NRVS for Fe in Biology: Experiment and Basic Interpretation

For over 20 years, nuclear resonance vibrational spectroscopy (NRVS) has been used to study vibrational dynamics of iron-containing materials. With the only selection rule being iron motion, Fe NRVS has become an excellent tool to study iron-containing enzymes. Over the past decade, considerable progress has been made in the study of complex metalloenzymes using NRVS. Iron cofactors in heme-containing globins; [2Fe2S], [3Fe4S], [4Fe4S] proteins; the [NiFe] and [FeFe] hydrogenases; and nitrogenases have been explored in a fashion not possible through traditional vibrational spectroscopy. In this chapter, we discuss the basics of NRVS, a strategy to perform NRVS, and a discussion of the application of NRVS on rubredoxin and [FeFe] hydrogenase.