Binding selectivity
concept in biochemistry
In chemistry, binding selectivity is defined with respect to the binding of ligands to a substrate forming a complex. Binding selectivity describes how a ligand may bind more preferentially to one receptor than another. A selectivity coefficient is the equilibrium constant for the reaction of displacement by one ligand of another ligand in a complex with the substrate. Binding selectivity is of major importance in biochemistry and in chemical separation processes.
Selectivity coefficient
The concept of selectivity is used to quantify the extent to which one chemical substance, A, binds each of two other chemical substances, B and C. The simplest case is where the complexes formed have 1:1 stoichiometry. Then, the two interactions may be characterized by equilibrium constants KAB and KAC.
A
+
B
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K
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=
[
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{\displaystyle {\begin{aligned}{\ce {A + B <=> AB}};&\quad K_{\rm {AB}}={\frac {[{\ce {AB}}]}{{\ce {[A][B]}}}}\\{\ce {A + C <=> AC}};&\quad K_{\rm {AC}}={\frac {{\ce {[AC]}}}{{\ce {[A][C]}}}}\end{aligned}}}
where [X] represents the concentration of substance X (A, B, C, …).
A selectivity coefficient is defined as the ratio of the two equilibrium constants.
K
B
,
C
=
K
A
C
K
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B
{\displaystyle K_{\rm {B,C}}={\frac {K_{\rm {AC}}}{K_{\rm {AB}}}}}
This selectivity coefficient is in fact the equilibrium constant for the displacement reaction
AB
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C
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B
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K
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C
=
[
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{\displaystyle {\ce {AB + C <=> AC + B}};\quad K_{\rm {B,C}}={\frac {{\ce {[AC][B]}}}{{\ce {[AB][C]}}}}={\frac {K_{\rm {AC}}{\ce {[A][B][C]}}}{K_{\rm {AB}}{\ce {[A][B][C]}}}}={\frac {K_{\rm {AC}}}{K_{\rm {AB}}}}}
It is easy to show that the same definition applies to complexes of a different stoichiometry, ApBq and ApCq. The greater the selectivity coefficient, the more the ligand C will displace the ligand B from the complex formed with the substrate A. An alternative interpretation is that the greater the selectivity coefficient, the lower the concentration of C that is needed to displace B from AB. Selectivity coefficients are determined experimentally by measuring the two equilibrium constants, KAB and KAC.
Applications
Biochemistry
In biochemistry the substrate is known as a receptor. A receptor is a protein molecule, embedded in either the plasma membrane or the cytoplasm of a cell, to which one or more specific kinds of signalling molecules may bind.
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