N.m.r. and e.p.r. investigation of the interaction of copper(II) and glycyl-L-histidyl-L-lysine, a growth-modulating tripeptide from plasma.

Interaction of Cu(II) and Gly-His-Lys, a growth-modulating tripeptide from plasma, was investigated by 13C- and 1H-n.m.r. and e.p.r. spectroscopy. The n.m.r. line-broadening was interpreted in terms of major and minor species formed as a function of pH. The results indicate that the n.m.r. line-broadening is due to the presence of minor species in rapid exchange and not due to the major species in solution, which has a large tau M. It is concluded that the technique of 13C- and 1H-n.m.r. line broadening, caused by paramagnetic Cu(II) ion, should be undertaken with caution, since the method may not be useful for obtaining structural information on the major species. The e.p.r. spectra over a wide pH range are almost entirely due to similarly co-ordinating species. Starting at pH 5.5, the narrowest absorption near 340 mT shows superhyperfine structure, which comes out sharply in the pH region 6.0-9.6. The spectra in this pH range showed the seven lines of nitrogen superhyperfine splitting, indicating clearly the co-ordination of three nitrogen atoms to Cu(II). The e.p.r. parameters in the medium pH range, A parallel = 19.5 mT and g parallel = 2.21, fit well with the contention that Cu(II) is ligated to Gly-His-Lys through one oxygen atom and three nitrogen atoms in a square-planar configuration.