Homodinuclear copper(II) and zinc(II) complexes of a carboxylate-rich ligand as synthetic mimics of phosphoester hydrolase in aqueous solutions

The synthesis, characterization and catalytic activities of two homodinuclear Cu(II) and Zn(II) complexes of a carboxylate-rich ligand, N,N'-Bis[2-carboxybenzomethyl]-N,N' -Bis[carboxymethyl]-1,3-diaminopropan-2-ol (H₅ccdp) ligand towards the hydrolysis of (p-nitrophenyl phosphate) (PNPP) and bis(p-nitrophenyl) phosphate (BNPP) substrates in aqueous systems are described. Kinetic investigations were carried out using UV-Vis spectrophotometric techniques at 25 °C and 37 °C and different pH (7-10) conditions. The kinetic studies revealed that the turnover rate (k_cat) values among the PNPP hydrolysis systems, the highest and the lowest k_cat values were displayed by [Cu₂(ccdp)(μ-OAc)]^2- at 2.34 × 10^-6 s^-1 (pH 8 and 37 °C) and 2.13 × 10^-8 s^-1 (pH 8 and 25 °C), respectively. However, similar comparisons among the BNPP hydrolysis revealed that highest and the lowest k_cat values were displayed by [Zn₂(ccdp)(μ-OAc)]^2- at 4.64 × 10^-8 s^-1 (pH 9 and 37 °C) and 2.38 × 10^-9 (pH 9 and 25 °C). Significantly enough, the catalyst-substrate adduct species containing a metal bound PNPP and BNPP have been detected by ESI-MS techniques. Additionally, a PNPP-bound copper complex has been isolated and crystalized using single crystal X-ray diffraction technique. Based on the structural and activity information obtained in this study, reaction mechanisms for the hydrolysis of PNPP have been proposed.

Self-Assembled Multivalent Ag-SR Coordination Polymers with Phosphatase-Like Activity

We show herein the phosphatase-like catalytic activity of coordination polymers obtained after adding Ag⁺ -ions to thiols bearing hydrophobic alkyl chains terminated with a 1,4,7-triazacyclononane (TACN) group. The subsequent addition of Zn²⁺ -ions to the self-assembled polymers resulted in the formation of multivalent metal coordination polymers capable of catalysing the transphosphorylation of an RNA-model compound (2-hydroxypropyl-4-nitrophenyl phosphate, HPNPP) with high reactivity. Analysis of a series of metal ions showed that the highest catalytic activity was obtained when Ag⁺ -ions were used as the first metal ions to construct the backbone of the coordination polymer through interaction with the -SH group followed by Zn²⁺ -ions as the second metal ions complexed by the TACN-macrocycle. Furthermore, it was demonstrated that the catalytic activity could be modulated by changing the length of the hydrophobic alkyl chain.

Catalytic zinc complexes for phosphate diester hydrolysis

Creating efficient artificial catalysts that can compete with biocatalysis has been an enduring challenge which has yet to be met. Reported herein is the synthesis and characterization of a series of zinc complexes designed to catalyze the hydrolysis of phosphate diesters. By introducing a hydrated aldehyde into the ligand we achieve turnover for DNA-like substrates which, combined with ligand methylation, increases reactivity by two orders of magnitude. In contrast to current orthodoxy and mechanistic explanations, we propose a mechanism where the nucleophile is not coordinated to the metal ion, but involves a tautomer with a more effective Lewis acid and more reactive nucleophile. This data suggests a new strategy for creating more efficient metal ion based catalysts, and highlights a possible mode of action for metalloenzymes.

Preparation and structures of dinuclear complexes containing M(II)-OH centers

The synthesis of M(II)(2) complexes (M(II)=Co, Mn) with terminal hydroxo ligands has been achieved utilizing a dinucleating ligand containing a bridging pyrazolate unit and appended (neopentyl)aminopyridyl groups. Structural studies on the complexes revealed that the M(II)-OH units are positioned in a syn-configuration, placing the hydroxo ligands in close proximity (ca. 3 Å apart), which may be a prerequisite for water oxidation.

The mechanism of cleavage and isomerisation of RNA promoted by an efficient dinuclear Zn2+ complex

The cleavage and isomerisation of uridine 3'-alkylphosphates was studied in the presence of a dinuclear Zn(2+) complex, 3. The rate acceleration of the cleavage by 1 mM 3 is approximately 10(6)-fold under neutral conditions. Most remarkably, the complex also promotes the isomerisation of phosphodiester bonds, although the rate-enhancement is more modest: under neutral conditions complex 3 (1 mM) catalyses isomerisation by about 500-fold. The observation of this reaction shows that the reactions of these substrates catalysed by 3 proceed through a stepwise mechanism involving an intermediate phosphorane. A β(lg) value of -0.92 was determined for the 3-promoted cleavage reaction, and modest kinetic solvent deuterium isotope effects ranging from 1.5 to 2.8 were observed. Isomerisation was less sensitive to the nature of the esterifying group, with a β value of -0.5, and the kinetic solvent deuterium isotope effects were less than 1.5. Most of these characteristics of the 3-promoted cleavage are very similar to those for the cleavage of nucleoside 3'-phosphotriesters. These data are explained by a mechanism in which the complex primarily acts as an electrophilic catalyst neutralising the charge on the phosphate and stabilising an intermediate phosphorane, with general acid catalysis promoting the cleavage reaction. In contrast to the behaviour of triesters, isomerisation is significantly slower than cleavage; this suggests that the changes in geometry that occur during isomerisation lead to a much less stable complex between 3 and the phosphorane intermediate.

Catalytic self-assembled monolayers on Au nanoparticles: the source of catalysis of a transphosphorylation reaction

The catalytic activity of a series of Au monolayer protected colloids (Au MPCs) containing different ratios of the catalytic unit triazacyclononane⋅Zn(II) (TACN⋅Zn(II) ) and an inert triethyleneglycol (TEG) unit was measured. The catalytic self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) are highly efficient in the transphosphorylation of 2-hydroxy propyl 4-nitrophenyl phosphate (HPNPP), an RNA model substrate, exhibiting maximum values for the Michaelis-Menten parameters k(cat) and K(M) of 6.7×10(-3) s(-1) and 3.1×10(-4) M, respectively, normalized per catalytic unit. Despite the structural simplicity of the catalytic units, this renders these nanoparticles among the most active catalysts known for this substrate. Both k(cat) and K(M) parameters were determined as a function of the mole fraction of catalytic unit (x(1)) in the SAM. Within this nanoparticle (NP) series, k(cat) increases up till x(1) ≈0.4, after which it remains constant and K(M) decreases exponentially over the range studied. A theoretical analysis demonstrated that these trends are an intrinsic property of catalytic SAMs, in which catalysis originates from the cooperative effect between two neighboring catalytic units. The multivalency of the system causes an increase of the number of potential dimeric catalytic sites composed of two catalytic units as a function of the x(1) , which causes an apparent increase in binding affinity (decrease in K(M)). Simultaneously, the k(cat) value is determined by the number of substrate molecules bound at saturation. For values of x(1) >0.4, isolated catalytic units are no longer present and all catalytic units are involved in catalysis at saturation. Importantly, the observed trends are indicative of a random distribution of the thiols in the SAM. As indicated by the theoretical analysis, and confirmed by a control experiment, in case of clustering both k(cat) and K(M) values remain constant over the entire range of x(1) .