Structure and catalytic mechanism of methane monooxygenase and approaches to its modelling

The mechanisms of activation of O₂ and CH₄ by methane monooxygenase (MMO) are discussed. A new concept for the catalytic cycle of MMO is suggested, and approaches to its chemical modelling are considered.Translated fromIzvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 6, pp. 1011–1020, June, 1995.The author is grateful to Academician A. E. Shilov for interest in this work and helpful discussions. The work was financially supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (Project No. 94-03-08529), International Scientific Foundation (Grant REU000), and INTAS (Project No. 93-315).     

Activation thermodynamic parameters of binary mixtures of propionic acid ando-substituted anilines

Variations of densities and viscosities with temperature and composition are reported for binary liquid mixtures containing propionic acid+aniline (I),+o-toluidine (II),+o-anisidine (III), and+o-chloroaniline (IV). Entropies S _m and enthalpies H _m of activation as functions of the composition of the mixtures, as well as free energies of activation G _m at 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50°C and different compositions were calculated by means of Eyring's equation. The formation of activated complexes between the components of these binary mixtures is postulated and claimed to result from acid-base and hydrogen bonding exchange interactions.     

Complexation and C-H bond activation of 1,5-cyclooctadiene on triosmium carbonyl clusters

Reaction of Os₃(CO)₁₀(NCMe)₂ and 1,5-cyclooctadiene (C₈H₁₂) affords the diene complex Os₃(CO)₁₀(η⁴-C₈H₁₂) (1) with the two alkene moieties coordinated to an equatorial and an axial positions of one osmium atom. Thermolysis of 1 in refluxing n-hexane results in a vinylic C-H bond activation to form (μ-H)Os₃(CO)₉(μ,η⁴-C₈H₁₁) (2) in good isolated yield. The crystal structures of 1 and 2 have been established by an X-ray diffraction study.     

Rhodium(I) catalyzed four-component reaction of Fischer alkenyl carbene complexes and 1,1-diphenylallene

Alkyl substituted chromium Fischer carbene complexes react with 1,1-diphenylallene in the presence of rhodium(I) catalysts (10 mol%) to yield highly substituted dienyl indenone derivatives. In this process a catalytic chromium(0)-rhodium(I) exchange occurs, four new C-C bonds are created, and four-components (two allenes, the carbene ligand and one CO ligand) are joined in a chemo- and regioselective manner.     

A review of Mg metal-promoted CF bond activation; a reliable synthetic approach to difluorinated organic compounds

The carbon-fluorine bond of a trifluoromethyl group attached to a π system can be activated by metallic magnesium in the system TMSCl-THF or DMF providing a variety of difluorinated compounds via a selective CF bond cleavage. Thus, trifluoromethyl ketones, α,β-unsaturated ketones, esters, imines, and aromatics can be transformed into the corresponding difluoroenol silyl ethers, enamines, and difluoro(trimethylsilyl)methyl aromatics in good to excellent yields, respectively. This protocol enabled us to synthesize β,β-difluoroamino acids, difluoroheterocycles, and functionalized difluoroacetates.     

NMR Studies of Mixed-Ligand Lanthanide Complexes in Solution: Pseudorotation and Ring Inversion of 18-Crown-6 Molecule in Cerium Subgroup Chelates

¹H and ¹³C NMR measurements are reported for the CDCl₃ and CD₂Cl₂ solutions of [La(NO₃)₃(18-crown-6)] (I), [Pr(NO₃)₃(18-crown-6)] (II) and [Ce(NO₃)₃(18-crown-6)] (III) complexes. Temperature dependencies of the ¹H NMR spectra of II have been analyzed using the dynamic NMR methods for multi-site exchange. Two types of conformational dynamic processes in II were identified (the first one with activation enthalpy ΔH ^‡=26 ± 4 kJ/mol is conditioned by interconversion of complex enantiomeric form and pseudorotation of macrocycle molecule upon the C ₂ symmetry axis, the second one with ΔH ^‡=46 ± 5 kJ/mol is conditioned by macrocycle molecule inversion). Studies of the values of the lanthanide-induced shifts revealed that the structure of complexes in solution is similar to that reported for the complex I in the crystal state.This revised version was published online in July 2005 with a corrected issue number.     

Conformation of Tax-response elements in the human T-cell leukemia virus type I promoter

Background: HTLV I Tax is believed to activate viral gene expression by binding bZIP proteins (such as CRIB) and increasing their affinities for proviral THE target sites. Each 21 by THE target site contains an imperfect copy of the intrinsically bent CRE target site (the TRE core) surrounded by highly conserved flanking sequences. These flanking sequences are essential for maximal increases in DNA affinity and transactivation, but they are not, apparently, contacted by protein. Here we employ non-denaturing gel electrophoresis to evaluate TRE conformation in the presence and absence of bZIP proteins, and to explore the role of DNA conformation in viral transactivation.Results: Our results show that the TRE-1 flanking sequences modulate the structure and modestly increase the affinity of a CREB bZIP peptide for the TRE-1 core recognition sequence. These flanking sequences are also essential for a maximal increase in stability of the CREB-DNA complex in the presence of Tax.Conclusions: The CRE-like TRE core and the TRE flanking sequences are both essential for formation of stable CRIB-TRE-1 and Tax-CREB-TRE-1 complexes. These two DNA segments may have co-evolved into a unique structure capable of recognizing Tax and a bZIP protein.     

Palladium-catalyzed cascade reaction of alpha,beta-unsaturated sulfones with aryl iodides

Unlike traditionally used acyclic 1,2-disubstituted alkenes, the reaction of alpha,beta-unsaturated phenyl sulfones with aryl iodides under Heck reaction conditions (Pd(OAc)(2) as catalyst, Ag(2)CO(3) as base in DMF at 120 (0)C) takes place mainly by a cascade process, involving one unit of the alkene and three units of the aryl iodide, to afford a substituted 9-phenylsulfonyl-9,10-dihydrophenanthrene. The dominant formation of this 3:1 coupling product, instead of the Heck trisubstituted olefin, shows that aromatic C-H bond activation processes can compete with the usually fast syn beta-hydrogen elimination step in the Heck arylation of an acyclic olefin. The structural scope of this palladium-catalyzed cascade arylation of alpha,beta-unsaturated sulfones has proved to be wide with regard to substitution at the beta-position (alkyl, aryl, or alkenyl substitution), substitution at the sulfone unit (alkyl or phenyl sulfones), and configuration at the CdoublebondC bond (trans or cis). Moreover, although less favored than in the case of the arylation of alpha,beta-unsaturated sulfones, similarly substituted 9,10-dihydrophenanthrenes have also been obtained in the case of alpha,beta-unsaturated phosphine oxides and alpha,beta-unsaturated phosphonate esters. A Pd(0)-Pd(II)-Pd(IV) mechanistic pathway involving the successive formation of highly electrophilic sigma-alkylpalladium intermediates and palladacycles is proposed for this multicomponent arylation.     

Thermal analysis study of Bi<Subscript>2</Subscript>Sr<Subscript>2</Subscript>Ca<Subscript>2</Subscript>Cu<Subscript>3-x</Subscript>Er<Subscript>x</Subscript>O<Subscript>10+δ</Subscript> glass-ceramic system

Summary We have fabricated glasses in the Bi-2223 HT_c superconductor system with Bi₂Sr₂Ca₂Cu_3-xEr_xO_{10+ δ} nominal composition, where x=0.5 and 1.0, by the glass-ceramic technique. Using an analysis developed for non-isothermal crystallization studies, information on some aspects of crystallization temperature and thermal properties has been obtained. The crystallization studies were made using DTA with several uniform rates. The calculations of crystallization activation energies, E_a, and the Avrami parameters, n, were made based on the non-isothermal kinetic theory of Kissinger and the Ozawa’s equations. The DTA data of the samples showed that the first crystallization temperature, T_x1, increases and the second crystallization temperature, T_x2, decreases by increasing the Er concentration. This suggests that the Er substitution had significant effect on the glassification of the BSCCO material due to change on the surface nucleation and increased ionic activities at high temperature region. The activation energy for crystallization, E_a, of the samples was also showed an increase at high Er concentration case. However, the Avrami parameter, n, decreased from 2.5 to 1.7 for x=0.5 and 1.0 samples, respectively. This suggests that the growth mechanism is diffusion-controlled and three-dimensional parabolic growth takes place near the first crystallization temperature. The oxidization rates and the activation barrier for oxygen out-diffusion process, E, was calculated using the TG data. It was found that the total mass gain in the x=0.5 sample is comparably smaller than that of the x=1.0 sample. This shows that the oxygen absorption of the x=1.0 sample is faster than the x=0.5 sample, leading to increase in the oxidization rate in the x=1.0 material.     

Investigations of thermal polymerization in the stable free‐radical polymerization of 2‐vinylnaphthalene

The feasibility of utilizing stable free‐radical polymerization (SFRP) in the synthesis of well‐defined poly(2‐vinylnaphthalene) homopolymers has been investigated. Efforts to control molecular weight by manipulating initiator concentration while maintaining a 2,2,6,6‐tetramethylpiperidinyl‐1‐oxy (TEMPO):benzoyl peroxide (BPO) molar ratio of 1.2:1 proved unsuccessful. In addition, systematic variations of the TEMPO: BPO molar ratio did not result in narrow molecular weight distributions. In situ Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) indicated that the rate of monomer disappearance under SFRP and thermal conditions were identical. This observation indicated a lack of control in the presence of the stable free radical, TEMPO. The similarities in chemical structure between styrene and 2‐vinylnaphthalene suggested thermally initiated polymerization occurred via the Mayo mechanism. A kinetic analysis of the thermal polymerization of styrene and 2‐vinylnaphthalene suggested that the additional fused ring in 2‐vinylnaphthalene increased the propensity for thermal polymerization. The observed rate constant for thermal polymerization of 2‐vinylnaphthalene was determined using in situ FTIR spectroscopy and was one order of magnitude greater than styrene, assuming pseudo‐first‐order kinetics. Also, an Arrhenius analysis indicated that the activation energy for the thermal polymerization of 2‐vinylnaphthalene was 30 kJ/mol less than styrene. © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 40: 583–590, 2002; DOI 10.1002/pola.10131