Catalytic groups

The polymer-supported catalysts are thus important conceptually in linking catalysis in solutions and catalysis on supports. The acid—base chemistry is fundamentally the same whether the catalytic groups are present in a solution or anchored to the support. The polymer-supported catalysts have replaced acid solutions in numerous processes because they minimise the corrosion, separation, and disposal problems posed by mineral acids. 

Surfaces of inorganic soHds can be functionalized with catalytic groups just as organic polymers can. For example, the hydroxyl groups on the surface of siUca can be used for synthesis of the following stmcture ... 

Figure 4.8 The active site in all a/p barrels is in a pocket formed by the loop regions that connect the carboxy ends of the p strands with the adjacent a helices, as shown schematically in (a), where only two such loops are shown, (b) A view from the top of the barrel of the active site of the enzyme RuBisCo (ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase), which is involved in CO2 fixation in plants. A substrate analog (red) binds across the barrel with the two phosphate groups, PI and P2, on opposite sides of the pocket. A number of charged side chains (blue) from different loops as welt as a Mg ion (yellow) form the substrate-binding site and provide catalytic groups. The structure of this 500 kD enzyme was determined to 2.4 A resolution in the laboratory of Carl Branden, in Uppsala, Sweden. (Adapted from an original drawing provided by Bo Furugren.)...

Substrate molecules provide catalytic groups in substrate-assisted catalysis... 

Enzymes increase the rate of chemical reactions by decreasing the activation energy of the reactions. This is achieved primarily by the enzyme preferentially binding to the transition state of the substrate. Catalytic groups of the enzyme are required to achieve a specific reaction path for the conversion of substrate to product. 

A structural anomaly in subtilisin has functional consequences Transition-state stabilization in subtilisin is dissected by protein engineering Catalysis occurs without a catalytic triad Substrate molecules provide catalytic groups in substrate-assisted catalysis Conclusion Selected readings... 

Many enzymes (see Chapters 14 to 16) derive at least some of their catalytic power from oligomeric associations of monomer subunits. This can happen in several ways. The monomer may not constitute a complete enzyme active site. Formation of the oligomer may bring ail the necessary catalytic groups together to form an active enzyme. For example, the active sites of bacterial glutamine synthetase are formed from pairs of adjacent subunits. The dissociated monomers are inactive. 

There is more to this story, however. Enzymes not only bring substrates and catalytic groups close together, they orient them in a manner suitable for catalysis as well. Comparison of the rates of reaction of the molecules shown... 

Uncovering of the three dimentional structure of catalytic groups at the active site of an enzyme allows to theorize the catalytic mechanism, and the theory accelerates the designing of model systems. Examples of such enzymes are zinc ion containing carboxypeptidase A 1-5) and carbonic anhydrase6-11. There are many other zinc enzymes with a variety of catalytic functions. For example, alcohol dehydrogenase is also a zinc enzyme and the subject of intensive model studies. However, the topics of this review will be confined to the model studies of the former hydrolytic metallo-enzymes. 

An artificial metalloenzyme (26) was designed by Breslow et al. 24). It was the first example of a complete artificial enzyme, having a substrate binding cyclodextrin cavity and a Ni2+ ion-chelated nucleophilic group for catalysis. Metalloenzyme (26) behaves a real catalyst, exhibiting turnover, and enhances the rate of hydrolysis of p-nitrophenyl acetate more than 103 fold. The catalytic group of 26 is a -Ni2+ complex which itself is active toward the substrate 1, but not toward such a substrate having no metal ion affinity at a low catalyst concentration. It is appearent that the metal ion in 26 activates the oximate anion by chelation, but not the substrate directly as believed in carboxypeptidase. 

The above two models together with Tabushi s cyclodextrin bis(histamine)23) are really elabolate ones, each having a substrate binding cavity, but their catalytic activities are yet far behind of those of natural enzymes. They suggest the difficulties associated with the design of a metal ion center inside of a cavity which activates both substrate and catalytic groups. 

The principle of active-site-directed inactivation of glycosidases by gly-con-related epoxides can be extended to compounds having an exocyclic oxirane ring, either directly attached to the six-membered ring (32) or at some distance (33,34). Studies with -o-glucosidase from sweet almonds and intestinal sucrase-isomaltase revealed that, in spite of the higher intrinsic reactivity of these epoxides, this shift of the position of the epoxide function causes a 10- to 30-fold decrease of kj(max)/Ki, an effect which probably reflects the limited flexibility of the catalytic groups involved in the epoxide reaction. 

Despite a higher intrinsic reactivity, epoxides of type 35 and 36 show a lower inactivation rate kj(max), as seen in Table XI, than the conduritol epoxides. This is probably caused by the greater flexibility of the epoxyalkyl chain in the active-site cleft, and by non-productive binding in positions where the oxirane is not within reach of the catalytic groups of the active site. For epoxypropyl oligosaccharides, this would hold even when the inhibitor occupies the correct subsites. 

This restricted access of solvent water is probably important for the close alignment of the substrate with respect to the catalytic groups which is required for effective catalysis. In addition, it was shown by Warshel - ... 

A further consideration in porous materials is the shape of the pores. Molecules have to diffuse through the pores to feel the effect of the catalytic groups which exist in the interior and, after reaction, the reaction products must diffuse out. These diffusion processes can often be the slowest step in the reaction sequence, and thus pores which allow rapid diffusion will provide the most active catalysts. It is another feature of the MTSs that they have quite straight, cylindrical pores - ideal for the rapid diffusion of molecules. 

Poly(styrene—divinylbenzene) copolymers can be used as catalyst supports. Attachment of catalytic groups to the polymer supports can be achieved by... 

It has the heme prosthetic group covalently bonded to protein cytochrome c does not lose its heme catalytic group in these systems, while peroxidases do (catalysis in organic solvents)... 

The active site of an enzyme is generally a pocket or cleft that is specialized to recognize specific substrates and catalyze chemical transformations. It is formed in the three-dimensional structure by a collection of different amino acids (active-site residues) that may or may not be adjacent in the primary sequence. The interactions between the active site and the substrate occur via the same forces that stabilize protein structure hydrophobic interactions, electrostatic interactions (charge-charge), hydrogen bonding, and van der Waals interactions. Enzyme active sites do not simply bind substrates they also provide catalytic groups to facilitate the chemistry and provide specific interactions that stabilize the formation of the transition state for the chemical reaction. 

The binding of the correct substrate triggers a change in the structure of the enzyme that brings catalytic groups into exactly the right position to facilitate the reaction. 

A similar interpretation of action patterns B and C (Scheme 1), and of the number of productive complexes, indicates that, in the corresponding enzymes, there is a binding site composed of three (B) or five (C) subsites having the catalytic groups situated between the first and second (B) and the second and third (C) subsites. Another indication of a binding site containing three subsites for enzymes of... 

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