Biology Commons^™

Binding Of Urate And Caffeine To Hemocyanin Analyzed By Isothermal Titration Calorimetry, Michael A. Menze, Nadja Hellmann, Heinz Decker, Manfred K. Grieshaber

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

Haemocyanin serves as an oxygen carrier in the haemolymph of decapod crustaceans. The oxygen-binding behaviour of the pigment is modulated by the two major anaerobic metabolites, L-lactate and urate. The binding of these two metabolites to haemocyanin has been investigated mainly indirectly by following the effectorinduced changes in the oxygen-binding properties of the respiratory pigment. Only a few direct investigations of effector binding, employing ultracentrifugation techniques and equilibrium dialysis, have been carried out. No evidence for cooperative binding for either effector was detected using these methods. However, isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) offers a useful tool to gain additional insight into …