Substrate Hydroxylation by the Oxido-Iron Intermediate in Aromatic Amino Acid Hydroxylases: A DFT Mechanistic Study

Mechanistic insights into the allylic oxidation of aliphatic compounds by tetraamido iron(v) species: A C–H vs. O–H bond activation

This work is based on a deep insight into a comparative study of C–H vs. O–H bond activation of allylic compound by the high valent iron complex. Our theoretical findings can help to design catalysts with better efficiency for catalytic reactions.

ortho-Hydroxylation of aromatic acids by a non-heme Fe(V)=O species: how important is the ligand design?

There is a growing interest in probing the mechanism of catalytic transformations effected by non-heme iron-oxo complexes as these reactions set a platform for understanding the relevant enzymatic reactions. The ortho-hydroxylation of aromatic compounds is one such reaction catalysed by iron-oxo complexes. Experimentally [Fe(II)(BPMEN)(CH3CN)2](2+) (1) and [Fe(II)(TPA)(CH3CN)2](2+) (2) (where TPA = tris(2-pyridylmethyl)amine and BPMEN = N,N′-dimethyl-N,N′-bis(2-pyridylmethyl)ethane-1,2-diamine) complexes containing amino pyridine ligands along with H2O2 are employed to carry out these transformations where complex 1 is found to be more reactive than complex 2. Herein, using density functional methods employing B3LYP and dispersion corrected B3LYP (B3LYP-D) functionals, we have explored the mechanism of this reaction to reason out the importance of ligand design in fine-tuning the reactivity of such catalytic transformations. Dispersion corrected B3LYP is found to be superior to B3LYP in predicting the correct ground state of these species and also yields lower barrier heights than the B3LYP functional. Starting the reaction from the Fe(III)–OOH species, both homolytic and heterolytic cleavage of the O···O bond is explored leading to the formation of the transient Fe(IV)=O and Fe(V)=O species. For both the ligand systems, heterolytic cleavage was energetically preferable and our calculations suggest that both the reactions are catalyzed by an elusive high-valent Fe(V)=O species. The Fe(V)=O species undergoes the reaction via an electrophilic attack of the benzene ring to effect the ortho-hydroxylation reaction. The reactivity pattern observed for 1 and 2 are reflected in the computed barrier heights for the ortho-hydroxylation reaction. Electronic structure analysis reveals that the difference in reactivity between the ligand architectures described in complex 1 and 2 arise due to orientation of the pyridine ring(s) parallel or perpendicular to the Fe(V)=O bond. The parallel orientation of the pyridine ring is found to mix with the (πFe(dyz)–O(py))* orbital of the Fe-oxo bond leading to a reduction in the electrophilicity of the ferryl oxygen atom. Our calculations highlight the importance of ligand design in this chemistry and suggest that this concept can be used to (i) stabilize high-valent intermediates which can be trapped and thoroughly characterized (ii) enhance the reactivity and efficiency of the oxidants by increasing the electrophilicity of the ferryl oxygen containing FeVO species. Our computed results are in general agreement with the experimental results.

Dynamic regulation of phenylalanine hydroxylase by simulated redox manipulation

Recent clinical studies revealed increased phenylalanine levels and phenylalanine to tyrosine ratios in patients suffering from infection, inflammation and general immune activity. These data implicated down-regulation of activity of phenylalanine hydroxylase by oxidative stress upon in vivo immune activation. Though the structural damage of oxidative stress is expected to be comparably small, a structural rationale for this experimental finding was lacking. Hence, we investigated the impact of side chain oxidation at two vicinal cysteine residues on local conformational flexibility in the protein by comparative molecular dynamics simulations. Analysis of backbone dynamics revealed a highly flexible loop region (Tyr138-loop) in proximity to the active center of phenylalanine hydroxylase. We observed elevated loop dynamics in connection with a loop movement towards the active site in the oxidized state, thereby partially blocking access for the substrate phenylalanine. These findings were confirmed by extensive replica exchange molecular dynamics simulations and serve as a first structural explanation for decreased enzyme turnover in situations of oxidative stress.