Heavy-metal binding affinity in metalloproteins: a computational approach

Abstract

The use of biological organisms for removal of heavy-metal in situ brings down the production cost due to the lesser pre-treatment steps in the removal process. Initial assessments of the heavy-metal binding bacteria from wastewaters, indicates that Bacillus and Chryseomonas sp. exhibited positive growth response behavior when exposed to lead and cadmium [1]. This incorporation of the heavy-metal species leads to the increase in the molecular mass of the protein as shown in the SDS-PAGE result (Figure 1). In this research, two metal-binding proteins of B. subtilis 1C7I and 1P3J were analyzed and optimized using DFT method to look into the possibility of replacement of heavy metals (Cd, Cr, Hg, and Pb) in its metal active sites.