Mössbauer investigations of the hexachlorantimonate salt of the phenyliron 2,3,7,8,l2,13,17,18-octaethyl-5,10,15,20-tetraphenylporphyrinate, [Fe(oetpp)Ph]SbCl6 and X-ray structure of the phenyliron(III) precursor Fe(III)(oetpp)Ph

Advanced Paramagnetic Resonance Studies on Manganese and Iron Corroles with a Formal d4 Electron Count

Metallocorroles wherein the metal ion is Mn^III and formally Fe^IV are studied here using field- and frequency-domain electron paramagnetic resonance techniques. The Mn^III corrole, Mn(tpfc) (tpfc = 5,10,15-tris(pentafluorophenyl)corrole trianion), exhibits the following S = 2 zero-field splitting (zfs) parameters: D = -2.67(1) cm^-1, |E| = 0.023(5) cm^-1. This result and those for other Mn^III tetrapyrroles indicate that when D ≈ - 2.5 ± 0.5 cm^-1 for 4- or 5-coordinate and D ≈ - 3.5 ± 0.5 cm^-1 for 6-coordinate complexes, the ground state description is [Mn^III(Cor^3-)]⁰ or [Mn^III(P^2-)]⁺ (Cor = corrole, P = porphyrin). The situation for formally Fe^IV corroles is more complicated, and it has been shown that for Fe(Cor)X, when X = Ph (phenyl), the ground state is a spin triplet best described by [Fe^IV(Cor^3-)]⁺, but when X = halide, the ground state corresponds to [Fe^III(Cor^•2-)]⁺, wherein an intermediate spin (S = ³/₂) Fe^III is antiferromagnetically coupled to a corrole radical dianion (S = ¹/₂) to also give an S = 1 ground state. These two valence isomers can be distinguished by their zfs parameters, as determined here for Fe(tpc)X, X = Ph, Cl (tpc = 5,10,15-triphenylcorrole trianion). The complex with axial phenyl gives D = 21.1(2) cm^-1, while that with axial chloride gives D = 14.6(1) cm^-1. The D value for Fe(tpc)Ph is in rough agreement with the range of values reported for other Fe^IV complexes. In contrast, the D value for Fe(tpc)Cl is inconsistent with an Fe^IV description and represents a different type of iron center. Computational studies corroborate the zfs for the two types of iron corrole complexes. Thus, the zfs of metallocorroles can be diagnostic as to the electronic structure of a formally high oxidation state metallocorrole, and by extension to metalloporphyrins, although such studies have yet to be performed.

Organometallic myoglobins: Formation of Fe-carbon bonds and distal pocket effects on aryl ligand conformations

Bioorganometallic Fe-C bonds are biologically relevant species that may result from the metabolism of natural or synthetic hydrazines. The molecular structures of four new sperm whale mutant myoglobin derivatives with Fe-aryl moieties, namely H64A-tolyl-m, H64A-chlorophenyl-p, H64Q-tolyl-m, and H64Q-chlorophenyl-p, have been determined at 1.7-1.9Å resolution. The structures reveal conformational preferences for the substituted aryls resulting from attachment of the aryl ligands to Fe at the site of net -NHNH2 release from the precursor hydrazines, and show distal pocket changes that readily accommodate these bulky ligands.

Bis-Fe(IV): nature's sniper for long-range oxidation

Iron-dependent enzymes are prevalent in nature and participate in a wide range of biological redox activities. Frequently, high-valence iron intermediates are involved in the catalytic events of iron-dependent enzymes, especially when the activation of peroxide or molecular oxygen is involved. Building on the fundamental framework of iron-oxygen chemistry, these reactive intermediates constantly attract significant attention from the enzymology community. During the past few decades, tremendous efforts from a number of laboratories have been dedicated to the capture and characterization of these intermediates to improve mechanistic understandings. In 2008, an unprecedented bis-Fe(IV) intermediate was reported in a c-type diheme enzyme, MauG, which is involved in the maturation of a tryptophan tryptophylquinone cofactor of methylamine dehydrogenase. This intermediate, although chemically equivalent to well-characterized high-valence iron intermediates, such as compound I, compound ES, and intermediate Q in methane monooxygenase, as well as the hypothetical Fe(V) species in Rieske non-heme oxygenases, is orders of magnitude more stable than these other high-valence species in the absence of its primary substrate. It has recently been discovered that the bis-Fe(IV) intermediate exhibits a unique near-IR absorption feature which has been attributed to a novel charge-resonance phenomenon. This review compares the properties of MauG with structurally related enzymes, summarizes the current knowledge of this new high-valence iron intermediate, including its chemical origin and structural basis, explores the formation and consequences of charge resonance, and recounts the long-range catalytic mechanism in which bis-Fe(IV) participates. Biological strategies for storing oxidizing equivalents with iron ions are also discussed.

Tryptophan tryptophylquinone biosynthesis: a radical approach to posttranslational modification

Protein-derived cofactors are formed by irreversible covalent posttranslational modification of amino acid residues. An example is tryptophan tryptophylquinone (TTQ) found in the enzyme methylamine dehydrogenase (MADH). TTQ biosynthesis requires the cross-linking of the indole rings of two Trp residues and the insertion of two oxygen atoms onto adjacent carbons of one of the indole rings. The diheme enzyme MauG catalyzes the completion of TTQ within a precursor protein of MADH. The preMADH substrate contains a single hydroxyl group on one of the tryptophans and no crosslink. MauG catalyzes a six-electron oxidation that completes TTQ assembly and generates fully active MADH. These oxidation reactions proceed via a high valent bis-Fe(IV) state in which one heme is present as Fe(IV)=O and the other is Fe(IV) with both axial heme ligands provided by amino acid side chains. The crystal structure of MauG in complex with preMADH revealed that catalysis does not involve direct contact between the hemes of MauG and the protein substrate. Rather it is accomplished through long-range electron transfer, which presumably generates radical intermediates. Kinetic, spectrophotometric, and site-directed mutagenesis studies are beginning to elucidate how the MauG protein controls the reactivity of the hemes and mediates the long range electron/radical transfer required for catalysis. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Radical SAM enzymes and Radical Enzymology.

Low-spin organoiron(III) N-confused pyriporphyrin

Oxidation of ( PyP H) Fe II Br , an iron(II) complex of 6,11,16,21-tetraaryl-3-aza-m-benziporphyrin ( N -confused pyriporphyrin, ( PyP H) H ) has been followed, in the presence of pyridine, by 1 H and 2 H NMR spectroscopy. One-electron oxidation with dioxygen, accompanied by deprotonation of a C (22) H fragment and formation of a Fe - C (22) bond, produced a low-spin, six-coordinate iron(III) complex [( PyP ) Fe III( py )2]+ as confirmed by combination of 1 H NMR, EPR and structural data. The characteristic patterns of 1 H NMR pyrrole and meso-aryl resonances resemble features assigned to the less common, low-spin ground electronic state (( d xz d yz )4( d xy )1) of iron(III) regular porphyrins. A conformational rearrangement process has been detected which involves two structures differentiated by macrocyclic ruffling. The structure of { H [( PyP ) Fe III( py )2]2}( Fe III Br 4)3· CH 2 Cl 2 has been determined by X-ray crystallography. The cationic complex involves a six-coordinate iron atom bound to the N -confused pyriporphyrin through its three nitrogens ( Fe - N (23) = 1.924(7), Fe - N (24) = 1.979(7), Fe - N (25) = 1.9343(7) Å) and the pirydyl trigonal C (22) atom ( Fe (1)- C (22) = 1.972(10) Å). The porphyrin is strongly ruffled, defining two deep grooves along C meso - C meso axes at right angles to each other. Two axial pyridine ligands are located in the prearranged equatorial ligand grooves. The iron lies in the N 3 C plane of the macrocycle defined by coordinating nitrogen and carbon atoms. In the solid, pairs of molecules are positioned along the line defined by Fe (1)- C (22) and Fe (2)- C (91) bonds. The structure demonstrates the head-to-head arrangement of two [( PyP ) Fe III( py )2]+ subunits revealing the adjacency of the two perimeter nitrogen atoms (the N (3)⋯ N (72) distance = 2.587(10) Å) linked by the N ⋯ H ⋯ N hydrogen bond.

A catalytic di-heme bis-Fe(IV) intermediate, alternative to an Fe(IV)=O porphyrin radical

High-valent iron species are powerful oxidizing agents in chemical and biological catalysis. The best characterized form of an Fe(V) equivalent described in biological systems is the combination of a b-type heme with Fe(IV)=O and a porphyrin or amino acid cation radical (termed Compound I). This work describes an alternative natural mechanism to store two oxidizing equivalents above the ferric state for biological oxidation reactions. MauG is an enzyme that utilizes two covalently bound c-type hemes to catalyze the biosynthesis of the protein-derived cofactor tryptophan tryptophylquinone. Its natural substrate is a monohydroxylated tryptophan residue present in a 119-kDa precursor protein. An EPR-silent di-heme reaction intermediate of MauG was trapped. Mössbauer spectroscopy revealed the presence of two distinct Fe(IV) species. One is consistent with an Fe(IV)=O (ferryl) species (delta = 0.06 mm/s, DeltaE(Q) = 1.70 mm/s). The other is assigned to an Fe(IV) heme species with two axial ligands from protein (delta = 0.17 mm/s, DeltaE(Q) = 2.54 mm/s), which has never before been described in nature. This bis-Fe(IV) intermediate is remarkably stable but readily reacts with its native substrate. These findings broaden our views of how proteins can stabilize a highly reactive oxidizing species and the scope of enzyme-catalyzed posttranslational modifications.

Metal−Porphyrin Orbital Interactions in Highly Saddled Low-Spin Iron(III) Porphyrin Complexes

Substituent effects of the meso-aryl (Ar) groups on the 1H and 13C NMR chemical shifts in a series of low-spin highly saddled iron(III) octaethyltetraarylporphyrinates, [Fe(OETArP)L2]+, where axial ligands (L) are imidazole (HIm) and tert-butylisocyanide ((t)BuNC), have been examined to reveal the nature of the interactions between metal and porphyrin orbitals. As for the bis(HIm) complexes, the crystal and molecular structures have been determined by X-ray crystallography. These complexes have shown a nearly pure saddled structure in the crystal, which is further confirmed by the normal-coordinate structural decomposition method. The substituent effects on the CH2 proton as well as meso and CH2 carbon shifts are fairly small in the bis(HIm) complexes. Since these complexes adopt the (d(xy))2(d(xz), d(yz))3 ground state as revealed by the electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectra, the unpaired electron in one of the metal dpi orbitals is delocalized to the porphyrin ring by the interactions with the porphyrin 3e(g)-like orbitals. A fairly small substituent effect is understandable because the 3e(g)-like orbitals have zero coefficients at the meso-carbon atoms. In contrast, a sizable substituent effect is observed when the axial HIm is replaced by (t)BuNC. The Hammett plots exhibit a large negative slope, -220 ppm, for the meso-carbon signals as compared with the corresponding value, +5.4 ppm, in the bis(HIm) complexes. Since the bis((t)BuNC) complexes adopt the (d(xz), d(yz))4(d(xy))1 ground state as revealed by the EPR spectra, the result strongly indicates that the half-filled dxy orbital interacts with the specific porphyrin orbitals that have large coefficients on the meso-carbon atoms. Thus, we have concluded that the major metal-porphyrin orbital interaction in low-spin saddle-shaped complexes with the (d(xz), d(yz))4(d(xy))1 ground state should take place between the d(xy) and a(2u)-like orbital rather than between the dxy and a(1u)-like orbital, though the latter interaction is symmetry-allowed in saddled D(2d) complexes. Fairly weak spin delocalization to the meso-carbon atoms in the complexes with electron-withdrawing groups is then ascribed to the decrease in spin population in the d(xy) orbital due to a smaller energy gap between the d(xy) and dpi orbitals. In fact, the energy levels of the d(xy) and dpi orbitals are completely reversed in the complex carrying a strongly electron-withdrawing substituent, the 3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl group, which results in the formation of the low-spin complex with an unprecedented (d(xy))2(d(xz), d(yz))3 ground state despite the coordination of (t)BuNC.