Electrochemical determination of heme-linked pKa values and the importance of using fluoride binding in heme proteins.

The ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) spectroelectrochemical measurements of heme proteins in the presence of a heme-bound fluoride ion can be used as a probe for heme-linked ionizations of acid-base groups in the heme pocket. A detailed study of the pH dependence of the midpoint potential of skeletal horse myoglobin (Mb) with a heme-bound fluoride ion (Mb-F) reveals how protonation of the distal histidine (H64) changes the redox properties of the protein with a determined pKa of 5.3. In addition, fluoride binding in myoglobin provides a stabilization of -1.9 kcal/mol of the ferric Mb-F relative to ferric Mb without fluoride.