Engineering short peptide sequences for uranyl binding.

Peptides are interesting tools to rationalize uranyl-protein interactions, which are relevant to uranium toxicity in vivo. Structured cyclic peptide scaffolds were chosen as promising candidates to coordinate uranyl thanks to four amino acid side chains pre-oriented towards the dioxo cation equatorial plane. The binding of uranyl by a series of decapeptides has been investigated with complementary analytical and spectroscopic methods to determine the key parameters for the formation of stable uranyl-peptide complexes. The molar ellipticity of the uranyl complex at 195 nm is directly correlated to its stability, which demonstrates that the β-sheet structure is optimal for high stability in the peptide series. Cyclodecapeptides with four glutamate residues exhibit the highest affinities for uranyl with log KC =8.0-8.4 and, therefore, appear as good starting points for the design of high-affinity uranyl-chelating peptides.