Synthesis and characterization of mixed ligand complexes of Zn(II) and Co(II) with amino acids: Relevance to zinc binding sites in zinc fingers

Mixed ligand complexes of Zn(II) and Co(II) with cysteine, histidine, cysteinemethylester, and histidinemethylester have been synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis, conductivity, magnetic susceptibility measurements, and infrared, 1H NMR, TGA and FAB mass spectra. In these complexes, histidine, and histidinemethylester act as bidentate ligands involving amino and imidazole nitrogens in metal coordination. Similarly, cysteine, and cysteinemethylester also act as bidentate ligands coordinating through thiol sulphur and amino nitrogen. Tetrahedral geometry has been proposed for Zn(II) and Co(II) complexes based on experimental evidence.