Protein−Surfactant Film Voltammetry of Wild-Type and Mutant Cytochrome P450 BM3

We are investigating the redox chemistry of wild-type (WT) and mutant (1-12G) cytochrome P450 BM3. Absorption spectra in solution feature the Fe^III Soret at 418 nm for WT and a split Soret for 1-12G at 390 and 418 nm. Voltammetry of the proteins within DDAPSS films on the surface of carbon electrodes reveal nearly identical Fe^III/II potentials (approximately −200 mV vs Ag/AgCl), but significant differences in k°, 250 vs 30 s^-1, and Fe^III/II−CO potentials, −140 vs −115 mV, for WT vs 1-12G. Catalytic reduction of dioxygen by the proteins on rotating-disk electrodes was analyzed using Levich and Koutecky−Levich treatments. The data reveal 1-12G n and k_obs values that are, respectively, 1.7 and 0.07 times those of WT, suggesting that the two proteins differ strikingly in their reactions with dioxygen.