A personal account of some dinitrogen and organometallic chemistry research at the University of Sussex

This article reviews the development of dinitrogen chemistry and some associated organometallic chemistry at the University of Sussex with which the author was directly involved. The establishment of the basic heavy-element halide phosphine chemistry laid the ground for the discovery of dinitrogen complexes of rhenium, osmium, molybdenum and tungsten. From there, some of the first well-defined reactions of coordinated dinitrogen (especially protonation and alkylation) were discovered and the essential mechanisms of such reactions were established. This allowed the development of models for the action of nitrogenases that are still probably the best available. Later work has produced similar models in iron chemistry and a range of organometallic chemistry has been uncovered in the effort to discover parallels between the basic organometallic chemistry of substances such as metal carbonyls, dinitrogen complexes and hydrides in their interactions with acetylenes and cyclpropene.     

On the reduced and oxidized forms of the FeMo- cofactor of Azotobacter vinelandii nitrogenase

Reduced and oxidized forms of the FeMo- cofactor of Azotobacter vinelandii nitrogenase are examined theoretically within the intermediate neglect of differential overlap model. The results obtained favor one of the experimentally suggested modes of contraction of the metal system which results in an expansion of the central cavity of the cofactor. The bond index analysis indicates marked changes in the Mo coordination upon electron addition which may contribute to an opening of the Mo atom as a possible binding site at the advanced stages of the reduction process. In this work we also compare the 39- and 41-electron [MoFe₇] core as possible native resting states, both compatible with known spin and M?ssbauer spectroscopies. Received: 19 March 1997 / Accepted: 8 May 1997     

A facile method for synthesis of (R)-(−)- and (S)-(+)-homocitric acid lactones and related α-hydroxy dicarboxylic acids from d- or l-malic acid

We report here a simple and convenient route for the stereoselective synthesis of (R)-(−)- and (S)-(+)-homocitric acid lactones, which play very important roles in biochemistry. The method involves only three steps, starting from the readily available methyl 3-iodopropionate and d-malic acid or l-malic acid, respectively. The stereoconfiguration of the target molecules has been achieved via a self-regeneration approach with over 98% diastereoselectivity and significantly improved yield over the previous methods.     

模拟固氮酶中Mo微环境的化学探测

模拟固氮酶中Ｍｏ微环境的化学探测黄静伟，张鸿图，杨如，周明玉，万惠霖，蔡启瑞（厦门大学化学系，厦门，３６１００５）关键词固氮酶，Ｍｏ微环境，Ｍｏ－Ｆｅ－Ｓ簇合物，氧化降解自发现不同来源的固氮酶中均含有Ｍｏ原子以来，Ｍｏ一直被当成固氮酶中Ｎ２与其它外源...     

Site‐Specific Oxidation State Assignments of the Iron Atoms in the [4Fe:4S]2+/1+/0 States of the Nitrogenase Fe‐Protein

The nitrogenase iron protein (Fe‐protein) contains an unusual [4Fe:4S] iron‐sulphur cluster that is stable in three oxidation states: 2+, 1+, and 0. Here, we use spatially resolved anomalous dispersion (SpReAD) refinement to determine oxidation assignments for the individual irons for each state. Additionally, we report the 1.13‐Å resolution structure for the ADP bound Fe‐protein, the highest resolution Fe‐protein structure presently determined. In the dithionite‐reduced [4Fe:4S]¹⁺ state, our analysis identifies a solvent exposed, delocalized Fe^2.5+ pair and a buried Fe²⁺ pair. We propose that ATP binding by the Fe‐protein promotes an internal redox rearrangement such that the solvent‐exposed Fe pair becomes reduced, thereby facilitating electron transfer to the nitrogenase molybdenum iron‐protein. In the [4Fe:4S]⁰ and [4Fe:4S]²⁺ states, the SpReAD analysis supports oxidation states assignments for all irons in these clusters of Fe²⁺ and valence delocalized Fe^2.5+, respectively.     

Spectroscopic Characterization of an Eight‐Iron Nitrogenase Cofactor Precursor that Lacks the “9th Sulfur”

Nitrogenases catalyze the reduction of N₂ to NH₄⁺ at its cofactor site. Designated the M‐cluster, this [MoFe₇S₉C(R‐homocitrate)] cofactor is synthesized via the transformation of a [Fe₄S₄] cluster pair into an [Fe₈S₉C] precursor (designated the L‐cluster) prior to insertion of Mo and homocitrate. We report the characterization of an eight‐iron cofactor precursor (designated the L*‐cluster), which is proposed to have the composition [Fe₈S₈C] and lack the “9^th sulfur” in the belt region of the L‐cluster. Our X‐ray absorption and electron spin echo envelope modulation (ESEEM) analyses strongly suggest that the L*‐cluster represents a structural homologue to the l ‐cluster except for the missing belt sulfur. The absence of a belt sulfur from the L*‐cluster may prove beneficial for labeling the catalytically important belt region, which could in turn facilitate investigations into the reaction mechanism of nitrogenases.     

棕色固氮菌固氮酶氧化还原性质的研究

用染料分光滴定法、控制电位电量法及阶跃电量法研究了棕色固氮菌(AV)固氮酶其及组份的氧化还原性质.Av2的Em=-265±22mV,传递电子数为1;结合MgATP后,Em=-378±20mV,传递2个电子,结合MgADP后,Em=-326mV.Av1-Av2复合物结合MgATP后,有Em为-290mV和-452mV的两个氧还区,分别传递6.5个和5.1个电子.     

含柠檬酸配体的钼硫簇合物的合成与晶体结构的测定

合成了含有Mo—S簇阴离子 [Mo2 O2 ( μ S) 2 (C6H5O7) (C6H4 O7) ]5-柠檬酸簇合物 ,并通过元素分析、红外光谱、紫外 可见光谱和X射线光电子能谱对配合物进行了表征 ,用X射线衍射法测定了该化合物的晶体结构 .结果表明 ,该簇合物属于单斜晶系 ,空间群P2 1/c,a =2 3 766( 5)nm ,b =1 3 2 74 ( 3 )nm ,c =2 2 4 71 ( 5)nm ,α=γ =90°,β=1 1 8 2 1°,V =6 2 4 7( 2 )nm3 ,Z =8,一致性因子R =0 0 83 1 ,R2 ,w=0 1 536.该簇合物阴离子中每一个Mo原子都采取扭曲的八面体结构 ,柠檬酸通过羟基、α 羧基、一个 β 羧基与Mo配位 .晶体结构表明在一个结晶学上不对称的结构单元内有两个结晶学上独立的分子 .     

花生根瘤菌在自生条件下固氮和吸氢相关性

花生根瘤菌x_(-1)菌株在自生条件下和合适的培养基中,可诱导固氮酶及氢酶的活性,固氮酶反应产生的H_2(内源H_2)能直接诱导氢酶,氢酶活性表达的时间进程是在固氮反应之后,在外源H_2的存在下,固氮酶和氢酶则可同时表达,不同有机碳化合物对固氮酶与氢酶的影响不同,丙酮酸明显提高固氮活性,但对氨酶没有促进作用,蔗糖对固氮活性没有促进作用但对吸氢表现促进作用,分子H_2明显提高固氮活性,2.4-二硝基苯酚抑制需H_2的固氮活性,在外源H_2存在下其抑制作用更明显,铵抑制固氮酶的形成、固氮酶受铵抑制时氢酶也相应受到抑制。