized into the enthalpic and entropic contributions through variable temperature direct electrochemistry experiments. The effects on the reduction enthalpy due to changes in the first coordination sphere of the copper ion, as in the Met121Gln and Met121His variants of A. denitrificans azurin, insertion of a net charge and alteration in the solvation properties and electrostatic potential in proximity of the metal site, as in the Met44Lys and His35Leu variants of P. aeruginosa azurin, respectively, and proton uptake/release in wild-type and mutated species could invariably be accounted for on the basis of simple coordination chemistry and/or electrostatic considerations. The concomitant changes in reduction entropy were found in general to contribute to the E degrees ' variation to a lesser extent as compared to the enthalpy changes. However, their effects were by no means negligible and in some instances were found to heavily contribute to (or even become the main determinant of) the observed change in reduction potential. Several lines of evidence indicate that the entropic effects are notably influenced by reduction-induced solvent reorganization effects. In particular, protein reduction tends to be favored on entropic grounds with increasing exposure of the copper site to the solvent. Moreover, enthalpy-entropy compensation phenomena are invariably observed when residue mutation or pH-induced conformational changes modify the solvent accessibility of the metal site or alter the H-bonding network in the hydration shell of the molecule. Therefore, in these cases, caution must be used in making predictions of E degrees ' changes simply based on Coulombic or coordination chemistry arguments.

Electron-spin-echo-detected electron-paramagnetic-resonance spectroscopy at 95 GHz (W-band) on frozen solutions and single crystals of the azurin mutant M121Q has enabled the determination of accurate principal values of the g-tensor and the orientation of the principal axes of these tensors of all molecules in the unit cell with respect to the crystallographic axes. A combination of EPR and X-ray structural data results in four possible orientations of the g-tensor axes in the copper site of M121Q. Theoretical considerations lead us to prefer one of these, in which one of the principal axes makes an angle of 10°with the Cu-O (Gln121) bond; the other two are approximately parallel to the NNS plane and are rotated 55°with respect to the Cu-Sγ-(Cys112) bond. The description of the rhombicity of the g-tensor indicates that the wave function of the unpaired electron on copper consists of a d xy orbital with a small but significant admixture of d z 2 character.