A Structural and Functional Model for Dioxygenases with a 2-His-1-carboxylate Triad

Heteroleptic Ligation by an endo-Functionalized Cage

A conceptual approach for the synthesis of quasi-heteroleptic complexes with properly endo-functionalized cages as ligands is presented. The cage ligand reported here is of a covalent organic nature, it has been synthesized via a dynamic combinatorial chemistry approach, making use of a masked amine. Inspired by enzymatic active sites, the described system bears one carboxylate and two imidazole moieties as independent ligating units through which it is able to coordinate to transition metals. Analysis of the iron(II) complex in solution and the solid state validates the structure and shows that no undesired but commonly observed dimerization process takes place. The solid-state structure shows a five-coordinate metal center with the carboxylate bidentately bound to iron, which makes Fe@2 an unprecedentedly detailed structural model complex for this kind of non-heme iron oxygenases. As, as confirmed by the crystal structure, sufficient space for other organic ligands is available, the biologically relevant ligand α-ketoglutarate is implemented. We observe biomimetic reaction behavior towards dioxygen that opens studies investigating Fe@2 as a functional model complex.

Structurally Modelling the 2-His-1-Carboxylate Facial Triad with a Bulky N,N,O Phenolate Ligand

We present the synthesis and coordination chemistry of a bulky, tripodal N,N,O ligand, Im^Ph2NNO^tBu (L), designed to model the 2‐His‐1‐carboxylate facial triad (2H1C) by means of two imidazole groups and an anionic 2,4‐di‐tert‐butyl‐subtituted phenolate. Reacting K‐L with MCl₂ (M = Fe, Zn) affords the isostructural, tetrahedral non‐heme complexes [Fe(L)(Cl)] (1) and [Zn(L)(Cl)] (2) in high yield. The tridentate N,N,O ligand coordination observed in their X‐ray crystal structures remains intact and well‐defined in MeCN and CH₂Cl₂ solution. Reacting 2 with NaSPh affords a tetrahedral zinc thiolate complex, [Zn(L)(SPh)] (4), that is relevant to isopenicillin N synthase (IPNS) biomimicry. Cyclic voltammetry studies demonstrate the ligand's redox non‐innocence, where phenolate oxidation is the first electrochemical response observed in K‐L, 2 and 4. However, the first electrochemical oxidation in 1 is iron‐centred, the assignment of which is supported by DFT calculations. Overall, Im^Ph2NNO^tBu provides access to well‐defined mononuclear, monoligated, N,N,O‐bound metal complexes, enabling more accurate structural modelling of the 2H1C to be achieved.

Iron-Catalyzed Cα-H Oxidation of Tertiary, Aliphatic Amines to Amides under Mild Conditions

De novo syntheses of amides often generate stoichiometric amounts of waste. Thus, recent progress in the field has focused on precious metal catalyzed, oxidative protocols to generate such functionalities. However, simple tertiary alkyl amines cannot be used as starting materials in these protocols. The research described herein enables the oxidative synthesis of amides from simple, noncyclic tertiary alkyl amines under synthetically useful, mild conditions through a biologically inspired approach: Fe-catalyzed Cα-H functionalization. Mechanistic investigations provide insight into reaction intermediates and allow the development of a mild Cα-H cyanation method using the same catalyst system. The protocol was further applied to oxidize the drug Lidocaine, demonstrating the potential utility of the developed chemistry for metabolite synthesis.

Olefin cis-Dihydroxylation and Aliphatic C-H Bond Oxygenation by a Dioxygen-Derived Electrophilic Iron-Oxygen Oxidant

Many iron-containing enzymes involve metal-oxygen oxidants to carry out O2-dependent transformation reactions. However, the selective oxidation of C-H and C=C bonds by biomimetic complexes using O2 remains a major challenge in bioinspired catalysis. The reactivity of iron-oxygen oxidants generated from an Fe(II)-benzilate complex of a facial N3 ligand were thus investigated. The complex reacted with O2 to form a nucleophilic oxidant, whereas an electrophilic oxidant, intercepted by external substrates, was generated in the presence of a Lewis acid. Based on the mechanistic studies, a nucleophilic Fe(II)-hydroperoxo species is proposed to form from the benzilate complex, which undergoes heterolytic O-O bond cleavage in the presence of a Lewis acid to generate an Fe(IV)-oxo-hydroxo oxidant. The electrophilic iron-oxygen oxidant selectively oxidizes sulfides to sulfoxides, alkenes to cis-diols, and it hydroxylates the C-H bonds of alkanes, including that of cyclohexane.