Substrate bridge complexes reaction mechanism

Considering the role of metals in the mechanism of enzyme-catalyzed elimination and enolization reactions, so that we might understand the role of the metal, we will restrict ourselves to those cases in which both the substrate and the enzyme donate ligands to the metal, in the ternary complex i,e, in which an enzyme-metal-substrate bridge complex (E-M-S) has been established. 

The structural similarity of the catalytic domains of the enzymes of the AAH family, together with the identical reaction that they catalyze (i.e., hydroxylation of aromatic substrates) and the common dependency on BH4 and 02 (Section I), suggests that the mechanisms by which these enzymes operate are similar. It is assumed that the general AAH reaction mechanism follows a two-step reaction route in which a high-valent iron-oxo (FeIV=0) complex is formed in the first step, and that this intermediate is responsible for the hydroxylation of the aromatic amino acid substrate in the second step (15,26-28,50). The first step starts with 02 binding and activation and proceeds via a Fe-0-0-BH4 bridge and a subsequent heterolytic cleavage of the... 

We have further examined the reactions of thiolato-bridged diruthenium complexes with other unsaturated organic substrates. When the cationic Ru complex 4 is treated with cinnamyl alcohol in p-xylene, the allylated aromatic compound 18 is obtained in good yield (Equation 6). We assume a Tc-allyl intermediate because the reaction using l-phenylprop-2-en-l-ol gives, instead of cinnamyl alcohol, the same product 18 however, the detailed reaction mechanism is still obscure. This novel allylation reaction is halogen-free, and may replace the conventional Friedel-Crafts alkylation. 

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