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There are some atoms sign of protein structure in paper, like Nε2， Cε. I know this sign is for information about atoms position, but I don't know the exact meaning. The below is original words in paper, which is about structure of type3 copper proteins. enter image description here

I need more information about this atom sign system.

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This is the "numbering" of the atoms in the amino acids. For this purpose, greek letters are used. This follows the convention that the Cα is the carbon atom next to the carboxylic group. Cβ is the next one and so on. ε1 and ε2 mark the positions at the end of the ring, which are carbon and nitrogen.

See this picture (from here), which shows all the positions in Histidine:

enter image description here

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  • $\begingroup$ So here, ε1 is abbreviated as ε. Cε is same as Cε1. $\endgroup$
    – Charlie Xiong
    Commented Jun 28, 2023 at 22:22
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    $\begingroup$ @CharlieXiong Yes. $\endgroup$
    – Chris ♦
    Commented Jun 29, 2023 at 6:24
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    $\begingroup$ Examples and references for the atom names are here: bmrb.io/referenc/nomenclature $\endgroup$
    – Ryan
    Commented Jul 2, 2023 at 13:49

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