• Genomics & Informatics
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.162-169
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• 2017

Metal binding proteins or metallo-proteins are important for the stability of the protein and also serve as co-factors in various functions like controlling metabolism, regulating signal transport, and metal homeostasis. In structural genomics, prediction of metal binding proteins help in the selection of suitable growth medium for overexpression's studies and also help in obtaining the functional protein. Computational prediction using machine learning approach has been widely used in various fields of bioinformatics based on the fact all the information contains in amino acid sequence. In this study, random forest machine learning prediction systems were deployed with simplified amino acid for prediction of individual major metal ion binding sites like copper, calcium, cobalt, iron, magnesium, manganese, nickel, and zinc.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2010.02a
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• pp.61-61
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• 2010

In the present work, we present the optimized the hybrid structures of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and metal nanocomposites including Cu, Al, Co and Ni using the first principle calculations based on the density functional theory. Introduction of CNTs into a metal matrix has been considered to improve the mechanical properties of the metal matrix. However, the binding energy between metals and pristine CNTs wall is known to be so small that the interfacial slip between CNTs and the matrix occurs at a relatively low external stress. The application of defective or functionalized CNTs has thus attracted great attention to enhance the interfacial strength of CNT/metal nanocomposites. Herein, we design the various hybrid structures of the single wall CNT/metal complexes and characterize the interaction between single wall CNTs and various metals such as Cu, Al, Co or Ni. First, differences in the binding energies or electronic structures of the CNT/metal complexes with the topological defects, such as the Stone-Wales and vacancy, are compared. Second, the characteristics of functionalized CNTs with various surface functional groups, such as -O, -COOH, -OH interacting with metals are investigated.We found that the binding energy can be enhanced by the surface functional group including oxygen since the oxygen atom can mediate and reinforce the interaction between carbon and metal. The binding energy is also greatly increased when it is absorbed on the defects of CNTs. These results strongly support the recent experimental work which suggested the oxygen on the interface playing an important role in the excellent mechanical properties of the CNT-Cu composite[1].

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.9 no.6
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• pp.757-763
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• 1999

The metal specificity of D-xylose isomerase from Streptomyces rubiginosus was examined by site-directed mutagenesis. The activation constants for metal ion ($Mg^{2+},{\;}Mn^{2+},{\;}or{\;}Co^{2+}$) of wild-type and mutant enzymes were determined by titrating the metal ion-free enzyme with $Mg^{2+},{\;}Mn^{2+},{\;}and{\;}Co^{2+}$, respectively. Substitutions of amino acids either on coordinated or around the M2 site (His-22O, Asn-185, Glu-186, and Glu-221) dramatically affected the activation constants as well as activity. A decrease of metal binding affinity was most significant in the presence of $Mg^{2+}$. When compared with the wild-type enzymes, the binding affinity of H220S and Nl85K for Mg^{2+} was decreased by 10-15-fold, while the affinity for $Mn^{2+}{\;}or{\;}Co^{2+}$ only decreased by 3-5-fold. All the mutations close to the M2 site changed their metal preference from $Mg^{2+}{\;}to{\;}Mn^{2+}{\;}or{\;}Co^{2+}$. These altered metal preferences may be caused by a relatively weak binding affinity of $Mg^{2+}$ to the enzyme. Thermal inactivation studies of mutants at the M2 site also support the importance of the M2 site geometry for metal specificity as well as the thermostability of the enzyme. Mutations of other important groups hardly affected the metal preference, although pronounced effects on the kinetic parameters were sometimes observed. This study proposes that the metal specificity of D-xylose isomerase can be altered by the perturbation of the M2 site geometry, and that the different metal preference of Group I and GroupII D-xylose isomerases may be caused by nonconserved amino acid residues around the M2 site.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.33 no.11
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• pp.3788-3792
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• 2012

Spherical-shape melanin nanoparticles with good water-dispersibility were successfully synthesized by a simple oxidation polymerization of 3,4-dihydroxy-phenylalanin (DOPA) with $KMnO_4$. Similar features to those known from natural and synthetic melanin polymers were observed from prepared melanin nanoparticles by FT-IR, UV-Vis., and ESR spectroscopic methods. Their binding ability with several heavy metal ions from aqueous solution was quantitatively investigated, and the maximum binding capacities with melanin nanoparticles to lead, copper, and cadmium ions were obtained as 2.45, 2.17 and 1.88 mmol/g, respectively, which are much larger values than those reported from natural and synthetic melanin polymers. The large binding capacity and fast binding rate of melanin nanoparticles to metal ions can make them an excellent candidate for the remediation of contaminated water.

• The Korean Journal of Ecology
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.217-224
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• 1998

The heavy metal concentrations of seawater collected from the Onsan coastal zone in February and July 1996 and mussels(Mytilus edulis) in February 1997 were analysed. The concentrations of cadmium in seawater were in the range of 0.008-2.988 ${\mu}g/L$, while the ranges of copper and zinc concentrations were 0.08-2.55, and 0.21-35.12 ${\mu}g/L$, respectively. The metal concentrations decreased gradually with increasing distances from Daejeong stream, indicating that this stream was the major source of heavy metal input into the Onsan coastal zone. The concentrations of cadmium, copper and zinc in mussels were in the ranges of 1.40-25.09, 8.5-64.5, and 46.8-291.2 ${\mu}g/g$, respectively. The metal concentrations decreased gradually with increasing distances from Daejeong stream. Among organs of mussels, gill showed the highest concentrations of cadmium and the digestive gland showed the highest concentrations of copper and for zine the kidney showed the highest concentrations. The digestive gland and kidney revealed high proportion of cadmium in cytosolic fraction and the percentage of copper was high in the kidney and that of zine was high in the digestive gland. Metal-binding protein of mussels collected from the mouth of Daejeong stream was separated, using gel-filtration chromatography. In the kidney and gill of mussels, most of cadmium was associated with metal-binding protein. In contrast, most of the metal in the digestive gland and remaining tissues is bound to high molecular weight protein rather than metal-binding protein.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.296-300
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• 2002

Bacterial cell surface components are the major factors responsible for pathogenesis and bioremediation. In particular, the surface of a Gram-negative bacterium cell has a variety of components compared to that of a Gram-positive cell. In our previous study, we isolated an isogenic mutant of Bradyrhizobium japonicum, which exhibited altered cell surface characteristics, including an increased hydrophobicity. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoretic analysis of the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in the mutant demonstrated that the O-polysaccharide part was completely absent. Meanwhile, a gel permeation chromatographic analysis of the exopolysaccharide (EPS) in the mutant demonstrated that it was unaltered. Since LPSs are known to have several anion groups that interact with various cation groups and metal ions, the mutant provided an opportunity to examine the direct role of LPS in metal binding by B. japonicum. Using atomic absorption spectrophotometry, it was clearly demonstrated that LPS was involved in metal binding. The binding capacity of the LPS mutant to various metal ions $(Cd^{2+},\;Cu^{2+},\;Pb^{2+},\;and\;Zn^{2+})$ was 50-70% lower than that of the wild-type strain. Also, through an EPS analysis and desorption experiment, it was found that EPS and centrifugal force had no effect on the metal binding. Accordingly, it would appear that LPS molecules on B. japonicum effect the properties, which precipitate more distinctly metal-rich mineral phase.

• Macromolecular Research
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• v.10 no.5
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• pp.273-277
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• 2002

Ultra-thin polymer films containing cobalt(II) meso-tetraphenylporphyrin(CoTPP) have been prepared by vacuum codeposition of the metal complex and trans-2-butene as an organic monomer using an inductively coupled RF glow discharge operating at 7-9 Watts. The polymer films were characterized by sorption measurements. Sorption data obtained for polymer films containing CoTPP indicate that the CoTPP molecules are capable of reversibly binding oxygen molecules. It was found that the adjacent CoTPP molecules in the aggregated metal complex phase could irreversibly share the oxygen molecules. A dispersion of the metal complex molecules in the polymer matrix was made to maintain the reversible reactivity of the metal complex molecules with oxygen in the polymer films via vacuum evaporation process. The Henry mode solubility constant, the Langmuir mode capacity constant, the amount of binding oxygen, and the dissociation equilibrium in the dual mode sorption theory were discussed.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.28 no.9
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• pp.1585-1587
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• 2007

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.28 no.12
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• pp.2248-2252
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• 2007

SOMT-9 is an O-methyltransferase that utilizes quercetin to produce 3'-methoxy quercetin. In order to determine which amino acids of SOMT-9 are important for this reaction and its regioselectivity, molecular docking experiments followed by site directed mutagenesis were performed. Molecular modeling and molecular docking experiments identified several amino acid residues involved in metal binding, AdoMet binding, and substrate binding. Site-directed mutagenesis showed that Asp188 is critical for metal binding and that Lys165 assists other metal binding residues in maintaining quercetin in the proper position during the reaction. In addition, Tyr207 was shown to play an important role in the determination of the regioselectivity and Met60 was shown to be involved in formation of the hydrophobic pocket necessary for substrate binding. The molecular modeling and docking experiments discussed in this study could be applicable to future research including prediction of substrate binding and regioselectivity of an enzyme.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.30 no.5
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• pp.681-688
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• 2020

Bacterial cell-based biosensors, or whole-cell bioreporters (WCBs), are an alternative tool for the quantification of hazardous materials. Most WCBs share similar working mechanisms. In brief, the recognition of a target by sensing domains induces a biological event, such as changes in protein conformation or gene expression, providing a basis for quantification. WCBs targeting heavy metal(loid)s employ metalloregulators as sensing domains and control the expression of genes in the presence of target metal(loid) ions, but the diversity of targets, specificity, and sensitivity of these WCBs are limited. In this study, we genetically engineered the metal-binding loop (MBL) of ZntR, which controls the znt-operon in Escherichia coli. In the MBL of ZntR, three Cys sites interact with metal ions. Based on the crystal structure of ZntR, MBL sequences were modified by site-directed mutagenesis. As a result, the metal-sensing properties of WCBs differed depending on amino acid sequences and the new selectivity to Cr or Pb was observed. Although there is room for improvement, our results support the use of currently available WCBs as a platform to generate new WCBs to target other environmental pollutants including metal(loid)s.