Generation of pseudocontact shifts in protein NMR spectra with a genetically encoded cobalt(II)-binding amino acid

Playing tag: Incorporation of the genetically encoded amino acid bipyridylalanine into a protein creates a site-specific binding site for Co ^II. Pronounced pseudocontact shifts generated by the Co ^II ion in the NMR spectra delivers powerful long-range structure information for the facile analysis of proteins as well as protein-protein and protein-ligand complexes (see picture for a representation of the psuedocontact shift in the protein).