Influence of Solvent Composition on the Kinetics of Cyclooctene Epoxidation by Hydrogen Peroxide Catalyzed by Iron(III) [tetrakis(pentafluorophenyl)] Porphyrin Chloride [(F20TPP)FeCl]

The epoxidation of cyclooctene catalyzed by iron(III) [tetrakis(pentafluorophenyl)] porphyrin chloride [(F20TPP)FeCl] was investigated in alcohol/acetonitrile solutions in order to determine the effects of the alcohol composition on the reaction kinetics. It was observed that alcohol composition affects both the observed rate of hydrogen peroxide consumption (the limiting reagent) and the selectivity of hydrogen peroxide utilization to form cyclooctene epoxide. The catalytically active species are formed only in alcohol-containing solvents as a consequence of (F(20)TPP)FeCl dissociation into [(F20TPP)Fe(ROH)]+ cations and Cl- anions. The observed reaction kinetics are analyzed in terms of a proposed mechanism for the epoxidation of the olefin and the decomposition of H2O2. The first step in this scheme is the reversible coordination of H2O2 to [(F20TPP)Fe(ROH)]+. The O-O bond of the coordinated H2O2 then undergoes either homolytic or heterolytic cleavage. The rate of homolytic cleavage is found to be independent of alcohol composition, whereas the rate of heterolytic cleavage increases with alcohol acidity. Heterolytic cleavage is envisioned to form iron(IV) pi-radical cations, whereas homolytic cleavage forms iron(IV) hydroxo cations. The iron(IV) radical cations are active for olefin epoxidation, whereas the iron(IV) cations catalyze the decomposition of H2O2. Reaction of iron(IV) pi-radical cations with H2O2 to form iron(IV) hydroxo cations is also included in the mechanism, a process that is favored by alcohols with a high charge density on the O atoms. The proposed mechanism describes successfully the effects of H2O2, cyclooctene, and porphyrin concentrations, as well as the effects of alcohol concentration.

Protein conformational perturbations affect the photoreduction of native cytochrome c peroxidase (III) at alkaline pH

Ferric cytochrome c peroxidase (CCP) undergoes a ligation-state transition from a pentacoordinate, high-spin (5c/hs) heme to a hexacoordinate, low-spin (6c/1s) heme when titrated over a pH range of 7.30-9.70. This behavior is similar to that exhibited by the ferrous form of the enzyme. However, the photodissociation of the low-spin, axial ligand, exhibited by ferrous CCP at alkaline pH, is not observed for ferric CCP. Instead, a photoinduced reduction of the ferric heme is apparent in the pH range 7.90-9.70. In the absence of O2 and redox mediators such as methyl viologen (MV2+), the reoxidation of the photoreduced enzyme is very slow (tau 1/2 approximately 3 min). F(-)-bound CCP(III) (6c/hs) displays similar pH-dependent photoreduction. Horseradish peroxidase, however, does not. The formation of 6c/1s heme coincides with the onset of appreciable photoreduction (between laser pulses, > 60 ms) of CCP (III) at alkaline pH, suggesting a global protein conformational rearrangement within or around its heme pocket. Photoreduction of alkaline CCP(III) most likely involves intramolecular electron transfer (ET) from the aromatic residue in the proximal heme pocket to the photoexcited heme. We speculate that the kinetics of electron transfer are affected by changes in the orientation of Trp-191.