Effect of tetrazole moiety on coordinating efficiency of deltorphin.

A study of the effect of the tetrazole moiety, a cis-amide bond surrogate, on the Cu(II) coordinating properties of oligopeptides is reported. Insertion of the tetrazole moiety Psi[CN(4)] into the peptide sequence of [D-Ala(2)]deltorphin I changes considerably the coordination ability of the peptide. Potentiometric and spectroscopic results show that if the tetrazole moiety is in a suitable position in the peptide chain, i.e. it follows the second residue, a stable CuL species involving 3N coordination is formed in the physiological pH range. The tetrazole Psi[CN(4)] ring provides one of these nitrogens. The data indicate that Cu(II) ions are strongly trapped inside a bent peptide backbone. The peptide conformation changes achieved by Cu(II) coordination may be essential for the binding of tetrazole deltorphins at opiate receptors.