title: Luminescence emission from the Cu(I)-thiolate complex in metallothioneins.
abstract: The luminescence emission properties of Cu-metallothioneins (from Neurospora crassa, Agaricus bisporus and livers of Bedlington terriers affected by copper toxicosis) as well as of (Cu,Zn)-metallothionein from bovine fetal liver are reported. Upon excitation in the U.V., these proteins emit a largely red-shifted luminescence with a maximum at 565 nm attributable to the Cu(I)-thiolate chromophores of the proteins. Differences in the shapes of the spectra and the emission intensity are observed with (Cu,Zn)-metallothionein probably due to the influence of Zn ions or to a different coordination geometry of the Cu ions. The emissive properties of the Cu(I)-thiolate chromophore are compared with those of metallo-organic Cu(I)-mercaptide complexes.
mesh_terms: D000364:Agaricus / Q000032:analysis; D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle; D003300:Copper / Q000378:metabolism*; D004285:Dogs; D008099:Liver / Q000032:analysis; D008163:Luminescent Measurements; D008668:Metallothionein / Q000378:metabolism*; D008970:Molecular Weight; D009492:Neurospora crassa / Q000032:analysis; D013053:Spectrophotometry; D013438:Sulfhydryl Compounds / Q000378:metabolism*; D015032:Zinc / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D013438:Sulfhydryl Compounds; D003300:Copper; D008668:Metallothionein; D015032:Zinc