Transue, Wesley J. | Search NASA

DOE OSTI2023

Kβ X-ray Emission Spectroscopy of Cu(I)-Lytic Polysaccharide Monooxygenase: Direct Observation of the Frontier Molecular Orbital for H 2 O 2 Activation

Lytic polysaccharide monooxygenases (LPMOs) catalyze the degradation of recalcitrant carbohydrate polysaccharide substrates. These enzymes are characterized by a mononuclear Cu(I) active site with a three-coordinate T-shaped “His-brace” configuration including the N-terminal histidine and its amine group as ligands. Here, this study explicitly investigates the electronic structure of the d 10 Cu(I) active site in a LPMO using Kβ X-ray emission spectroscopy (XES). The lack of inversion symmetry in the His-brace site enables the 3d/p mixing required for intensity in the Kβ valence-to-core (VtC) XES spectrum of Cu(I)-LPMO. These Kβ XES data are correlated to density functional theory (DFT) calculations to define the bonding, and in particular, the frontier molecular orbital (FMO) of the Cu(I) site. These experimentally validated DFT calculations are used to evaluate the reaction coordinate for homolytic cleavage of the H 2 O 2 O–O bond and understand the contribution of this FMO to the low barrier of this reaction and how the geometric and electronic structure of the Cu(I)-LPMO site is activated for rapid reactivity with H 2 O 2 .

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

DOE OSTI2021

A Thioether-Ligated Cupric Superoxide Model with Hydrogen Atom Abstraction Reactivity

The central role of cupric superoxide intermediates proposed in hormone and neurotransmitter biosynthesis by noncoupled binuclear copper monooxygenases like dopamine-β-monooxygenase has drawn significant attention to the unusual methionine ligation of the Cu M (“Cu B ”) active site characteristic of this class of enzymes. The copper–sulfur interaction has proven critical for turnover, raising still-unresolved questions concerning Nature’s selection of an oxidizable Met residue to facilitate C–H oxygenation. We describe herein a model for Cu M , [( TMG N 3 S)Cu I ] + ([1] + ), and its O 2 -bound analog [( TMG N 3 S)Cu II (O 2 •– )] + ([1·O 2 ] + ). The latter is the first reported cupric superoxide with an experimentally proven Cu–S bond which also possesses demonstrated hydrogen atom abstraction (HAA) reactivity. Introduction of O2 to a precooled solution of the cuprous precursor [1]B(C 6 F 5 ) 4 (-135 °C, 2-methyltetrahydrofuran (2-MeTHF)) reversibly forms [1·O 2 ]B(C 6 F 5 ) 4 (UV/vis spectroscopy: λ max 442, 642, 742 nm). Resonance Raman studies (413 nm) using 16 O 2 [ 18 O 2 ] corroborated the identity of [1·O 2 ] + by revealing Cu–O (446 [425] cm –1 ) and O–O (1105 [1042] cm –1 ) stretches, and extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectroscopy showed a Cu–S interatomic distance of 2.55 Å. HAA reactivity between [1·O 2 ] + and TEMPO–H proceeds rapidly (1.28 × 10 –1 M –1 s –1 , -135 °C, 2-MeTHF) with a primary kinetic isotope effect of kH/kD = 5.4. Comparisons of the O 2 -binding behavior and redox activity of [1] + vs [2] + , the latter a close analog of [1]+ but with all N atom ligation (i.e., N 3 S vs N 4 ), are presented.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗