Background: Under moderate pressure, xenon can bind to proteins and fo
rm weak but specific interactions. Such protein-xenon complexes can be
used as isomorphous derivatives for phase determination in X-ray crys
tallography. Results: Investigation of the serine proteinase class of
enzymes shows that the catalytic triad, the common hydrolytic motif of
these enzymes, is a specific binding site for one xenon atom and show
s high occupancy at pressures below 12 bar. Complexes of xenon with tw
o different serine proteinases, elastase and collagenase, were analyze
d and refined to 2.2 Angstrom and 2.5 Angstrom resolution, respectivel
y, In both cases, a single xenon atom with a low temperature factor is
located in the active site at identical positions. Weak interactions
exist with several side chains of conserved amino acids at the active
sice. Xenon binding does not induce any major changes in the protein s
tructure and, as a consequence, crystals of the xenon complexes are hi
ghly isomorphous with the native protein structures. Xenon is also fou
nd to bind to the active site of subtilisin Carlsberg, a bacterial ser
ine proteinase, that also has a catalytic triad motif. Conclusions: As
the region around the active site shows conserved structural homology
in all serine proteinases, it is anticipated that xenon binding will
prove to be a general feature of this class of proteins.