Novel Behaviour of Naphthoylmethyl Pendants Introduced into the Papain Active Site

Abstract

Spectroscopic analysis of the reactions of papain with bromoacetyl-substituted naphthalenes, which alkylate the cysteine-25 residue of this enzyme, allows us to propose that the charge-transfer complex formed between the naphthoylmethyl pendant and the histidine-159 residue is responsible for the appearance of a new long-wavelength absorption band.

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