Heterogeneous electron-transfer kinetic parameters of metalloproteins as studied by channel-flow hydrodynamic voltammetry

Abstract

Channel-flow hydrodynamic voltammetry was used to study the direct electron-transfer reactions of two metalloproteins, myoglobin and cytochrome c, under steady-state conditions at methyl viologen modified (MVM) gold foil electrodes. Utilization of a dual working electrode cell with this technique permitted determination of the heterogeneous electron-transfer kinetics for both the reduction and oxidation of myoglobin. The formal heterogeneous electron-transfer rate constants in pH 7.00 phosphate buffered solutions were found to be 8.9 (±1.5)×10 −5 cm s −1 for the reduction, and 7.7 (±1.2)×10 −5 cm s −1 for the reoxidation of myoglobin. The transfer coefficient values obtained were 0.21 (±0.01) for the reductive (α) and 0.82 (±0.01) for the oxidative (1−α) electrode reactions. Ionic strength and pH dependences were observed in these direct electron-transfer reactions. Collective current efficiency measurements in the myoglobin experiments indicated that an overall simple charge-transfer process occurred at the respective electrode interfaces. A formal rate constant of 3.4 (±0.2)×10 −5 cm s −1 with a transfer coefficient of 0.25 (±0.01) for the reduction (α) of cytochrome c was obtained by this hydrodynamic technique. The use of channel-flow hydrodynamic voltammetry in characterizing an electrode reaction as well as an interpretation of the data presented are discussed.