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Biomineralization: a proposed evolutionary origin for inorganic cofactors of enzymes

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Abstract

In this paper, three different reactions of nanoparticles and proteins are explained. As a model system, the interactions of birnessite, which is a common manganese oxide in the environment, and bovine serum albumin, as a protein that has a strong affinity for a variety of inorganic molecules, are studied. The author proposes that the cofactor-formation in particular enzymes may be considered as a biomineralization in the presence of the protein. One of the numerous and very small nanoparticles produced in the presence of protein could be formed in an appropriate location in proteins and be used as a primitive inorganic core (cofactor) of enzyme.

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Acknowledgments

The author is grateful to Institute for Advanced Studies in Basic Sciences for financial support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry, Center of Climate Change and Global Warming, Institute for Advanced Studies in Basic Sciences, 45195-1159, Gava Zang, Zanjan, Iran

    Mohammad Mahdi Najafpour

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  1. Mohammad Mahdi Najafpour
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Correspondence to Mohammad Mahdi Najafpour.

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Najafpour, M.M. Biomineralization: a proposed evolutionary origin for inorganic cofactors of enzymes. Theory Biosci. 131, 265–272 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12064-012-0160-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12064-012-0160-5

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