Recent advances in the stereochemistry of metallotetrapyrroles

Aggregation of 2,3-dihydroxy-etiochlorin I. An amphiphilic model compound for photodynamic therapy and green heme d

The crystal structure of 2,3-dihydroxy-etiochlorin I has been determined to obtain information on its aggregation behavior. Cis-dihydroxychlorins serve as model compounds for green heme d and show promising photonecrotic activity in photodynamic therapy. The compound shows strong aggregation in the solid state facilitated by intramolecular hydrogen bonding between one hydroxy group and pyrrole nitrogens of neighboring molecules. This novel type of aggregation leads to chain-type aggregates in the crystal. The title compound 4 crystallized in the monoclinic space group Ia (Z = 4) with unit cell dimensions a = 9.902(4) A, b = 26.430(9) A, c = 10.823(5), beta = 104.47(3) A, V = 2743(2) A3. The structure was refined to an R-value of 0.097 on the basis of 1150 reflections with F > 4.0 sigma (F) (130 K).

Optical activity of hemoproteins in the Soret region. Circular dichroism of the heme undecapeptide of cytochrome c in aqueous solution

Different possible mechanism for generation of optical activity of hemoproteins in the Soret region are reconsidered. The heme undecapeptide of cytochrome c does not contain aromatic amino acid residues, so its considerable optical activity cannot be due to coupling of heme pi pi * transitions with those of aromatic residues. CD data for the heme undecapeptide and for ferrimyoglobin and some of their complexes with small molecules are presented and critically compared. Symmetrically coordinated imidazole complexes show rotational strengths of the same magnitude as those of corresponding nonsymmetrically coordinated compounds. Inherent chirality in the bound heme is inferred to be a significant source of optical activity in the heme undecapeptide. Theoretical calculations based upon a molecular dynamics simulation support this proposal. Coupled oscillator interactions with the peptide pi pi * transitions and with the high-energy transitions in the peptide groups and thioether sulfurs, as modeled by polarizabilities, also make significant contributions. These same mechanisms must also be considered in hemoproteins in general.

X-ray absorption spectroscopy of carbonyl basket handle Fe(II) porphyrins: the distortion of the tetrapyrrolic macrocycle

The distortion of the tetrapyrrolic macrocycle, the Fe-C-O bond angle and the Fe local electronic structure of carbonyl basket-handle Fe2+ porphyrins as a function of the basket-handle chain length have been studied by X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy, both in the solid state and in toluene solution. The Fe-C-O bond angle has been found to be linear in all compounds while the increasing distortion of the macrocycle with shortening of the chain length is indicated by the multiple scattering resonance in the heme plane appearing at 22 eV in the XANES spectrum.

Preparation and spectral characterization of the heme d1.apomyoglobin complex: an unusual protein environment for the substrate-binding heme of Pseudomonas cytochrome oxidase

The heme d1 prosthetic group isolated from Pseudomonas cytochrome oxidase combines with apomyoglobin to form a stable, optically well-defined complex. Addition of ferric heme d1 quenches apomyoglobin tryptophan fluorescence suggesting association in a 1:1 molar ratio. Optical absorption maxima for heme d1.apomyoglobin are at 629 and 429 nm before, and 632 and 458 nm after dithionite reduction; they are distinct from those of heme d1 in aqueous solution but more similar to those unobscured by heme c in Pseudomonas cytochrome oxidase. Cyanide, carbon monoxide and imidazole alter the spectrum of heme d1.apomyoglobin demonstrating axial coordination to heme d1 by exogeneous ligands. The cyanide-induced optical difference spectra exhibit isosbestic points, and a Scatchard-like analysis yields a linear plot with an apparent dissociation constant of 4.2 X 10(-5) M. However, carbon monoxide induces two absorption spectra with Soret maxima at 454 or 467 nm, and this duplicity, along with a shoulder that correlates with the latter before binding, suggests multiple carbon monoxide and possibly heme d1 orientations within the globin. The 50-fold reduction in cyanide affinity over myoglobin is more consistent with altered heme pocket interactions than the intrinsic electronic differences between the two hemes. However, stability of the heme d1.apomyoglobin complex is verified further by the inability to separate heme d1 from globin during dialysis and column chromatography in excess cyanide or imidazole. This stability, together with a comparison between spectra of ligand-free and -bound derivatives of heme d1-apomyoglobin and heme d1 in solution, implies that the prosthetic group is coordinated in the heme pocket through a protein-donated, strong-field ligand. Furthermore, the visible spectrum of heme d1.apomyoglobin varies minimally with ligand exchange, in contrast to the Soret, which suggests that much spectral information concerning heme d1 coordination in the oxidase is lost by interference from heme c absorption bands. A comparison of the absorption spectra of heme d1.apomyoglobin and Pseudomonas cytochrome oxidase, together with a critical examination of the previous axial ligand assignments from magnetic resonance techniques in the latter, implies that it is premature to accept the assignment of bishistidine heme d1 coordination in oxidized, ligand-free oxidase and other iron-isobacteriochlorin-containing enzymes.