Design of a single protein that spans the entire 2-V range of physiological redox potentials

The reduction potential (E°') is a critical parameter in determining the efficiency of most biological and chemical reactions. Biology employs three classes of metalloproteins to cover the majority of the 2-V range of physiological E°'s. An ultimate test of our understanding of E°' is to find out the minimal number of proteins and their variants that can cover this entire range and the structural features responsible for the extreme E°'. We report herein the design of the protein azurin to cover a range from +970 mV to -954 mV vs. standard hydrogen electrode (SHE) by mutating only five residues and using two metal ions. Spectroscopic methods have revealed geometric parameters important for the high E°'. The knowledge gained and the resulting water-soluble redox agents with predictable E°'s, in the same scaffold with the same surface properties, will find wide applications in chemical, biochemical, biophysical, and biotechnological fields.