Synthesis and structural characterization of the heavy tricysteinylpnictines, models of protein-bound As(III), Sb(III), and Bi(III).

ABSTRACT: The heavier group 15 elements As, Sb, and Bi are more restricted in their biochemistry than the nearly ubiquitous lighter congeners N and P, but organisms do encounter compounds of these elements as environmental toxins, starting materials for secondary metabolite biosynthesis, substrates for primary metabolism, or exogenously applied medicines. Under many physiological conditions, these compounds are transformed into pnictogen(III) species, the soft Lewis acidic character of which leads them to interact strongly with biologically relevant soft Lewis bases such as small-molecule thiols or cysteine residues of proteins and peptides. The archetypal complexes As(Cys)₃, Sb(Cys)₃, and Bi(Cys)₃ have been studied in the past but a lack of detailed information abou

SUBMITTER: Hollow SE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11590777 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature