Mobile gold fingers

(Wiley) Drugs containing gold have been used for centuries to treat conditions like rheumatoid arthritis. In addition, they might be effective against cancer and HIV. One mechanism by which they work could occur because gold ions force the zinc ions out of zinc fingers -- looped, nucleic acid binding protein domains. American researchers have characterized such 'gold fingers' using ion mobility mass spectrometry. As reported in the journal Angewandte Chemie, they identified the exact gold binding sites.
Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health - Category: Global & Universal Source Type: news