Synthesis of a novel tetranuclear Cu(II) complex with the dinucleating ligand α,α′-bis(N-1,4,7-triazacyclononane)-m-xylene (XYL-tacn): first crystal structure of [(CuCl)4(XYL-tacn)2(μ-Cl)2][PF6]2

Aminoalcohols and benzoates-friends or foes? Tuning nuclearity of Cu(ii) complexes, studies of their structures, magnetism, and catecholase-like activities as well as performing DFT and TDDFT studies

The Cu(ii) complexes of varying nuclearity are synthesized, characterized and assessed for catecholase activities.

Insertion of a hydroxido bridge into a diphenoxido dinuclear copper(II) complex: drastic change of the magnetic property from strong antiferromagnetic to ferromagnetic and enhancement in the catecholase activity

A diphenoxido-bridged dinuclear copper(II) complex, [Cu(2)L(2)(ClO(4))(2)] (1), has been synthesized using a tridentate reduced Schiff base ligand, 2-[[2-(diethylamino)ethylamino]methyl]phenol (HL). The addition of triethylamine to the methanolic solution of this complex produced a novel triple bridged (double phenoxido and single hydroxido) dinuclear copper(II) complex, [Cu(2)L(2)(OH)]ClO(4) (2). Both complexes 1 and 2 were characterized by X-ray structural analyses, variable-temperature magnetic susceptibility measurements, and spectroscopic methods. In 1, the two phenoxido bridges are equatorial-equatorial and the species shows strong antiferromagnetic coupling with J = -615.6(6.1) cm(-1). The inclusion of the equatorial-equatorial hydroxido bridge in 2 changes the Cu···Cu distance from 3.018 Å (avg.) to 2.798 Å (avg.), the positions of the phenoxido bridges to axial-equatorial, and the magnetic coupling to ferromagnetic with J = 50.1(1.4) cm(-1). Using 3,5-di-tert-butylcatechol as the substrate, the catecholase activity of the complexes has been studied in a methanol solution; compound 2 shows higher catecholase activity (k(cat) = 233.4 h(-1)) than compound 1 (k(cat) = 93.6 h(-1)). Both complexes generate identical species in solution, and they are interconvertible simply by changing the pH of their solutions. The higher catecholase activity of 2 seems to be due to the presence of the OH group, which increases the pH of its solution.

Synthetic models of the active site of catechol oxidase: mechanistic studies

The ability of copper proteins to process dioxygen at ambient conditions has inspired numerous research groups to study their structural, spectroscopic and catalytic properties. Catechol oxidase is a type-3 copper enzyme usually encountered in plant tissues and in some insects and crustaceans. It catalyzes the conversion of a large number of catechols into the respective o-benzoquinones, which subsequently auto-polymerize, resulting in the formation of melanin, a dark pigment thought to protect a damaged tissue from pathogens. After the report of the X-ray crystal structure of catechol oxidase a few years earlier, a large number of publications devoted to the biomimetic modeling of its active site appeared in the literature. This critical review (citing 114 references) extensively discusses the synthetic models of this enzyme, with a particular emphasis on the different approaches used in the literature to study the mechanism of the catalytic oxidation of the substrate (catechol) by these compounds. These are the studies on the substrate binding to the model complexes, the structure-activity relationship, the kinetic studies of the catalytic oxidation of the substrate and finally the substrate interaction with (per)oxo-dicopper adducts. The general overview of the recognized types of copper proteins and the detailed description of the crystal structure of catechol oxidase, as well as the proposed mechanisms of the enzymatic cycle are also presented.