I need a peptide chain that can be used instead of...

[Danc]

...glutamate to bind a metal to a virus.? I need another peptide chain (i.e., the list of amino acids) that can be used instead of glutamate to bind a metal to the virus; give the metal and your source for this information.

[redbrick]

I don't know if you have a specific oligopeptide in mind for binding to the surface of the virus (as in an antigen) or not. If so, I would take one of the lysine moieties of that oligopeptide and convert its amine function to a polydentate ligand, such as DTPA (diethylenetriamine pentaaacetic acid).

ie. Convert the -NH2 of lysine to -N[CH2CH2(NCH2CO2H)2]2...that is DTPA (Synthesis of this readily available in the literature)

DTPA is an excellent octadentate ligand for metals. In physiological systems, it is very stable kinetically and you should have good metal complex conjugates of your oligopeptide.

Of course, if that lysine is sterically hindered in the secondary and tertiary structure of the oligopeptide, put a linker on any one of your amino acids in the oligopeptide that has DTPA on the end so that the metal complex is not sterically hindered.

[glbiochem]

Will you tell me the structure of DTPA-peptide? Because I found our DTPA usually coupled two peptides at the same time. It was some like DTPA-Peptide2.
I'm not sure whether it was still work in binding metals.