Photo-disproportionation of a bis-porphyrin-diruthenium(IV) μ-oxo dimer gave a porphyrin-ruthenium(III) species and a putative porphyrin-ruthenium(V)-oxo species that can be detected and studied in real time via laser flash photolysis methods. As determined by its spectral and kinetic behavior, the same oxo transient was also formed by photolysis of a porphyrin-ruthenium(III) N-oxide adduct. Second-order rate constants for reactions with several substrates at 22 °C were determined; representative values of rate constants were kox = 6.6 × 103 M−1 s−1 for diphenylmethanol, kox = 2.5 × 103 M−1 s−1 for styrene, and kox = 1.8 × 103 M−1 s−1 for cyclohexene. The putative porphyrin-ruthenium(V)-oxo transient reacted 5–6 orders of magnitude faster than the corresponding trans-dioxoruthenium(VI) porphyrins, and the rate constants obtained in this work were similar to those of the corrole-iron(V)-oxo derivative. The high reactivity for the photochemically generated ruthenium-oxo species in comparison to other porphyrin-metal-oxo intermediates suggests that it is a true ruthenium(V)-oxo species.

Oxidations of 10-undecenoic acid by cytochrome P450BM-3 and its Compound I transient were studied. The only product formed in Compound I oxidations was 10,11-epoxyundecanoic acid, whereas the enzyme under turnover conditions gave the epoxide and 9-hydroxy-10-undecenoic acid in a 10:90 ratio. Kinetic studies at 0 °C of oxidations by Compounds I formed by MCPBA oxidation and by a photo-oxidation pathway gave the same results, displaying saturation kinetics that yielded equilibrium binding constants and first-order oxidation rate constants that were experimentally indistinguishable. Oxidation of 10-undecenoic acid by Compound I from CYP119 generated by MCBPA oxidation also gave 10,11-epoxyundecanoic acid as the only product. CYP119 Compound I bound the substrate less strongly but reacted with a faster oxidation rate constant than P450BM-3 Compound I. The kinetic parameters for oxidation of the substrate by P450BM-3 under turnover conditions were similar to those of the Compound I transient even though the products differed.

Disproportionation of oxoiron(IV) porphyrin (Compound II) to oxoiron(IV) porphyrin radical cation (Compound I) was studied in three P450 model systems with different electronic structures. Direct conversion of Compound II to Compound I has been observed for 5,10,15,20-tetrakis(2,6-dichlorophenyl)porphyrin (TDCPP) in acid-catalyzed reactions in a mixed solvent of acetonitrile and water (1:1, v/v) containing excess m-CPBA oxidant, with a second-order rate constant of (1.3 ± 0.2) × 102 M− 1 s− 1. The acid-catalyzed disproportionation heavily depends on the electron demand of the substituted aryl groups on the porphyrin macrocycle. The disproportionation equilibrium constants show drastic change for the three porphyrin systems.Direct conversion of oxoiron(IV) porphyrin to oxoiron(IV) porphyrin radical cation has been studied in three porphyrin systems. The acid-catalyzed disproportionation results in different observations depending on the electron demand of the substituted aryl groups on the porphyrin macrocycle.Research Highlights► Directly conversion of oxoiron(IV) porphyrin to oxoiron(IV) porphyrin radical cation. ► Acid-catalyzed disproportionation in three P450 model systems. ► Porphyrin ring electron demand effect on disproportionation equilibrium constants.

The title complexes catalyze the aerobic oxidations of hydrocarbons using visible light and atmospheric oxygen as oxygen source in sequences employing photodisproportionation reactions. The putative oxidants, ruthenium(V)−oxo porphyrin species, can be detected and studied in real time via laser flash photolysis methods.

Oxidation of the heme-thiolate enzyme chloroperoxidase (CPO) from Caldariomyces fumago with peroxynitrite (PN) gave the Compound II intermediate, which was photo-oxidized with 365 nm light to give a reactive oxidizing species. Cryo-solvents at pH ≈ 6 were employed, and reactions were conducted at temperatures as low as − 50 °C. The activity of CPO as evaluated by the chlorodimedone assay was unaltered by treatment with PN or by production of the oxidizing transient and subsequent reaction with styrene. EPR spectra at 77 K gave the amount of ferric protein at each stage in the reaction sequence. The PN oxidation step gave a 6:1 mixture of Compound II and ferric CPO, the photolysis step gave an approximate 1:1 mixture of active oxidant and ferric CPO, and the final mixture after reaction with excess styrene contained ferric CPO in 80% yield. In single turnover reactions at − 50 °C, styrene was oxidized to styrene oxide in high yield. Kinetic studies of styrene oxidation at − 50 °C displayed saturation kinetics with an equilibrium constant for formation of the complex of Kbind = 3.8 × 104 M− 1 and an oxidation rate constant of kox = 0.30 s− 1. UV–Visible spectra of mixtures formed in the photo-oxidation sequence at ca. − 50 °C did not contain the signature Q-band absorbance at 690 nm ascribed to CPO Compound I prepared by chemical oxidation of the enzyme, indicating that different species were formed in the chemical oxidation and the photo-oxidation sequence.Irradiation of chloroperoxidase (CPO) Compound II at low temperature with 365 nm light gave a high reactivity oxidizing transient that differed from CPO Compound I formed by chemical oxidation; EPR and UV–visible spectra and products and kinetics of oxidation of styrene were studied.

Reduction of xanthates by N-heterocyclic carbene boranes (NHC-boranes) has been suggested to occur by a radical chain mechanism involving heretofore unknown NHC-boryl radicals. In support of this suggestion, both the expected borane dithiocarbonate product and an unexpected borane xanthate product have now been isolated. These are the first NHC-boranes with boron−sulfur bonds, and their structures have been secured by spectroscopic and crystallographic means. The first rate constants for H-atom transfer from an NHC borane complex were determined by using the ring opening of a substituted cyclobutylcarbinyl radical as a clock reaction. The rate constant for reaction of the NHC-borane with a secondary alkyl radical at ambient temperature is 4 × 104 M−1 s−1, and the Arrhenius function displayed an entropic term (log A term) that was typical for a bimolecular reaction. The B−H bond dissociation energy of an NHC-borane complex has been estimated at 88 kcal/mol. The putative NHC-boryl radical in these transformations has been detected by EPR spectroscopy. Spectral analysis suggests that it is a π-radical, analogous to the benzyl radical.

Cytochrome P450 enzymes are commonly thought to oxidize substrates via an iron(IV)-oxo porphyrin radical cation transient termed Compound I, but kinetic studies of P450 Compounds I are essentially nonexistent. We report production of Compound I from cytochrome P450 119 (CYP119) in high conversion from the corresponding Compound II species at low temperatures in buffer mixtures containing 50% glycerol by photolysis with 365 nm light from a pulsed lamp. Compound I was studied as a reagent in oxidations of benzyl alcohol and its benzylic mono- and dideuterio isotopomers. Pseudo-first-order rate constants obtained at −50 °C with concentrations of substrates between 1.0 and 6.0 mM displayed saturation kinetics that gave binding constants for the substrate in the Compound I species (Kbind) and first-order rate constants for the oxidation reactions (kox). Representative results are Kbind = 214 M−1 and kox = 0.48 s−1 for oxidation of benzyl alcohol. For the dideuterated substrate C6H5CD2OH, kinetics were studied between −50 and −25 °C, and a van’t Hoff plot for complexation and an Arrhenius plot for the oxidation reaction were constructed. The H/D kinetic isotope effects (KIEs) at −50 °C were resolved into a large primary KIE (P = 11.9) and a small, inverse secondary KIE (S = 0.96). Comparison of values extrapolated to 22 °C of both the rate constant for oxidation of C6H5CD2OH and the KIE for the nondeuterated and dideuterated substrates to values obtained previously in laser flash photolysis experiments suggested that tunneling could be a significant component of the total rate constant at −50 °C.

Photodisproportionation of a bis-corrole−diiron(IV)−μ-oxo dimer gave a corrole−iron(III) species and a corrole−iron(V)−oxo species that can be detected and studied in real time. Air oxidation of the corrole−iron(III) species regenerated the bis-corrole−diiron(IV)−μ-oxo dimer, allowing the development of a photocatalytic method for organic oxidations using molecular oxygen and visible light.

Oxidations of three porphyrin-iron(III) complexes (1) with ferric perchlorate, Fe(ClO4)3, in acetonitrile solutions at −40 °C gave metastable porphyrin-iron(IV) diperchlorate complexes (2) that isomerized to known iron(III) diperchlorate porphyrin radical cations (3) when the solutions were warmed to room temperature. The 5,10,15,20-tetraphenylporphyrin (TPP), 5,10,15,20-tetramesitylporphyrin (TMP), and 2,3,7,8,12,13,17,18-octaethylporphyrin (OEP) systems were studied by UV–visible spectroscopy. Low temperature NMR spectroscopy and effective magnetic moment measurements were possible with the TPP and TMP iron(IV) complexes. Reactions of two corrole systems, 5,10,15-tris(pentafluorophenyl)corrole (TPFC) and 5,15-bis(pentafluorophenyl)-10-p-methoxyphenylcorrole (BPFMC), also were studied. The corrole-iron(IV) chlorides reacted with silver salts to give corrole-iron(IV) complexes. The corrole-iron(IV) nitrate complexes were stable at room temperature. (TPFC)-iron(IV) toslyate, (TPFC)-iron(IV) chlorate, and (BPFMC)-iron(IV) chlorate were metastable and rearranged to their electronic isomers iron(III) corrole radical cations at room temperature. (TPFC)-iron(III) perchlorate corrole radical cation was the only product observed from reaction of the corrole-iron(IV) chloride with silver perchlorate. For the metastable iron(IV) species, the rates of isomerizations to the iron(III) macrocycle radical cation electronic isomers in dilute acetonitrile solutions were relatively insensitive to electron demands of the macrocyclic ligand but reflected the binding strength of the ligand to iron. Kinetic studies at varying temperatures and concentrations indicated that the mechanisms of the isomerization reactions are complex, involving mixed order reactivity.

Kinetic isotope effects were measured for oxidations of (S,S)-2-(p-trifluoromethylphenyl)cyclopropylmethane containing zero, two, and three deuterium atoms on the methyl group by Compounds I from the cytochrome P450 enzymes CYP119 and CYP2B4 at 22 °C. The oxidations displayed saturation kinetics, which permitted solution of both binding constants (Kbind) and first-order oxidation rate constants (kox) for both enzymes with the three substrates. The binding constant for CYP2B4 Compound I was about 1 order of magnitude greater than that for CYP119 Compound I, but the oxidation rate constants were similar for the two. In oxidations of 1-d0, kox = 10.4 s−1 for CYP119 Compound I, and kox = 12.4 s−1 for CYP2B4 Compound I. Primary kinetic isotope effects (P) and secondary kinetic isotope effects (S) were obtained from the results with the three isotopomers. The primary KIEs were large, P = 9.8 and P = 8.9 for CYP119 and CYP2B4 Compounds I, respectively, and the secondary KIEs were small and normal, S = 1.07 and S = 1.05, respectively. Large intermolecular KIEs for 1-d0 and 1-d3 of kH/kD = 11.2 and 9.8 found for the two Compounds I contrast with small intermolecular KIEs obtained previously for the same substrate in P450-catalyzed oxidations; these differences suggest that a second electrophilic oxidant, presumably iron-complexed hydrogen peroxide, is important in cytochrome P450 oxidations under turnover conditions.

Cytochrome P450 (CYP or P450) enzymes are ubiquitous in nature where they catalyze a vast array of oxidation reactions. The active oxidants in P450s have long been assumed to be iron(IV)−oxo porphyrin radical cations termed Compounds I, but P450 Compounds I have proven to be difficult to prepare. The recent development of an entry to these transients by photo-oxidation of the corresponding iron(IV)−oxo neutral porphyrin species (Compounds II) permits spectroscopic and kinetic studies. We report here application of the photo-oxidation method for production of Compound I from the heme domain of CYP102A1 (cytochrome P450BM-3), and product and kinetic studies of reactions of styrene with this Compound I transient and also Compound I from CYP119. The studies were performed at low temperatures in 1:1 (v:v) mixtures of glycerol and phosphate buffer. Single-turnover reactions at 0 °C gave styrene oxide in good yields. In kinetic studies conducted between −10 and −50 °C, both Compounds I displayed saturation kinetics permitting determinations of binding constants and first-order oxidation rate constants. Temperature-dependent functions for the binding constants and rate constants were determined for both Compounds I. In the temperature range studied, the Compound I transient from the CYP102A1 heme domain bound styrene more strongly than Compound I from CYP119, but the rate constants for oxidations of styrene by the latter were somewhat larger than those for the former. The temperature-dependent functions for the first-order oxidation reactions are as follows: log k = 13.2 − 15.2/2.303RT and log k = 13.3 − 14.6/2.303RT (kilocalories per mole) for Compounds I from the CYP102A1 heme domain and CYP119, respectively.

High-valenttransition metal−oxo species are active oxidizing species in many metal-catalyzed oxidation reactions in both Nature and the laboratory. In homogeneous catalytic oxidations, a transition metal catalyst is oxidized to a metal−oxo species by a sacrificial oxidant, and the activated transition metal−oxo intermediate oxidizes substrates. Mechanistic studies of these oxidizing species can provide insights for understanding commercially important catalytic oxidations and the oxidants in cytochrome P450 enzymes. In many cases, however, the transition metal oxidants are so reactive that they do not accumulate to detectable levels in mixing experiments, which have millisecond mixing times, and successful generation and direct spectroscopic characterization of these highly reactive transients remain a considerable challenge. Our strategy for understanding homogeneous catalysis intermediates employs photochemical generation of the transients with spectroscopic detection on time scales as short as nanoseconds and direct kinetic studies of their reactions with substrates by laser flash photolysis (LFP) methods. This Account describes studies of high-valent manganese− and iron−oxo intermediates. Irradiation of porphyrin−manganese(III) nitrates and chlorates or corrole−manganese(IV) chlorates resulted in homolytic cleavage of the O−X bonds in the ligands, whereas irradiation of porphyrin−manganese(III) perchlorates resulted in heterolytic cleavage of O−Cl bonds to give porphyrin−manganese(V)−oxo cations. Similar reactions of corrole− and porphyrin−iron(IV) complexes gave highly reactive transients that were tentatively identified as macrocyclic ligand−iron(V)−oxo species. Kinetic studies demonstrated high reactivity of the manganese(V)−oxo species, and even higher reactivities of the putative iron(V)−oxo transients. For example, second-order rate constants for oxidations of cis-cyclooctene at room temperature were 6 × 103 M−1 s−1 for a corrole−iron(V)−oxo species and 1.6 × 106 M−1 s−1 for the putative tetramesitylporphyrin−iron(V)−oxo perchlorate species. The latter rate constant is 25 000 times larger than that for oxidation of cis-cyclooctene by iron(IV)−oxo perchlorate tetramesitylporphyrin radical cation, which is the thermodynamically favored electronic isomer of the putative iron(V)−oxo species. The LFP-determined rate constants can be used to implicate the transient oxidants in catalytic reactions under turnover conditions where high-valent species are not observable. Similarly, the observed reactivities of the putative porphyrin−iron(V)−oxo species might explain the unusually high reactivity of oxidants produced in the cytochrome P450 enzymes, heme−thiolate enzymes that are capable of oxidizing unactivated carbon−hydrogen bonds in substrates so rapidly that iron−oxo intermediates have not been detected under physiological conditions.

The cytochrome P450 enzyme CYP119, its compound II derivative, and its nitrosyl complex were studied by iron K-edge x-ray absorption spectroscopy. The compound II derivative was prepared by reaction of the resting enzyme with peroxynitrite and had a lifetime of ≈10 s at 23°C. The CYP119 nitrosyl complex was prepared by reaction of the enzyme with nitrogen monoxide gas or with a nitrosyl donor and was stable at 23°C for hours. Samples of CYP119 and its derivatives were studied by x-ray absorption spectroscopy at temperatures below 140 (K) at the Advanced Photon Source of Argonne National Laboratory. The x-ray absorption near-edge structure spectra displayed shifts in edge and pre-edge energies consistent with increasing effective positive charge on iron in the series native CYP119 < CYP119 nitrosyl complex < CYP119 compound II derivative. Extended x-ray absorption fine structure spectra were simulated with good fits for k = 12 Å−1 for native CYP119 and k = 13 Å−1 for both the nitrosyl complex and the compound II derivative. The important structural features for the compound II derivative were an iron-oxygen bond length of 1.82 Å and an iron-sulfur bond length of 2.24 Å, both of which indicate an iron-oxygen single bond in a ferryl-hydroxide, FeIVOH, moiety.

Oxidation of the heme-thiolate enzyme chloroperoxidase (CPO) from Caldariomyces fumago with peroxynitrite (PN) gave the Compound II intermediate, which was photo-oxidized with 365 nm light to give a reactive oxidizing species. Cryo-solvents at pH ≈ 6 were employed, and reactions were conducted at temperatures as low as − 50 °C. The activity of CPO as evaluated by the chlorodimedone assay was unaltered by treatment with PN or by production of the oxidizing transient and subsequent reaction with styrene. EPR spectra at 77 K gave the amount of ferric protein at each stage in the reaction sequence. The PN oxidation step gave a 6:1 mixture of Compound II and ferric CPO, the photolysis step gave an approximate 1:1 mixture of active oxidant and ferric CPO, and the final mixture after reaction with excess styrene contained ferric CPO in 80% yield. In single turnover reactions at − 50 °C, styrene was oxidized to styrene oxide in high yield. Kinetic studies of styrene oxidation at − 50 °C displayed saturation kinetics with an equilibrium constant for formation of the complex of Kbind = 3.8 × 104 M− 1 and an oxidation rate constant of kox = 0.30 s− 1. UV–Visible spectra of mixtures formed in the photo-oxidation sequence at ca. − 50 °C did not contain the signature Q-band absorbance at 690 nm ascribed to CPO Compound I prepared by chemical oxidation of the enzyme, indicating that different species were formed in the chemical oxidation and the photo-oxidation sequence.Irradiation of chloroperoxidase (CPO) Compound II at low temperature with 365 nm light gave a high reactivity oxidizing transient that differed from CPO Compound I formed by chemical oxidation; EPR and UV–visible spectra and products and kinetics of oxidation of styrene were studied.Download full-size image

Oxidations of 10-undecenoic acid by cytochrome P450BM-3 and its Compound I transient were studied. The only product formed in Compound I oxidations was 10,11-epoxyundecanoic acid, whereas the enzyme under turnover conditions gave the epoxide and 9-hydroxy-10-undecenoic acid in a 10:90 ratio. Kinetic studies at 0 °C of oxidations by Compounds I formed by MCPBA oxidation and by a photo-oxidation pathway gave the same results, displaying saturation kinetics that yielded equilibrium binding constants and first-order oxidation rate constants that were experimentally indistinguishable. Oxidation of 10-undecenoic acid by Compound I from CYP119 generated by MCBPA oxidation also gave 10,11-epoxyundecanoic acid as the only product. CYP119 Compound I bound the substrate less strongly but reacted with a faster oxidation rate constant than P450BM-3 Compound I. The kinetic parameters for oxidation of the substrate by P450BM-3 under turnover conditions were similar to those of the Compound I transient even though the products differed.

Photo-disproportionation of a bis-porphyrin-diruthenium(IV) μ-oxo dimer gave a porphyrin-ruthenium(III) species and a putative porphyrin-ruthenium(V)-oxo species that can be detected and studied in real time via laser flash photolysis methods. As determined by its spectral and kinetic behavior, the same oxo transient was also formed by photolysis of a porphyrin-ruthenium(III) N-oxide adduct. Second-order rate constants for reactions with several substrates at 22 °C were determined; representative values of rate constants were kox = 6.6 × 103 M−1 s−1 for diphenylmethanol, kox = 2.5 × 103 M−1 s−1 for styrene, and kox = 1.8 × 103 M−1 s−1 for cyclohexene. The putative porphyrin-ruthenium(V)-oxo transient reacted 5–6 orders of magnitude faster than the corresponding trans-dioxoruthenium(VI) porphyrins, and the rate constants obtained in this work were similar to those of the corrole-iron(V)-oxo derivative. The high reactivity for the photochemically generated ruthenium-oxo species in comparison to other porphyrin-metal-oxo intermediates suggests that it is a true ruthenium(V)-oxo species.