Copper proteins model complexes

This chapter focuses on the chemistry ofbiomimetic copper nitrosyl complexes relevant to the NO-copper interactions in proteins that are central players in dissimilatory nitrogen oxide reduction (denitrification). The current state of knowledge of NO-copper interactions in nitrite reductase, a key denitrifying enzyme, is briefly surveyed the syntheses, structures, and reactivity of copper nitrosyl model complexes prepared to date are presented and the insight these model studies provide into the mechanisms of denitrification and the structures of other copper protein nitrosyl intermediates are discussed. Emphasis is placed on analysis of the geometric features, electronic structures, and biomimetic reactivity with NO or NOf of the only structurally characterized copper nitrosyls, a dicopper(II) complex bridged by NO and a mononuclear tris(pyrazolyl)hydroborate complex having a Cu(I)-NO formulation. 

The need for structural, spectroscopic, and reactivity benchmarks with which to compare and help interpret data acquired for all the copper protein systems, NiR in particular, has led to an interest in preparing copper nitrosyl model complexes that may be more readily characterized in detail. Such complexes are rare and, until recently, none had been structurally characterized by X-ray crystallography. Solids having... 

A combination of spectroscopic methods (EPR, light absorption and CD) was used in order to obtain information on the copper binding site of bovine hemocuprein (erythrocuprein), which has been considered to be intermediate in its spectroscopic properties between the blue copper proteins and complexes of copper with model peptides (94). 

Ruggiero, C.E., Carrier, S.M. and Tolman W.B. (1994) Reductive disproportionation of NO mediated by copper complexes Modeling N20 generation by copper proteins and heterogeneous catalysts, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 33, 895. 

Tolman W.B. (1995) Synthetic Modeling of the Interactions of Nitrogen Oxides with Copper Proteins Copper Nitrosyl Complexes Relevant to Putative Denitrification Intermediates, Adv. Chem. Ser., 246, 195. 

From the standpoint of modeling Type I copper proteins,4,5,59,60 a variety of imidazole-based ligands containing thioether sulfurs and imidazole groups have been synthesized.61,62 The structures and spectroscopic properties of their copper(II) complexes (51)-(53) and (55)-(60) were investigated.65,79-82 To characterize apical copper(II)-thioether bonding, the complex (51) was... 

In their pursuit of modeling Type I copper proteins, Kitajima et al. reported112 a rare, tetrahedrally coordinated complex (105), which displayed an EPR spectrum consistent with the presence of the unpaired electron in the dz2 orbital.1 They also isolated a square-pyramidal DMF adduct (complex (106)). They were successful in providing structural proof of a copper(II) complex (trigonal pyramidal) with C6F5S -coordinated complex (107), with CuN3S chromo-phore.113 The X-ray analysis (poor data set) of a closely similar complex with Ph3CS as the... 

Malmstrom, B.G., and Vanngard, T. 1960. Electron spin resonance of copper proteins and some model complexes. Journal of Molecular Biology 2 118-124. 

The reaction of binuclear copper complexes with oxygen as models for tyrosinase activity was also markedly accelerated by applying pressure (106408 ). Tyrosinase is a dinuclear copper protein which catalyses the hydroxylation of phenols. This reaction was first successfully modeled by Karlin and co-workers (109), who found that an intramolecular hydroxylation occurred when the binuclear Cu(I) complex of XYL-H was treated with oxygen (Scheme 5). 

Ruggiero, C. E., Carrier, S. M., Antholine, W. E., Whittaker, J. W., Cramer, C. J., and Tolman, W. B. (1993). Synthesis and structure and spectroscopic characterization of mononuclear copper nitrosyl complexes Models for nitric oxide adducts of copper proteins and copper exchange zeolites. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 115, 11285-11298. 

The other way to study the "conductivity of protein molecules towards electron tunneling is to investigate the quenching of luminescence of electron-excited simple molecules by redox sites of proteins [95,96]. Experiments of this sort on reduced blue copper proteins have involved electron-excited Ru(II)(bpy)3, Cr(III)(phen)3, and Co(III)(phen)3 as oxidants. The kinetics of these reactions exhibit saturation at protein concentrations of 10 3 M, suggesting that, at high protein concentrations, the excited reagent is bound to reduced protein in an electron transfer precursor complex. Extensive data have been obtained for the reaction of reduced bean plastocyanin Pl(Cu(I)) with Cr(III)(phen)3. To analyze quenching experimental data, a mechanistic model that includes both 1 1 and 2 1 [Pl(Cu(I))/ Cr(III)(phen)3] complexes was considered [96]... 

Among the coordination compounds obtained on the basis of polypyrazolyl-borates, it is worth emphasizing the copper chelates 235 which are still the only biomimetic model of blue copper proteins, reproducing all their physical (UV-and EPR-spectral) properties [441,446-448], Compound 236 [449] is also an example of complexes of this kind of system ... 

Metal salts with other cations are synthesized in a similar manner. Among these studies, the obtaining of coordination compounds of copper(II) in methanol with N2S2 ligand environment should be mentioned. These complexes are of permanent interest due to the modeling of active centers of blue copper proteins on their basis (see Sec. 2.2.5.4) [235-237]. Such complexes were obtained, in particular, by interaction of divalent copper perchlorate and tetrafluoroborate with very exotic ligands 661 and 662 in methanol [238] ... 

Recently several new active site model compounds have been prepared (Carrier et al., 1991) using sterically hindered tris(pyrazoyI)hydroborate (L) and tris(thioethyl)amine (L2) as ligands. The copper nitrite complex LCu11 (N02) models the enzyme substrate complex and X-ray studies confirm that the complex is tetrahedral. A mononuclear copper—nitrosyl complex similar to postulated NO adducts of copper proteins has also been prepared from LCu1 (MeCN) and NO, which has been tentatively identified as a Cu11 -NO species on the basis of IR (v NO 1711 cm 1) and ESR evidence. 

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