CONFORMATIONAL CHANGE INDUCED BY METAL-IONS THROUGH COORDINATION

The structure of a metal complex may be determined by the structure of the ligand or by the electronic configuration of the metal. In the la tter case, the metal can induce a conformational change in the ligand. Such a conformational change is a usual result in coordination reacti ons, and is particularly significant in biological macromolecules, suc h as nucleic acids, proteins, and enzymes. We have recently obtained e vidence for a mechanism that involves a metal participating in conform ational changes that occur in both enzyme and substrate simultaneously .