Alkane Hydroxylation Reactions Research Articles

Crystal Structure of a Putative Cytochrome P450 Alkane Hydroxylase (CYP153D17) from Sphingomonas sp. PAMC 26605 and Its Conformational Substrate Binding.

Enzymatic alkane hydroxylation reactions are useful for producing pharmaceutical and agricultural chemical intermediates from hydrocarbons. Several cytochrome P450 enzymes catalyze the regio- and stereo-specific hydroxylation of alkanes. We evaluated the substrate binding of a putative CYP alkane hydroxylase (CYP153D17) from the bacterium Sphingomonas sp. PAMC 26605. Substrate affinities to C10–C12 n-alkanes and C10–C14 fatty acids with Kd values varied from 0.42 to 0.59 μM. A longer alkane (C12) bound more strongly than a shorter alkane (C10), while shorter fatty acids (C10, capric acid; C12, lauric acid) bound more strongly than a longer fatty acid (C14, myristic acid). These data displayed a broad substrate specificity of CYP153D17, hence it was named as a putative CYP alkane hydroxylase. Moreover, the crystal structure of CYP153D17 was determined at 3.1 Å resolution. This is the first study to provide structural information for the CYP153D family. Structural analysis showed that a co-purified alkane-like compound bound near the active-site heme group. The alkane-like substrate is in the hydrophobic pocket containing Thr74, Met90, Ala175, Ile240, Leu241, Val244, Leu292, Met295, and Phe393. Comparison with other CYP structures suggested that conformational changes in the β1–β2, α3–α4, and α6–α7 connecting loop are important for incorporating the long hydrophobic alkane-like substrate. These results improve the understanding of the catalytic mechanism of CYP153D17 and provide valuable information for future protein engineering studies.

Mononuclear Nonheme High-Spin Iron(III)-Acylperoxo Complexes in Olefin Epoxidation and Alkane Hydroxylation Reactions.

Mononuclear nonheme high-spin iron(III)-acylperoxo complexes bearing an N-methylated cyclam ligand were synthesized, spectroscopically characterized, and investigated in olefin epoxidation and alkane hydroxylation reactions. In the epoxidation of olefins, epoxides were yielded as the major products with high stereo-, chemo-, and enantioselectivities; cis- and trans-stilbenes were oxidized to cis- and trans-stilbene oxides, respectively. In the epoxidation of cyclohexene, cyclohexene oxide was formed as the major product with a kinetic isotope effect (KIE) value of 1.0, indicating that nonheme iron(III)-acylperoxo complexes prefer C═C epoxidation to allylic C-H bond activation. Olefin epoxidation by chiral iron(III)-acylperoxo complexes afforded epoxides with high enantioselectivity, suggesting that iron(III)-acylperoxo species, not high-valent iron-oxo species, are the epoxidizing agent. In alkane hydroxylation reactions, iron(III)-acylperoxo complexes hydroxylated C-H bonds as strong as those in cyclohexane at -40 °C, wherein (a) alcohols were yielded as the major products with high regio- and stereoselectivities, (b) activation of C-H bonds by the iron(III)-acylperoxo species was the rate-determining step with a large KIE value and good correlation between reaction rates and bond dissociation energies of alkanes, and (c) the oxygen atom in the alcohol product was from the iron(III)-acylperoxo species, not from molecular oxygen. In isotopically labeled water (H2(18)O) experiments, incorporation of (18)O from H2(18)O into oxygenated products was not observed in the epoxidation and hydroxylation reactions. On the basis of mechanistic studies, we conclude that mononuclear nonheme high-spin iron(III)-acylperoxo complexes are strong oxidants capable of oxygenating hydrocarbons prior to their conversion into iron-oxo species via O-O bond cleavage.

Highly selective hydroxylation of alkanes catalyzed by (μ-oxo)bis(μ-carboxylato)-bridged diiron(iii) complexes: involvement of mononuclear iron(iii) species in catalysis

A few diiron(III) complexes [Fe2(O)(OAc)2(L1)2](ClO4)2, [Fe2(O)(OBz)2(L1)2](ClO4)2, [Fe2(O)(OAc)2(L2)2](ClO4)2 and [Fe2(O)(OBz)2(L2)2](ClO4)2, where L1=N,N-bis(pyrid-2-ylmethyl)-iso-butylamine, L2=N,N-bis(pyrid-2-ylmethyl)benzylamine, AcO=acetate and BzO=benzoate, have been isolated and characterized by means of elemental analysis and spectral and electrochemical methods. The molecular structures of the complexes and have been determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis and they possess a distorted bioctahedral geometry in which each iron atom is coordinated to the oxygen atom of the micro-oxo bridge, two oxygen atoms of the micro-benzoato bridges and three nitrogen atoms of L1 and L2 ligands capping the two ends of the diiron(III) cluster. The ESI-MS spectral data of the complexes reveal that the complexes remain intact in dichloromethane (DCM) solution. Upon adding one equivalent of Et3N to a mixture of one equivalent of the diiron(III) complexes and excess of m-chloroperbenzoic acid (m-CPBA) in DCM, an intense absorption band (lambdamax, 670-700 nm) appears, which corresponds to the species [Fe2(O)(OAc)(m-CPBA)(L)2]2+ (ESI-MS, m/z 466) suggested as the intermediate involved in the oxygenation reactions. All the present complexes show efficient alkane hydroxylation with 300-400 turn over numbers and good selectivities for cyclohexane (A/K, 10-14) and adamantane (3 degrees/2 degrees, 9-11). Interestingly, the formation of monoiron(III) species has been discerned in the alkane hydroxylation reactions beyond approximately 50 turnovers. The mononuclear 1:1 iron(III) complexes of L1 and L2 ligands generated in situ are also found to catalyze the oxygenation reactions with high selectivity and efficiency for cyclohexane (A/K, 10-14). Upon their reaction with m-CPBA in DCM, a characteristic absorption band (lambdamax, 600 nm, epsilonmax, 355 M(-1) cm(-1)) appears and decays at room temperature. This spectral feature is consistent with the mononuclear high-valent iron-oxo species suggested as an intermediate in the oxygenation reactions.

Synthesis, Characterization, and Reactivities of Manganese(V)−Oxo Porphyrin Complexes

The reactions of manganese(III) porphyrin complexes with terminal oxidants, such as m-chloroperbenzoic acid, iodosylarenes, and H(2)O(2), produced high-valent manganese(V)-oxo porphyrins in the presence of base in organic solvents at room temperature. The manganese(V)-oxo porphyrins have been characterized with various spectroscopic techniques, including UV-vis, EPR, 1H and 19F NMR, resonance Raman, and X-ray absorption spectroscopy. The combined spectroscopic results indicate that the manganese(V)-oxo porphyrins are diamagnetic low-spin (S = 0) species with a longer, weaker Mn-O bond than in previously reported Mn(V)-oxo complexes of non-porphyrin ligands. This is indicative of double-bond character between the manganese(V) ion and the oxygen atom and may be attributed to the presence of a trans axial ligand. The [(Porp)Mn(V)=O](+) species are stable in the presence of base at room temperature. The stability of the intermediates is dependent on base concentration. In the absence of base, (Porp)Mn(IV)=O is generated instead of the [(Porp)Mn(V)=O](+) species. The stability of the [(Porp)Mn(V)=O](+) species also depends on the electronic nature of the porphyrin ligands: [(Porp)Mn(V)=O](+) complexes bearing electron-deficient porphyrin ligands are more stable than those bearing electron-rich porphyrins. Reactivity studies of manganese(V)-oxo porphyrins revealed that the intermediates are capable of oxygenating PPh(3) and thioanisoles, but not olefins and alkanes at room temperature. These results indicate that the oxidizing power of [(Porp)Mn(V)=O](+) is low in the presence of base. However, when the [(Porp)Mn(V)=O](+) complexes were associated with iodosylbenzene in the presence of olefins and alkanes, high yields of oxygenated products were obtained in the catalytic olefin epoxidation and alkane hydroxylation reactions. Mechanistic aspects, such as oxygen exchange between [(Porp)Mn(V)=16O](+) and H(2)(18)O, are also discussed.

First direct evidence for stereospecific olefin epoxidation and alkane hydroxylation by an oxoiron(IV) porphyrin complex.

We report in this study that an oxoiron(IV) porphyrin complex bearing electron-deficient porphyrin ligand, (TPFPP)FeIV=O (TPFPP = meso-tetrakis(pentafluorophenyl)porphinato dianion), shows reactivities similar to those found in oxoiron(IV) porphyrin pi-cation radicals. In the epoxidation of olefins by the (TPFPP)FeIV=O complex, epoxides were yielded as major products; cyclohexene oxide was the sole product formed in the epoxidation of cyclohexene, and stilbenes were stereospecifically oxidized to the corresponding epoxide products. More striking results were obtained in alkane hydroxylation reactions; the hydroxylation of adamantane afforded a high degree of selectivity for tertiary C-H bonds over secondary C-H bonds, and the hydroxylation of cis-1,2-dimethylcyclohexane yielded a tertiary alcohol product with >99% retention of stereochemistry. The latter result demonstrates that an oxoiron(IV) porphyrin complex hydroxylates alkanes with a high stereospecificity. Isotope labeling studies performed with H218O and 18O2 in the olefin epoxidation and alkane hydroxylation reactions demonstrated that oxygen atoms in oxygenated products derived from the oxoiron(IV) porphyrin complex.

Methane inversion on transition metal ions: a possible mechanism for stereochemical scrambling in metal-catalyzed alkane hydroxylations

The configurational inversion of both free methane and methane bound to first-row transition-metal ions is discussed using the density functional theory (DFT) calculations at the B3LYP level of theory. Computed transition states for the inversion of methane on the M +(CH 4) complexes have C s structures in which one pair of CH bonds is about 1.2 Å in length and the other pair is about 1.1 Å, where M is Sc, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, and Cu. The barrier height for the methane inversion decreases significantly from 109.4 kcal mol −1 for free methane to 17–23 kcal mol −1 for the late transition-metal complexes, Fe +(CH 4), Co +(CH 4), Ni +(CH 4), and Cu +(CH 4). The computational results suggest that the inversion can occur under ambient conditions through a thermally accessible transition state, and it may lead to an inversion of stereochemistry at a carbon atom of substrate if an alkane-complex is formed as a reaction intermediate in CH bond activation reactions. We propose that a radical mechanism based on a planar carbon species may not be the sole source of the observed loss of stereochemistry in transition-metal catalyzed alkane hydroxylation reactions and other related reactions.

Determination of Reactive Intermediates in Iron Porphyrin Complex-Catalyzed Oxygenations of Hydrocarbons Using Isotopically Labeled Water: Mechanistic Insights

We have studied iron porphyrin complex-catalyzed oxygenations of hydrocarbons by several oxidants (i.e., hydrogen peroxide, tert-butyl hydroperoxide, and m-chloroperoxybenzoic acid (MCPBA)) in the presence of H218O. In the olefin epoxidation and alkane hydroxylation reactions catalyzed by (meso-tetrakis(pentafluorophenyl)porphinato)iron(III) chloride [Fe(F20TPP)Cl], the percentages of 18O incorporated into the oxygenated products were found to be the same in all of the reactions of hydrogen peroxide, tert-butyl hydroperoxide, and MCPBA, leading us to conclude that a common high-valent iron oxo complex was the reactive intermediate responsible for oxygen atom transfer. When the epoxidation of cyclooctene by MCPBA and H2O2 was performed at low temperature in the presence of H218O, it was found that there was no 18O-incorporation from labeled water into cyclooctene oxide. We interpreted the lack of 18O-incorporation in these reactions with that an electronegatively-substituted iron porphyrin complex forms a relatively stable (Porp)FeIII−OOR species and this intermediate transfers its oxygen to olefin prior to the O−O bond cleavage at low temperature. As the reaction temperature raised from −78 °C to room temperature, the amount of 18O incorporated into the oxide product gradually increased in the reactions of cyclooctene epoxidation. This was attributed to the fast conversion of FeIII−OOR to the high-valent iron oxo complex via the O−O bond cleavage at higher temperature. We found, by studying the effects of the olefin and H218O concentrations on the amount of 18O incorporated into the oxide product, that the rate of the oxygen exchange between high-valent iron oxo complex and labeled water was slower than that of the oxygen atom transfer from the intermediate to organic compounds in catalytic oxygenation reactions. Blocking an axial position of iron porphyrin complex with imidazole prevented the 18O-incorporation from labeled water into the oxygenated products, explaining the phenomenon of no oxygen exchange in cytochrome P-450 systems.

Alkane hydroxylation reactions catalysed by binuclear manganese and iron complexes

Binuclear manganese( III IV ) or iron( III III ) complexes efficiently functionalize cyclohexane using hydroperoxides or peracids as oxidants. A mechanistic study clearly demonstrate the role of dioxygen gas in these hydroxylation reactions. Moreover, it was demonstrated that the cleavage of the peroxy bond occurred mainly by homolysis.