A new classification of the amino acid side chains based on doublet acceptor energy levels.

We describe a new classification of the amino acid side chains based on the potential energy level at which each will accept an extra (doublet) electron. The doublet acceptor energy level, and the doublet acceptor orbital were calculated using semiempirical INDO/2-UHF molecular orbital theory. The results of these calculations show that the side chains fall into four groups. We have termed these groups repulsive, insulating, semiconducting, and attractive in accordance with where each lies on the relative energy scale. We use this classification to examine the role of residues between the donor and acceptor in modulating the rate and mechanism of electron transfer in proteins. With the calculated acceptor levels, we construct a potential barrier for those residues between the donor and acceptor. It is the area beneath this barrier that determines the decay of electronic coupling between donor and acceptor, and thus the transfer rate. We have used this schematic approach to characterize the four electron transfer pathways in myoglobin recently studied by Mayo et al. (Mayo, S.L., W.R. Ellis, R.J. Crutchley, and H.B. Gray. 1986. Science [Wash. DC]. 233:948-952).