Revised molecular basis of the promiscuous carboxylic acid perhydrolase activity in serine hydrolases

Several serine hydrolases catalyze a promiscuous reaction: perhydrolysis of carboxylic acids to form peroxycarboxylic acids. The working hypothesis is that perhydrolases are more selective than esterases for hydrogen peroxide over water. In this study, we tested this hypothesis, and focused on L29P-PFE (Pseudomonas fluorescens esterase), which catalyzes perhydrolysis of acetic acid 43-fold faster than wild-type PFE. This hypothesis predicts that L29P-PFE should be approximately 43-fold more selective for hydrogen peroxide than wild-type PFE, but experiments show that L29P-PFE is less selective. The ratio of hydrolysis to perhydrolysis of methyl acetate at different concentrations of hydrogen peroxide fit a kinetic model for nucleophile selectivity. L29P-PFE (β(0)=170 M(-1)) is approximately half as selective for hydrogen peroxide over water than wild-type PFE (β(0)=330 M(-1)), which contradicts the working hypothesis. An alternative hypothesis is that carboxylic acid perhydrolases increase perhydrolysis by forming the acyl-enzyme intermediate faster. Consistent with this hypothesis, the rate of acetyl-enzyme formation, measured by (18)O-water exchange into acetic acid, was 25-fold faster with L29P-PFE than with wild-type PFE, which is similar to the 43-fold faster perhydrolysis with L29P-PFE. Molecular modeling of the first tetrahedral intermediate (T(d)1) suggests that a closer carbonyl group found in perhydrolases accepts a hydrogen bond from the leaving group water. This revised understanding can help design more efficient enzymes for perhydrolysis and shows how subtle changes can create new, unnatural functions in enzymes.     

Structural analysis of pentacyclic triterpenes from the gum resin of Boswellia serrata by NMR spectroscopy

3α‐Acetyl‐β‐boswellic acid ( 1 ), 3α‐acetyl‐α‐boswellic acid ( 2 ), 3α‐acetyl‐9,11‐dehydro‐β‐boswellic acid ( 3 ), 3α‐acetyl‐9,11‐dehydro‐α‐boswellic acid ( 4 ) and 3α‐acetyl‐11‐keto‐β‐boswellic acid ( 5 ) were isolated from the gum resin of Boswellia serrata. 1D and 2D NMR (COSY45, HMQC, HMBC, ROESY) spectra at 500 MHz were used for shift assignments and structure verification. All boswellic acids investigated share the cis conformation at ring D/E and the 3α orientation of the acetyl ester group. Owing to high‐order spectra, NMR could not determine the exact conformation of H‐20/H‐30 of the β‐boswellic acids. 3α‐Acetyl‐β‐boswellic acid methyl ester ( 1 ^′) was synthesized for experiments with a shift reagent, Eu(fod)₃, that enhanced the resolution considerably. The oxygen atoms of the 3α‐acetyl group form the apparent complex binding site for the shift reagent. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Synthesis,structure and in vitro cytotoxicity testing of some 1,3,4‐oxadiazoline derivatives from 2‐hydroxy‐5‐iodobenzoic acid

The syntheses of nine new 5‐iodosalicylic acid‐based 1,3,4‐oxadiazoline derivatives starting from methyl salicylate are described. These compounds are 2‐[4‐acetyl‐5‐methyl‐5‐(3‐nitrophenyl)‐4,5‐dihydro‐1,3,4‐oxadiazol‐2‐yl]‐4‐iodophenyl acetate ( 6a ), 2‐[4‐acetyl‐5‐methyl‐5‐(4‐nitrophenyl)‐4,5‐dihydro‐1,3,4‐oxadiazol‐2‐yl]‐4‐iodophenyl acetate ( 6b ), 2‐(4‐acetyl‐5‐methyl‐5‐phenyl‐4,5‐dihydro‐1,3,4‐oxadiazol‐2‐yl)‐4‐iodophenyl acetate, C₁₉H₁₇IN₂O₄ ( 6c ), 2‐[4‐acetyl‐5‐(4‐fluorophenyl)‐5‐methyl‐4,5‐dihydro‐1,3,4‐oxadiazol‐2‐yl]‐4‐iodophenyl acetate, C₁₉H₁₆FIN₂O₄ ( 6d ), 2‐[4‐acetyl‐5‐(4‐chlorophenyl)‐5‐methyl‐4,5‐dihydro‐1,3,4‐oxadiazol‐2‐yl]‐4‐iodophenyl acetate, C₁₉H₁₆ClIN₂O₄ ( 6e ), 2‐[4‐acetyl‐5‐(3‐bromophenyl)‐5‐methyl‐4,5‐dihydro‐1,3,4‐oxadiazol‐2‐yl]‐4‐iodophenyl acetate ( 6f ), 2‐[4‐acetyl‐5‐(4‐bromophenyl)‐5‐methyl‐4,5‐dihydro‐1,3,4‐oxadiazol‐2‐yl]‐4‐iodophenyl acetate ( 6g ), 2‐[4‐acetyl‐5‐methyl‐5‐(4‐methylphenyl)‐4,5‐dihydro‐1,3,4‐oxadiazol‐2‐yl]‐4‐iodophenyl acetate ( 6h ) and 2‐[5‐(4‐acetamidophenyl)‐4‐acetyl‐5‐methyl‐4,5‐dihydro‐1,3,4‐oxadiazol‐2‐yl]‐4‐iodophenyl acetate ( 6i ). The compounds were characterized by mass, ¹H NMR and ¹³C NMR spectroscopies. Single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction studies were also carried out for 6c , 6d and 6e . Compounds 6c and 6d are isomorphous, with the 1,3,4‐oxadiazoline ring having an envelope conformation, where the disubstituted C atom is the flap. The packing is determined by C—H…O, C—H…π and I…π interactions. For 6e , the 1,3,4‐oxadiazoline ring is almost planar. In the packing, Cl…π interactions are observed, while the I atom is not involved in short interactions. Compounds 6d , 6e , 6f and 6h show good inhibiting abilities on the human cancer cell lines KB and Hep‐G2, with IC₅₀ values of 0.9–4.5 µM.     

Directed Evolution of a Fluorinase for Improved Fluorination Efficiency with a Non‐native Substrate

Fluorinases offer an environmentally friendly alternative for selective fluorination under mild conditions. However, their diversity is limited in nature and they have yet to be engineered through directed evolution. Herein, we report the directed evolution of the fluorinase FlA1 for improved conversion of the non‐native substrate 5′‐chloro‐5′‐deoxyadenosine (5′‐ClDA) into 5′‐fluoro‐5′‐deoxyadenosine (5′‐FDA). The evolved variants, fah2081 (A279Y) and fah2114 (F213Y, A279L), were successfully applied in the radiosynthesis of 5′‐[¹⁸F]FDA, with overall radiochemical conversion (RCC) more than 3‐fold higher than wild‐type FlA1. Kinetic studies of the two‐step reaction revealed that the variants show a significantly improved k_cat value in the conversion of 5′‐ClDA into S‐adenosyl‐l ‐methionine (SAM) but a reduced k_cat value in the conversion of SAM into 5′‐FDA.     

Highly Stereoselective β‐Mannopyranosylation via the 1‐α‐Glycosyloxy‐isochromenylium‐4‐gold(I) Intermediates

While the gold(I)‐catalyzed glycosylation reaction with 4,6‐O‐benzylidene tethered mannosyl ortho‐alkynylbenzoates as donors falls squarely into the category of the Crich‐type β‐selective mannosylation when Ph₃PAuOTf is used as the catalyst, in that the mannosyl α‐triflates are invoked, replacement of the ^?OTf in the gold(I) complex with less nucleophilic counter anions (i.e., ^?NTf₂, ^?SbF₆, ^?BF₄, and ^?BAr₄^F) leads to complete loss of β‐selectivity with the mannosyl ortho‐alkynylbenzoate β‐donors. Nevertheless, with the α‐donors, the mannosylation reactions under the catalysis of Ph₃PAuBAr₄^F (BAr₄^F=tetrakis[3,5‐bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]borate) are especially highly β‐selective and accommodate a broad scope of substrates; these include glycosylation with mannosyl donors installed with a bulky TBS group at O3, donors bearing 4,6‐di‐O‐benzoyl groups, and acceptors known as sterically unmatched or hindered. For the ortho‐alkynylbenzoate β‐donors, an anomerization and glycosylation sequence can also ensure the highly β‐selective mannosylation. The 1‐α‐mannosyloxy‐isochromenylium‐4‐gold(I) complex ( Cα ), readily generated upon activation of the α‐mannosyl ortho‐alkynylbenzoate ( 1 α ) with Ph₃PAuBAr₄^F at ?35 °C, was well characterized by NMR spectroscopy; the occurrence of this species accounts for the high β‐selectivity in the present mannosylation.     

A dinuclear phosphite rhodium(I) complex obtained by syngas treatment of a Rh/hydroxy phosphonite olefin hydroformylation precatalyst

A hydroxy phosphonite was found to be unstable during the catalyst preformation routine applied towards a rhodium olefin hydroformylation catalyst. C—P bond cleavage occurred when the phosphonite was reacted with [(acac)Rh(1,5‐COD)] (acac is acetyl acetate and 1,5‐COD is cycloocta‐1,5‐diene) at 80 °C and 20 bar of CO/H₂. As a result, a nearly planar six‐membered ring structure consisting of two rhodium(I) cations and two bridging phosphorous acid diester anions was formed, namely bis[μ‐(4,8‐di‐tert‐butyl‐2,10‐dimethoxydibenzo[d,f][1,3,2]dioxaphosphepin‐6‐yl)oxy]‐1:2κ²P:O;1:2κ²O:P‐bis{[6‐([1,1′‐biphenyl]‐2‐yloxy)‐4,8‐di‐tert‐butyl‐2,10‐dimethoxydibenzo[d,f][1,3,2]dioxaphosphepine‐κP]carbonylrhodium(I)} toluene tetrasolvate, [Rh₂(C₂₂H₂₈O₅P)₂(C₃₄H₃₇O₅P)₂(CO)₂]·4C₇H₈. Further coordination of phosphite and of carbonyl groups resulted in 16‐electron rhodium centres.     

Synthon preference in a hydrated β‐resorcylic acid structure and its cocrystal with thymine

Multicomponent crystals or cocrystals play a significant role in crystal engineering, the main objective of which is to understand the role of intermolecular interactions and to utilize such understanding in the design of novel crystal structures. Molecules possessing carboxylic acid and amide functional groups are good candidates for forming cocrystals. β‐Resorcylic acid monohydrate, C₇H₆O₄·H₂O, (I), crystallizes in the triclinic space group P with one β‐resorcylic acid molecule and one water molecule in the asymmetric unit. The cocrystal thymine–β‐resorcylic acid–water (1/1/1), C₅H₆N₂O₂·C₇H₆O₄·H₂O, (II), crystallizes in the orthorhombic space group Pca2₁, with one molecule each of thymine, β‐resorcylic acid and water in the asymmetric unit. All available donor and acceptor atoms in (I) and (II) are utilized for hydrogen bonding. The acid and amide functional groups are well known for the formation of self‐complementary acid–acid and amide–amide homosynthons. In (I), an acid–acid homosynthon is observed, while in (II), an amide–acid heterosynthon is present. In (I), the β‐resorcylic acid molecule exhibits the expected intramolecular S(6) motif between the hydroxy and carbonyl O atoms, and an intermolecular R₂²(8) dimer motif between the carboxylic acid groups; only the former motif is observed in (II). The water solvent molecule in (I) propagates the discrete dimers into two‐dimensional hydrogen‐bonded sheets. In (II), thymine and β‐resorcylic acid molecules do not form self‐complementary amide–amide and acid–acid homosynthons; instead, a thymine–β‐resorcylic acid heterosynthon is observed. With the help of the water molecule, this heterosynthon is aggregated into a three‐dimensional hydrogen‐bonded network. The absence of thymine base pairing in (II) might be linked to the availability of additional functional groups and the preference of the donor and acceptor hydrogen‐bond combinations.     

Racemic and chiral 1‐[N‐(chloro­acetyl)carbamoylamino]‐2,3‐dihydro‐1H‐inden‐2‐yl chloroacetate

In the racemic crystals of (1S,2R)‐ or (1R,2S)‐1‐[N‐(chloro­acetyl)­carbamoyl­amino]‐2,3‐di­hydro‐1H‐inden‐2‐yl chloro­acetate, C₁₄H₁₄Cl₂N₂O₄, (I), the enantiomeric mol­ecules form a dimeric structure via the N—H?O cyclic hydrogen bond of the carbamoyl moieties. In the chiral crystals of (—)‐(1S,2R)‐1‐[N‐(chloro­acetyl)­carbamoyl­amino]‐2,3‐di­hydro‐1H‐inden‐2‐yl chloro­acetate, C₁₄H₁₄Cl₂N₂O₄, (II), the N—­H?O intermolecular hydrogen bond forms a zigzag chain around the twofold screw axis. The melting points and calculated densities of (I) and (II) are 446 and 396 K, and 1.481 and 1.445 Mg m^?3, respectively.     

A Bottom‐Up Proteomic Approach to Identify Substrate Specificity of Outer‐Membrane Protease OmpT

Identifying peptide substrates that are efficiently cleaved by proteases gives insights into substrate recognition and specificity, guides development of inhibitors, and improves assay sensitivity. Peptide arrays and SAMDI mass spectrometry were used to identify a tetrapeptide substrate exhibiting high activity for the bacterial outer‐membrane protease (OmpT). Analysis of protease activity for the preferred residues at the cleavage site (P1, P1′) and nearest‐neighbor positions (P2, P2′) and their positional interdependence revealed FRRV as the optimal peptide with the highest OmpT activity. Substituting FRRV into a fragment of LL37, a natural substrate of OmpT, led to a greater than 400‐fold improvement in OmpT catalytic efficiency, with a k _cat/K _m value of 6.1×10⁶ L mol⁻¹ s⁻¹. Wild‐type and mutant OmpT displayed significant differences in their substrate specificities, demonstrating that even modest mutants may not be suitable substitutes for the native enzyme.     

The effect of amino acid backbone length on molecular packing: crystalline tartrates of glycine, β‐alanine, γ‐aminobutyric acid (GABA) and dl‐α‐aminobutyric acid (AABA)

We report a novel 1:1 cocrystal of β‐alanine with dl ‐tartaric acid, C₃H₇NO₂·C₄H₆O₆, (II), and three new molecular salts of dl ‐tartaric acid with β‐alanine {3‐azaniumylpropanoic acid–3‐azaniumylpropanoate dl ‐tartaric acid–dl ‐tartrate, [H(C₃H₇NO₂)₂]⁺·[H(C₄H₅O₆)₂]⁻, (III)}, γ‐aminobutyric acid [3‐carboxypropanaminium dl ‐tartrate, C₄H₁₀NO₂⁺·C₄H₅O₆⁻, (IV)] and dl ‐α‐aminobutyric acid {dl ‐2‐azaniumylbutanoic acid–dl ‐2‐azaniumylbutanoate dl ‐tartaric acid–dl ‐tartrate, [H(C₄H₉NO₂)₂]⁺·[H(C₄H₅O₆)₂]⁻, (V)}. The crystal structures of binary crystals of dl ‐tartaric acid with glycine, (I), β‐alanine, (II) and (III), GABA, (IV), and dl ‐AABA, (V), have similar molecular packing and crystallographic motifs. The shortest amino acid (i.e. glycine) forms a cocrystal, (I), with dl ‐tartaric acid, whereas the larger amino acids form molecular salts, viz. (IV) and (V). β‐Alanine is the only amino acid capable of forming both a cocrystal [i.e. (II)] and a molecular salt [i.e. (III)] with dl ‐tartaric acid. The cocrystals of glycine and β‐alanine with dl ‐tartaric acid, i.e. (I) and (II), respectively, contain chains of amino acid zwitterions, similar to the structure of pure glycine. In the structures of the molecular salts of amino acids, the amino acid cations form isolated dimers [of β‐alanine in (III), GABA in (IV) and dl ‐AABA in (V)], which are linked by strong O—H…O hydrogen bonds. Moreover, the three crystal structures comprise different types of dimeric cations, i.e. (A…A)⁺ in (III) and (V), and A⁺…A⁺ in (IV). Molecular salts (IV) and (V) are the first examples of molecular salts of GABA and dl ‐AABA that contain dimers of amino acid cations. The geometry of each investigated amino acid (except dl ‐AABA) correlates with the melting point of its mixed crystal.     

Studies on the non‐covalent interactions between cyclodextrins and aryl alkanol piperazine derivatives by mass spectrometry and fluorescence spectroscopy

The non‐covalent complexes of α‐ and β‐cyclodextrins (α‐, β‐CDs) with two aryl alkanol piperazine derivatives (Pipe I and Pipe II) have been studied by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI‐MS) and fluorescence spectroscopy. The ESI‐MS experimental results demonstrated that Pipe I can conjugate to β‐CD and form 1:1 or 1:2 stoichiometric non‐covalent complexes, and Pipe II can only form 1:1 complexes with α‐ or β‐CD. Fluorescence spectra indicated that the fluorescence intensities of Pipe I and Pipe II can be enhanced by increasing the content of β‐CD. The mass spectrometric titration experiments showed that the dissociation constants K_d1 were 5.77 and 9.52 × 10^?4 mol L^?1 for the complexes of α‐CD with Pipe I and Pipe II, respectively, revealing that the binding of α‐CD‐Pipe I was stronger than α‐CD‐Pipe II. The K_d1 and K_d2 values were 9.81 × 10^?4 mol L^?1 and 1.11 × 10^?7 (mol L^?1)² for 1:1 and 1:2 complexes of Pipe I with β‐CD, respectively. The K_d values obtained from fluorescence spectroscopy were in agreement with those from ESI‐MS titration. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Über Chrom(II)-carboxylate und Halogenochromate(II)

Highly pure chromium(II) acetate, was obtained from chromium powder and anhydrous acetic acid in the presence of a small amount of acetylhalide. Cr^II acetate reacts with acetyl halide in anhydrous acetic acid to sesquisolvates like CrCl₂ · 3/2 CH₃COOH. If one equivalent of alkali acetate or an organic nitrogen base is added to solutions of Cr^II acetate in acetyl halide/acetic acid mixtures, trihalochromates(II) are precipitated which are hexagonal in structure, except the ammonium and the potassium salt. With two equivalents of alkali or ammonium acetate tetrachlorochromates(II) of cesium, rubidium and ammonium are precipitated. They are tetragonal in structure (K₂NiF₄ type). Using pyridinium acetate with various mixtures of acetyl bromide and acetic acid, only the solvates (PyH)₃(CrBr₅) · 2CH₃COOH is formed.     

A 1,2,4‐diazaphospholane complex of rhodium

The crystal structure of a prospective olefin catalyst, namely {2‐[1‐acetyl‐5‐(2‐hydroxy­phenyl)‐4‐phenyl‐1,2,4‐di­aza­phospholan‐3‐yl]­phenyl acetate‐κP}chloro­(η⁴‐cyclo­octa‐1,5‐diene)rhodium(I) di­chloro­methane solvate, [RhCl(C₈H₁₂)(C₂₄H₂₃N₂O₄P)]·CH₂Cl₂, has been determined at 173 K. The five‐membered heterocycle of the phosphine ligand is in a slightly distorted twist conformation. An intramolecular N1—H1⃛Cl1 hydrogen bond contributes to the adopted conformation and may additionally participate in secondary interactions with substrates during catalysis.     

A rare occurrence of a β‐turn in an amyloid βA4 peptide

The fragment β(25–35) of the amyloid β‐peptide, like its parent βA4, has shown neurotrophic and late neurotoxic activities in cultured cells. The 3D structure of this important peptide was examined by ¹H and ¹³C 2D‐NMR and MD simulations in DMSO‐d₆ and water. The NMR parameters of chemical shift, ³J(N,Hα) coupling constants, temperature coefficients of NH chemical shifts and the pattern of intra and inter‐residue NOEs were used to deduce the structures. In DMSO‐d₆, the peptide was found to take up a type I β‐turn around the C‐terminal residues Ile⁸–Gly⁹–Leu¹⁰–Met¹¹, whereas in water at pH 5.5, it adopts a random coil conformation. This is only the second report of a β‐turn in the β‐amyloid class of peptides. The solution structures generated using restrained molecular dynamics were refined by MARDIGRAS to an R factor of 0.33 in the case of DMSO‐d₆ and to 0.56 for water. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Kinetic Study of Peroxidase‐Catalyzed Coupling of Benzene‐1,4‐diamine and N‐(2‐Aminoethyl)naphthalen‐1‐amine: Development of Micromolar Hydrogen Peroxide Reaction System

A novel chromogenic method to measure the peroxidase activity using para‐phenylenediamine dihydrochloride (=benzene‐1,4‐diamine hydrochloride; PPDD) and N‐(1‐naphthyl)ethylenediamine dihydrochloride (=N‐(2‐aminoethyl)naphthalen‐1‐amine; NEDA) is presented. The PPDD entraps the free radical and gets oxidized to electrophilic diimine, which couples with NEDA to give an intense red‐colored chromogenic species with maximum absorbance at 490 nm. This assay was adopted for the quantification of H₂O₂ between 20 and 160 μM . Catalytic efficiency and catalytic power of the commercial peroxidase were found to be 4.47×10⁴ M ^?1 min^?1 and 3.38×10^?4 min^?1, respectively. The catalytic constant (k_cat) and specificity constant (k_cat/K_m) at saturated concentration of the co‐substrates were 0.0245×10³ min^?1 and 0.0445 μM ^?1 min^?1, respectively. The chromogenic coupling reaction has a minimum interference from the reducing substances such as ascorbic acid, L ‐cystein, citric acid, and oxalic acid. The method being simple, rapid, precise, and sensitive, its applicability has been tested in the crude vegetable extracts that showed peroxidase activity.     

Two pentadehydropeptides with different configurations of the ΔPhe residues

Comparison of the crystal structures of two pentadehydropeptides containing ΔPhe residues, namely (Z,Z)‐N‐(tert‐butoxycarbonyl)glycyl‐α,β‐phenylalanylglycyl‐α,β‐phenylalanylglycine (or Boc⁰–Gly¹–Δ^ZPhe²–Gly³–Δ^ZPhe⁴–Gly⁵–OH) methanol solvate, C₂₉H₃₃N₅O₈·CH₄O, (I), and (E,E)‐N‐(tert‐butoxycarbonyl)glycyl‐α,β‐phenylalanylglycyl‐α,β‐phenylalanylglycine (or Boc⁰–Gly¹–Δ^EPhe²–Gly³–Δ^EPhe⁴–Gly⁵–OH), C₂₉H₃₃N₅O₈, (II), indicates that the Δ^ZPhe residue is a more effective inducer of folded structures than the Δ^EPhe residue. The values of the torsion angles ϕ and ψ show the presence of two type‐III′β‐turns at the Δ^ZPhe residues and one type‐II β‐turn at the Δ^EPhe residue. All amino acids are linked trans to each other in both peptides. β‐Turns present in the peptides are stabilized by intramolecular 4→1 hydrogen bonds. Molecules in both structures form two‐dimensional hydrogen‐bond networks parallel to the (100) plane.     

Determination of kynurenic acid levels in rat brain microdialysis samples and changes in kynurenic acid levels induced by N‐acetylaspartic acid

The levels of kynurenic acid, an endogenous antagonist of α₇ nicotinic acetylcholine and N‐methyl‐D ‐aspartate receptors, were measured in microdialysis samples obtained from the prefrontal cortices of rats using column‐switching high‐performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection. When the perfusate was constantly infused at a rate of 1.0 μ/min, the in vitro recovery of kynurenic acid through the dialysis membrane was approximately 20.4%, and the precision was within 1.31%. Endogenous kynurenic acid in the microdialysis sample was clearly detected using column‐switching high‐performance liquid chromatography. As an application study, N‐acetyl‐L ‐aspartic acid, an endogenous metabolite and precursor of N‐acetyl‐L ‐aspartyl‐L ‐glutamic acid, which is an agonist of metabotropic glutamate receptors, was infused for 120 min through the microdialysis probe. The kynurenic acid level significantly increased during the infusion of N‐acetyl‐L ‐aspartic acid, suggesting that kynurenic acid might have some association with N‐acetyl‐L ‐aspartic acid in vivo. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Regioselective Hydroxylation of C12–C15 Fatty Acids with Fluorinated Substituents by Cytochrome P450 BM3

We demonstrate herein that wild‐type cytochrome P450 BM3 can recognize non‐natural substrates, such as fluorinated C₁₂–C₁₅ chain‐length fatty acids, and show better catalysis for their efficient conversion. Although the binding affinities for fluorinated substrates in the P450 BM3 pocket are marginally lower than those for non‐fluorinated substrates, spin‐shift measurements suggest that fluoro substituents at the ω‐position can facilitate rearrangement of the dynamic structure of the bulk‐water network within the hydrophobic pocket through a micro desolvation process to expel the water ligand of the heme iron that is present in the resting state. A lowering of the Michaelis–Menten constant (K_m), however, indicates that fluorinated fatty acids are indeed better substrates compared with their non‐fluorinated counterparts. An enhancement of the turnover frequencies (k_cat) for electron transfer from NADPH to the heme iron and for C? H bond oxidation by compound I (Cpd I) to yield the product suggests that the activation energies associated with going from the enzyme–substrate (ES state) to the corresponding transition state (ES^≠ state) are significantly lowered for both steps in the case of the fluorinated substrates. Delicate control of the regioselectivity by the fluorinated terminal methyl groups of the C₁₂–C₁₅ fatty acids has been noted. Despite the fact that residues Arg47/Tyr51/Ser72 exert significant control over the hydroxylation of the subterminal carbon atoms toward the hydrocarbon tail, the fluorine substituent(s) at the ω‐position affects the regioselective hydroxylation. For substrate hydroxylation, we have found that fluorinated lauric acids probably give a better structural fit for the heme pocket than fluorinated pentadecanoic acid, even though pentadecanoic acid is by far the best substrate among the reported fatty acids. Interestingly, 12‐fluorododecanoic acid, with only one fluorine atom at the terminal methyl group, exhibits a comparable turnover frequency to that of pentadecanoic acid. Thus, fluorination of the terminal methyl group introduces additional interactions of the substrate within the hydrophobic pocket, which influence the electron transfers for both dioxygen activation and the controlled oxidation of aliphatics mediated by high‐valent oxoferryl species.     

3‐(4‐Cyano­phenyl)­pentane‐2,4‐dione and its copper(II) complex

The β‐diketone 3‐(4‐cyano­phenyl)­pentane‐2,4‐dione crystallizes as the enol tautomer 4‐(2‐hydroxy‐4‐oxopent‐2‐en‐3‐yl)­benzo­nitrile, C₁₂H₁₁NO₂, (I), with an intramolecular O—H⋯O hydrogen bond [O⋯O = 2.456 (2) Å]. Reaction of (I) with copper acetate monohydrate in the presence of triethyl­amine leads to the formation of the copper(II) complexbis­[3‐(4‐cyano­phenyl)­pentane‐2,4‐dionato‐κ²O,O]copper(II), [Cu(C₁₂H₁₀NO₂)₂], (II). In the structure of (II), the Cu atom is coordinated by four β‐diketonate O atoms in a slightly distorted square‐planar geometry, with Cu—O distances in the range 1.8946 (11)–1.9092 (11) Å. The nitrile moieties in (II) make it a candidate for reaction with other metal ions to produce supramolecular structures.     

Triterpenoids from Rhaponticum Uniflorum

The isolation and identification of twenty‐one components (including four new triterpenoid saponins and one new triterpenoid acid) from the root of Rhaponticum uniflorum (L.) DC. (Compositae) are described. Their structures were determined on the basis of spectral analysis and chemical trans formation. The new compounds were identified as 3‐O‐α‐L‐arabinopyranosyl‐urs‐12,18(19)‐dien‐28‐oic acid β‐D‐glucopyranosyl ester, 3β‐ hydroxyurs‐12,18(19)‐dien‐28‐oic acid β‐D‐glucopyranosyl ester, 3β‐hydroxyurs‐12,19(29)‐dien‐28‐oic acid β‐D‐glucopyranosylester, 3‐O‐α‐L‐arabinopyranosyl‐urs‐9(11),12‐dien‐28‐oic acid β‐D‐glucopyranosyl ester and 2 α,3 α, 19α,25‐tetrahydroxyurs‐12‐en‐23,28‐dioic acid.