The nature of the ground states of cobalt(II) and nickel(II) carboxypeptidase A

The magnetic susceptibilities of cobalt(II) and nickel(II) derivatives of carboxypeptidase A (CPA) follow the Curie law over a wide temperature range. The observed magnetic moments of Co(II)CPA and Ni(II)CPA are 4.77 ± 0.15 and 2.53 ± 0.10 Bohr Magnetons, respectively. The magnetic and spectral properties of Ni(II)CPA are consistent only with an octahedral ground-state geometry, whereas Co(II)CPA has a probable five-coordinate structure. The results establish ordinary metal-ion ground states for two metallocarboxypeptidase A derivatives which exhibit full peptidase activity.