De novo design of synthetic di-iron(I) complexes as structural models of the reduced form of iron-iron hydrogenase

Simple synthetic di-iron dithiolate complexes provide good models of the composition of the active site of the iron-iron hydrogenase enzymes. However, the formally Fe(I)Fe(I) complexes synthesized to date fail to reproduce the precise orientation of the diatomic ligands about the iron centers that is observed in the molecular structure of the reduced form of the enzyme active site. This structural difference is often used to explain the fact that the synthetic di-iron complexes are generally poor catalysts when compared to the enzyme. Herein, density functional theory computations are used for the rational design of synthetic complexes as structural models of the reduced form of the enzyme active site. These computations suggest several possible synthetic targets. The synthesis of complexes containing five-atom S-to-S linkers of the form S(CH2)2X(CH2)2S (X = CH2, NH, or O) or pendant functionalities attached to the three-carbon framework is one method. Another approach is the synthesis of asymmetrically substituted complexes, in which one iron center has strongly electron donating ligands and the adjacent iron center has strongly electron accepting ligands. The combination of a sterically demanding S-to-S linker and asymmetric substitution of the CO ligands is predicted to be a particularly effective synthetic target.     

Ligand-field dependence of the excited state dynamics of Hangman bisporphyrin dyad complexes

A new Hangman porphyrin architecture has been developed to interrogate the ligand-field dependence of photoinduced PCET versus excitation energy transfer and intersystem crossing in PZn(II)-PFe(III)-OH dyads (P = porphyrin). In this design, a hanging carboxylic acid group establishes a hydrogen-bonding network to anchor the weak-field OH- ligand in the distal site of the PFe(III)-OH acceptor, whereas the proximal site is left available to accept strong-field imidazole ligands. Thus, controlling the tertiary coordination environment gives access to the first synthetic example of a porphyrin dyad with a biologically relevant weak-field/strong-field configuration of axial ligands at the heme. Transient absorption spectroscopy has been employed to probe the fate of the initial PZn(II)-based S1 excited state, revealing rapid S1 quenching for all dyads in the presence and absence of strong-field imidazole ligands (tau = 6-50 ps). The absence of a (P*+)Zn(II) signal that would complement photoinduced PCET at the PFe(III)-OH subunit (i.e., PFe(III)-OH --> PFe(II)-OH2) shows that excitation energy transfer and intersystem crossing channels dominate the quenching, regardless of whether proximal strong field ligands are present. Moreover, this photophysical assignment is independent of the solvent dielectric constant and whether a phenylene or biphenylene spacer is used to span the two porphyrin subunits. Electronic structure calculations suggest that the structural reorganization attendant to reductive PCET at the high-spin Fe(III)-OH center imposes a severe kinetic cost that can only be alleviated by inducing a low-spin electronic configuration with two strong-field axial ligands.     

Kinetic analysis of nitroxide radical coupling reactions mediated by CuBr

In a previous paper, we described the room temperature rapid, selective, reversible, and near quantitative Cu‐activated nitroxide radical coupling (NRC) technique to prepare 3‐arm polystyrene stars. In this work, we evaluated the Cu‐activation mechanism, either conventional atom transfer or single electron transfer (SET), through kinetic simulations. Simulation data showed that one can describe the system by either activation mechanism. We also found through simulations that bimolecular radical termination, regardless of activation mechanism, was extremely low and could be considered negligible in an NRC reaction. Experiments were carried out to form 2‐ and 3‐arm PSTY stars using two ligands, PMDETA and Me₆TREN, in a range of solvent conditions by varying the ratio of DMSO to toluene, and over a wide temperature range. The rate of 2‐ or 3‐arm star formation was governed by the choice of solvent and ligand. The combination of Me₆TREN and toluene/DMSO showed a relatively temperature independent rate, and remarkably reached near quantitative yields for 2‐arm star formation after only 1 min at 25 °C. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 48: 2214–2223, 2010     

Metal-bridging mechanism for O-O bond cleavage in cytochrome C oxidase

Density functional theory (B3LYP) has been applied to large models of the Fe(II)-Cu(I) binuclear center in cytochrome oxidase, investigating the mechanism of O-O bond cleavage in the mixed valence form of the enzyme. To comply with experimental information, the O(2) molecule is assumed to be bridging between iron and copper during the O-O bond cleavage, leading to the formation of a ferryl-oxo group and a cupric hydroxide. In accord with previous suggestions, the calculations show that it is energetically feasible to take the fourth electron needed in this reaction from the tyrosine residue that is cross-linked to one of the copper ligands, resulting in the formation of a neutral tyrosyl radical. However, the calculations indicate that simultaneous transfer of an electron and a proton from the tyrosine to dioxygen during bond cleavage leads to a barrier more than 10 kcal/mol higher than that experimentally determined. This may be overcome in two ways. If an extra proton in the binuclear center assists in the mechanism, the calculated reaction barrier agrees with experiment. Alternatively, the fourth electron might initially be supplied by a residue in the vicinity other than the tyrosine.     

1D/2D TiO2/ZnIn2S4S型异质结光催化剂及其高效制氢性能

通过半导体催化剂利用太阳能分解水制氢被认为是解决人类面临的环境问题和能源危机的有效途径.在众多的半导体光催化剂中,TiO₂由于其良好的光化学稳定性、无毒性、丰富的形貌以及低廉的价格,在光催化制氢领域备受关注.然而TiO₂的内在缺陷,如较宽的带隙、较窄的光响应范围,光生电子空穴对的快速复合,极大限制了其太阳能制氢效率.构建异质结结构被认为是解决以上问题的一个有效方法,通过将TiO₂与另一个半导体复合可以提升催化剂对太阳光的吸收范围,也可降低光生电子空穴对的复合速率.但构建一个成功的异质结结构不仅要满足上述的要求,还需要保留异质结催化剂体系中光生电子和空穴的氧化还原能力.研究表明,S型异质结是将两个具有合适能带结构的半导体进行耦合,由于费米能级的差异,两个半导体间将发生电子转移,从而引起能带弯曲并形成内建电场.光照条件下,具有较弱还原能力的光生电子在内建电场和能带弯曲的作用下与较弱氧化能力的光生空穴复合,实现异质结催化剂体系中各个半导体内部光生载流子有效分离的目标,同时保留了异质结催化剂体系中较强氧化能力和较强还原能力的光生电子和空穴,进而实现光催化活性的提高.本文采用水热合成方法,将具有更强还原能力和可见光响应特性的半导体(ZnIn₂S₄)原位生长在TiO₂纳米纤维表面,构建了1D/2DTiO₂/ZnIn₂S₄S型异质结光催化剂.最优比例的TiO₂/ZnIn₂S₄复合材料表现出优越的光催化制氢活性(6.03mmol/h/g),分别是纯TiO₂和纯ZnIn₂S₄制氢活性的3.7倍和2倍.TiO₂/ZnIn₂S₄复合材料光催化活性的提高可以归因于紧密的异质结界面、光生载流子的有效分离、丰富的反应活性位点以及增强的光吸收能力.通过原位XPS和DFT计算研究了异质结内部光生电子的转移机制.结果表明,在光照条件下电子由TiO₂向ZnIn₂S₄迁移,遵循了S型异质结内部电子的转移机制,实现了TiO₂和ZnIn₂S₄内部光生载流子的有效分离,同时保留了具有较强还原能力的ZnIn₂S₄价带电子和较强氧化能力的TiO₂导带空穴,从而显著提升光催化制氢效率.综上,本文制备的TiO₂/ZnIn₂S₄S型异质结光催化剂很好地克服了TiO₂在光催化制氢领域所面临的诸多障碍,为设计和制备高效异质结光催化剂提供了新的思路.     

Living radical polymerization of vinyl chloride initiated with iodoform and catalyzed by nascent Cu0/tris(2‐aminoethyl)amine or polyethyleneimine in water at 25 °C proceeds by a new competing pathways mechanism

The first example of living radical polymerization of vinyl chloride carried out in water at 25 °C is reported. This polymerization was initiated by iodoform and catalyzed by nascent Cu⁰ produced by the disproportionation of Cu^I in the presence of strongly Cu^II binding ligands such as tris(2‐aminoethyl)amine or polyethyleneimine. The resulting poly(vinyl chloride) was free of structural defects, had controlled molecular weight and narrow molecular weight distribution, contained two ～CHClI active chain ends, and had a higher syndiotacticity (62%) than the one obtained by conventional free‐radical polymerization at the same temperature (56%). This novel polymerization proceeds, most probably, by a combination of competitive pathways that involves activation by single electron transfer mediated by nascent Cu⁰ and degenerative chain transfer. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 41: 3283–3299, 2003     

Rational approach to selective and direct 2-O-alkylation of 5,6-O-isopropylidine-L-ascorbic acid

l-Ascorbic acid is a versatile radical scavenger widely distributed in aerobic organisms that plays a central role in the protection of cellular components against oxidative damage by free radicals and oxidants. It also functions as a physiological reductant for key enzymatic transformations in catecholamine neurotransmitters, amidated peptide hormones, and collagen biosynthetic pathways. Simple derivatives of l-ascorbic acid have been shown to possess antioxidant, antitumor, and immunostimulant activities. The antioxidant and redox properties of l-ascorbic acid are closely associated with the electron-rich 2,3-enediol moiety of the molecule, and therefore, selective functionalization of the 2- and 3-OH groups is essential for the detailed structure-activity studies. Reactions of 5- and 6-OH-protected ascorbic acid with electrophilic reagents exclusively produce the corresponding 3-O-alkylated products under mild basic conditions due to the high nucleophilicity of the C-3-OH. Based on the density functional theory (B3LYP) electron density calculations, we have devised a novel and general method for the direct alkylation of the 2-OH group of ascorbic acid with complete regio- and chemoselectivity. We have also carried out a complete spectroscopic analysis of two complementary series of 2-O-acetyl-3-O-alkyl- and 2-O-alkyl-3-O-acetylascorbic acid derivatives to define their spectroscopic characteristics and to resolve common inconsistencies in the literature.     

Light-driven tyrosine radical formation in a ruthenium-tyrosine complex attached to nanoparticle TiO2

We demonstrate a possibility of multistep electron transfer in a supramolecular complex adsorbed on the surface of nanocrystalline TiO(2). The complex mimics the function of the tyrosine(Z)() and chlorophyll unit P(680) in natural photosystem II (PSII). A ruthenium(II) tris(bipyridyl) complex covalently linked to a L-tyrosine ethyl ester through an amide bond was attached to the surface of nanocrystalline TiO(2) via carboxylic acid groups linked to the bpy ligands. Synthesis and characterization of this complex are described. Excitation (450 nm) of the complex promotes an electron to a metal-to-ligand charge-transfer (MLCT) excited state, from which the electron is injected into TiO(2). The photogeneration of Ru(III) is followed by an intramolecular electron transfer from tyrosine to Ru(III), regenerating the photosensitizer Ru(II) and forming the tyrosyl radical. The tyrosyl radical is formed in less than 5 micros with a yield of 15%. This rather low yield is a result of a fast back electron transfer reaction from the nanocrystalline TiO(2) to the photogenerated Ru(III).     

Reporting a unique example of electronic bistability observed in the form of valence tautomerism with a copper(II) helicate of a redox-active nitrogenous heterocyclic ligand

Valence tautomeric compounds involving nondixolene-type ligands are rare. The triple-helicate copper(II) complex [Cu(II)(2)(L)(3)](ClO(4))(4)·3CH(3)CN (1) containing a redox-active N-heterocyclic ligand (L) has been prepared and displays VT equilibrium in solution, as established by electronic spectroscopy, electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy, and cyclic and differential pulse voltammetry carried out at variable temperatures. The process involves intramolecular transfer of an electron from one of the L ligands to a copper(II) center, leading to the oxidation of L to an L(?+) radical with concomitant reduction of the Cu(II) center to Cu(I), as shown by the equilibrium [Cu(II)Cu(I)L(?+)L(2)](4+) ? [Cu(II)(2)L(3)](4+).     

Fast-response fluorescent probe with favorable water solubility for highly sensitive imaging of endogenous tyrosinase in living cells and zebrafish model

Tyrosinase (TYR) is an important polyphenolic oxidase enzyme and usually regards as a biomarker of melanoma cancer. Highly effective tracking TYR activity in vivo will help to study the mechanism of TYR in living organisms and forecasts related diseases. In this study, we present a novel TYR-activatable fluorescent probe (CHMC-DOPA) for tracking TYR activity in vitro and in vivo. CHMC-DOPA is constructed by incorporating dopamine (DOPA) moiety into a fluorescent chloro-hydroxyl-merocyanine (CHMC) scaffold. Upon exposure to TYR, the dopamine unit in CHMC-DOPA is oxidized to a dopaquinone derivative, and an intramolecular photo-induced electron transfer (PET) process between CHMC fluorophore and o-dopaquinone will take place, the fluorescence of CHMC-DOPA is quenched rapidly. Therefore, the evaluation of TYR activity is established in terms of the relationship between fluorescence quenching efficiency and TYR activity. In our experiments, CHMC-DOPA shows various advantages, such as fast response (8?min), low concentration of TYR activation (0.5 U/mL), good water-solubility, as well as the lowest detection limit (0.003 U/mL) compared with previously reported works. Furthermore, CHMC-DOPA also exhibits excellent cell membrane permeability and low cytotoxicity, which is successfully used to monitor endogenous TYR activity in living cancer cells and zebrafish models. CHMC-DOPA performs well, and we anticipate that this newly designed novel platform will provide an alternative for high effective monitoring TYR activity in biosystems.     

Moderating the acidity of Pb(II)-water complexes through the coordination of nonaqueous ligands: a computational study

The metal dication Pb(II) is known to promote catalytic cleavage of the sugar-phosphate backbone in tRNA. The mechanism proposed to achieve this step requires that the [Pb(II)OH(-)](+) moiety act as a nucleophile and alter the local acidity of surrounding water molecules. MP2 calculations investigating the effect that nonaqueous bases have on the stability of dihydrated-Pb(II) show that the height and position of the proton-transfer barrier are sensitive to the presence of a single N- or O-coordinating "spectator" ligand and that, with the addition of two ligands coordinated directly to the Pb(II) center, the equilibrium for the hydrolysis reaction can shift to the left, thus making the Pb(II)-hydrate complex more stable than the Pb(II)-hydroxide complex. The calculations reveal a good correlation between the gas-phase basicities of nonaqueous ligands coordinated to the metal center and the barriers to proton transfer in [Pb(H(2)O)(2)](2+). In terms of the Pb(II)-induced hydrolysis of tRNA, these results indicate that the coordination of [Pb(II)-OH(-)](+) to uracil and cytosine in tRNA increases the basicity of the hydroxyl group and promotes nucleophilic attack of H(+).     

单电子转移活性自由基聚合的现状及展望

重点介绍了单电子转移活性自由基聚合的机理及适合该聚合体系的催化剂、配体、溶剂种类和单体适用范围,并探讨了单电子转移活性自由基聚合的发展前景。     

Linear free energy relationships and kinetic isotope effects reveal the chemistry of the Ado 2′-OH group

Using kinetic isotope effects (KIE) and Hammett correlations, we show that the main role of the adenosine 2′-OH group on deprotonation by the non nucleophilic base DBU during external acyl group transfer is to generate enhanced electron density on the attacking nucleophile through ionization. The small primary KIEs (1.2 and 1.6) and the large Hammett reaction constants (+2.25 and +3.19) obtained for the ethanolysis of 2′/3′-O-p-substituted benzoyl 5′-O-trityl adenosines and 2′-deoxyadenosines are consistent with an A_N + D_N reaction mechanism. The implications of our results are discussed in terms of chemical contributions of the 2′-OH group in the ribosome catalysis of peptide bond formation.     

9-Mercaptodethiobiotin is generated as a ligand to the [2Fe-2S]+ cluster during the reaction catalyzed by biotin synthase from Escherichia coli

Biotin synthase catalyzes formation of the thiophane ring through stepwise substitution of a sulfur atom for hydrogen atoms at the C9 and C6 positions of dethiobiotin. Biotin synthase is a radical S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) enzyme that reductively cleaves S-adenosylmethionine, generating 5'-deoxyadenosyl radicals that initially abstract a hydrogen atom from the C9 position of dethiobiotin. We have proposed that the resulting dethiobiotinyl radical is quenched by the μ-sulfide of the nearby [2Fe-2S](2+) cluster, resulting in coupled formation of 9-mercaptodethiobiotin and a reduced [2Fe-2S](+) cluster. This reduced FeS cluster is observed by electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy as a mixture of two orthorhombic spin systems. In the present work, we use isotopically labeled 9-mercaptodethiobiotin and enzyme to probe the ligand environment of the [2Fe-2S](+) cluster in this reaction intermediate. Hyperfine sublevel correlation spectroscopy (HYSCORE) spectra exhibit strong cross-peaks demonstrating strong isotropic coupling of the nuclear spin with the paramagnetic center. The hyperfine coupling constants are consistent with a structural model for the reaction intermediate in which 9-mercaptodethiobiotin is covalently coordinated to the remnant [2Fe-2S](+) cluster.     

New perspective of electron transfer chemistry

A new perspective of electron transfer chemistry is described for fine control of electron transfer reactions including back electron transfer in the charge separated state of artificial photosynthetic compounds and its synthetic application. Fundamental electron transfer properties of suitable components of efficient electron transfer systems are described in light of the Marcus theory of electron transfer, in particular focusing on the Marcus inverted region, and they are applied to design multi-step electron transfer systems which can well mimic the function of a photosynthetic reaction center. Both intermolecular and intramolecular electron transfer processes are finely controlled by complexation of radical anions, produced in the electron transfer, with metal ions which act as Lewis acids. Quantitative measures to determine the Lewis acidity of a variety of metal ions are given in relation to the promoting effects of metal ions on the electron transfer reactions. The mechanistic viability of metal ion catalysis in electron transfer reactions is demonstrated by a variety of examples of chemical transformations involving metal ion-promoted electron transfer processes as the rate-determining steps, which are made possible by complexation of radical anions with metal ions.     

Investigation of the mechanism of nickel electroless deposition on functionalized self-assembled monolayers

We have investigated the seedless electroless deposition (ELD) of Ni on functionalized self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) using scanning electron and optical microscopies, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry. For all SAMs studied, the Ni deposition rate is dependent on the bath pH, deposition temperature, and complexing agent. In contrast to the physical vapor deposition of Ni on SAMs, electrolessly deposited Ni does not penetrate through the SAM. This behavior indicates that ELD is a suitable technique for the deposition of low-to-moderate reactivity on organic thin films. We demonstrate that Ni can be selectively deposited on SAMs using two different methods. First, selectivity can be imparted by the formation of Ni(II)-surface complexes. As a demonstration, we selectively deposited Ni on the -COOH terminated SAM areas of patterned -COOH/-CH(3) or -COOH/-OH terminated SAMs. Here, Ni(2+) ions form Ni(2+)-carboxylate complexes with the -COOH terminal group, which comprise the nucleation sites for subsequent metal deposition. Second, we demonstrate that nickel is selectively deposited on the -CH(3) terminated SAM areas of a patterned -OH/-CH(3) terminated SAM. In this case, the Ni(2+) ion does not specifically interact with the -CH(3) terminal group. Rather, selectivity is imparted by the interaction of the reductant, dimethylamine borane (DMAB), with the -OH and -CH(3) terminal groups.     

Antioxidant potential of styrene pyrone polyphenols from Inonotus obliquus: A combined experimental,density functional theory (DFT) approach and molecular dynamic (MD) simulation

Polyphenols containing styrene pyranone skeleton are unique to porous fungi. Inonotus obliquus (IO) is a medicinal and edible porous fungus. Twelve phenolic compounds containing four styryl pyranone polyphenols from IO were isolated and identified in this work. The antioxidant ability of the isolates was characterized utilizing the ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assay and 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonate) (ABTS) radical scavenging test. Styrylpyranone polyphenols, especially methylinoscavin B, could capture free radicals better than other phenolic compounds, and quantum chemical calculations also confirmed this evaluation. The density functional theory (DFT) calculation data showed that Styrylpyranone polyphenols, especially methylinoscavin B, have a lower energy gap, higher softness and higher electronic chemical potential than other phenolic compounds. The bond dissociation energy values of the bond in C7ʹ O–H of the methylinoscavin B molecule are less than those in C11 and C6ʹ O–H when reacting with ∙OOH (selected as a representative free radical). On the basis of calculations, hydrogen atom transfer (HAT) is supposed to be a preferred mechanism over single electron transfer (SET) when phenolic compounds react with free radicals. Moreover, after treatment with final concentrations of 0.5, 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 μM phelligridin E (PHE), the activity of SOD1 increased by 70.15%, 11.36%, 145.45%, 172.73%, 205.05% and 275.23%, respectively. The molecular dynamics simulation (MD) study of PHE employed SOD1 (PDB ID: 6FN8). The MD results showed that the hydrogen bonds between ASP147 of SOD1 and PHE promote GLU223-ARG224 to form a stable C coil after combining with PHE. The formation of the C Coil enhanced the stability of the electrostatic loop (EL) of SOD1 and the rate of diffusion of the superoxide anion to the active site. Styrylpyrone polyphenols of Inonotus obliquus origin have the potential to be a source of vigorous free radical scavengers and antioxidant enzyme activators.     

Antioxidant and spectral properties of chalcones and analogous aurones: Theoretical insights

Density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent DFT (TD-DFT) have been employed to elucidate the radical scavenging capacity and the UV–Vis spectral property of several chalcones and analogous aurones. Three main antioxidant mechanisms, hydrogen atom transfer (HAT), electron transfer followed by proton transfer (SET-PT) and sequential proton loss electron transfer (SPLET) were investigated. The results indicate that all the studied compounds adopt a fully planar conformation in their neutral, radical, cationic as well as anionic forms. 2′-OH plays important role in the stabilization of phenolic radicals due to the formation of intramolecular hydrogen bonds (IHBs). Introduction of electron-donating substituent on B-ring is helpful for improving the activity. For the considered compounds, HAT is proposed as the thermodynamically favored mechanism in gas phase and nonpolar environment, while SPLET is preferred in polar media. The results confirmed the crucial role of hydroxyl group on A-ring, especially on position 5′/5, in terms of the radical scavenging ability. The absorption spectra of title compounds were successfully simulated and the lowest energy transitions predominantly correspond to the π-π* transitions from HOMO to LUMO with charge transfer (CT) character.     

Carbon radical generation by d0 tantalum complexes with α-diimine ligands through ligand-centered redox processes

High-valent tantalum complexes having redox-active α-diimine ligands, (α-diimine)TaCl(n) (n = 3, 4), are prepared by the reaction of TaCl(5), α-diimine ligands, and an organosilicon-based reductant, 1-methyl-3,6-bis(trimethylsilyl)-1,4-cyclohexadiene. Reductive cleavage of the C-Cl bond of polyhaloalkanes is accomplished by trichlorotantalum complexes having dianionic α-diimine ligands via electron transfer from the dianionic ligands, whereas oxidative decomposition of tetraphenylborate is observed using tetrachlorotantalum complexes with monoanionic α-diimine ligands through electron transfer to the monoanionic ligands. Chemically oxidized or reduced complexes of (α-diimine)TaCl(4) are isolated as ligand-centered redox products, [Cp(2)Co][(α-diimine)TaCl(4)] and [(α-diimine)TaCl(4)][WCl(6)], where the α-diimine ligand coordinates to the metal center as a dianionic or neutral ligand, respectively. On the basis of EPR measurements of (α-diimine)TaCl(4) complexes (which are key intermediates for reductive cleavage of C-Cl bond and oxidative decomposition of tetraphenylborate), two redox isomers--a tantalum-centered radical and ligand-localized radical--are present in solution.