Replacing a hydrogen atom by an iodine atom in insulin, the hormone retains its efficacy but is available more rapidly to the organism. Researchers at the University of Basel were able to predict this effect based on computer simulations and then confirm it with experiments. The results have been published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry.
Insulin is formed in the pancreas and regulates the blood glucose level. In the body it is stored as a zinc-bound complex of six identical molecules, called a hexamer.
