Oxygen atom transfer reactions molybdenum enzymes

The possible role of oxygen atom transfer in molybdenum enzyme catalysis was recognized in the early 1970s (190-194). In the ensuing years, a wealth of chemistry has established molybdenum as the premier exponent of such reactions (7, 195). Importantly, related dioxo-Mo(VI) and oxo-Mo(IV) complexes are interconverted by oxygen atom transfer reactions (Eq. (13)). These reactions are effected by reductants (X) such as tertiary alkyl and aryl compounds of the group 15 elements (especially phosphines) and oxidants (XO) such as S- and N-oxides. In many cases, however, the Mo(VI) and Mo(IV) compounds participate in a comproportionation reaction yielding dinuclear Mo(V) complexes (Eq. (15)). 

The final family of molybdenum enzymes consists of enzymes from bacterial and archaeal sources that also catalyze oxygen atom transfer reactions for the most part, although formate dehydrogenase and polysulfide... 

Oxomolybdenum centers are present in a series of enzymes known as molybdenum hydroxylases [4] which catalyze oxygen atom transfer reactions of a variety of small molecules. Examples include the oxidation of xanthine to uric acid and the reduction of N03 to N02"- The reactions are equivalent to two-electron transfers, and the molybdenum atom cycles between oxidation states VI and IV during these processes. Molybdenum (VI) typically contains two multiply bonded oxo (or sulfido) groups, and molybdenum (IV) contains one. Therefore, it is believed that Mo02 and MoO +centers intercovert by coupled transfer of protons and electrons over a narrow potential interval during turnover of these enzymes. However, other explanations are possible. 

As for the reactions catalyzed by members of this third family of molybdenum enzymes, there are several variations from the principal theme of oxygen atom transfer. Formate dehydrogenase from E. coli catalyzes the oxidation of formate to CO2, a reaction that isotope studies have shown does not pass through a bicarbonate intermediate (Khangulov et al., 1998). Instead, it appears likely that C02is formed by direct hydride transfer from substrate to the molybdenum center. Polysulfide reductase is another molybdenum enzyme that catalyzes a non-canonical reaction the... 

Molybdenum and tungsten complexes as models for oxygen atom transfer enzymes have been deployed in the full catalytic cycle from Scheme 4.3 predominantly in the early days of this field of research. A selection of the respective determined Michaelis-Menten parameters were expertly reviewed by Holm et al. Since in some cases both forms of model complexes (M and M mimicking the fully reduced or fully oxidized active sites, respectively) are isolable and available in a sufficient amount, the isolated half-reactions are much more often investigated than the whole catalytic cycle. This means that either the reduced form of the enzyme model is oxidized by an oxygen donor substrate like TMAO or the oxidized form is reduced by an oxygen acceptor substrate like triphenylphosphine (PhgP). The observed kinetic behaviour is in some cases described to be of a saturation type. An observation which... 

In summary, we may add that bacterial utilization of quinoline and its derivatives as a rule depends on the availability of traces of molybdate in the culture medium [363], In contrast, growth of the bacterial strains on the first intermediate of each catabolic pathway, namely, the lH-2-oxo or 1 II-4-oxo derivatives of the quinoline compound was not affected by the availability of molybdate. This observation indicated a possible role of the trace element molybdenum in the initial hydroxylation at C2. In enzymes, Mo occurs as part of the redox-active co-factor, and all the Mo-enzymes involved in N-heteroatomic compound metabolism, contain a pterin Mo co-factor. The catalyzed reaction involves the transfer of an oxygen atom to or from a substrate molecule in a two-electron redox reaction. The oxygen is supplied by the aqueous solvent. Certainly, the Mo-enzymes play an important role in the initial steps of N-containing heterocycles degradation. 

Most of the substrate reactions catalyzed by the molybdenum and tungsten enzymes involve either incorporation or removal of an oxygen atom. For a CEPT process to apply to these reactions, transfer of protons and electrons must occur concomitantly with either the addition or elimination of water (see Section VLD). However, the substrate reactions of polysulfide reductase and formate dehydrogenase [122,228] (Eq. 14 and 15)... 

Model studies clearly demonstrate that oxo transfer is a viable mechanism for many of the enzyme reactions shown in Table 2d. However, primarily because of difficulties in labeling studies, it has not yet proved possible to validate oxo transfer as a physiologically relevant enzymatic mechanism. Although it has been possible to oxidize and reduce molybdenum centers using certain oxygen atom donors or acceptors, these experiments serve only to demonstrate that such processes are possible and not that they are part of the physiologically relevant pathway [231,233],... 

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