Role of the electronic properties of azurin active site in the electron-transfer process

Electron transfer proteins, such as azurin (a blue copper protein), are promising candidates for the implementation of biomolecular nanoelectronic devices. To understand the details of electron transfer in redox active azurin molecules, we performed plane-wave pseudo-potential density functional theory (DFT) calculations of the protein active site in the two possible oxidation states Cu(I) and Cu(II). The ab initio results are used to discuss how the electronic spectrum and wavefunctions may mediate the shuttling of electrons through the copper ion. We find that the Cu-ligand hybridization is very similar in the two charge states of the metal center, but the energy spectrum changes substantially. This result might indicate important effects of electronic correlations in the redox activity and consequent electron transfer through the Cu site.