Visible light photocatalysis enables a broad range of organic transformations that proceed via single electron or energy transfer. Metal polypyridyl complexes are among the most commonly employed visible light photocatalysts. The photophysical properties of these complexes have been extensively studied and can be tuned by modifying the substituents on the pyridine ligands. On the other hand, ligand modifications that enable substrate binding to control reaction selectivity remain rare. Given the exquisite control that enzymes exert over electron and energy transfer processes in nature, we envisioned that artificial metalloenzymes (ArMs) created by incorporating Ru( ii ) polypyridyl complexes into a suitable protein scaffold could provide a means to control photocatalyst properties. This study describes approaches to create covalent and non-covalent ArMs from a variety of Ru( ii ) polypyridyl cofactors and a prolyl oligopeptidase scaffold. A panel of ArMs with enhanced photophysical properties were engineered, and the nature of the scaffold/cofactor interactions in these systems was investigated. These ArMs provided higher yields and rates than Ru(Bpy) 3 2+ for the reductive cyclization of dienones and the [2 + 2] photocycloaddition between C -cinnamoyl imidazole and 4-methoxystyrene, suggesting that protein scaffolds could provide a means to improve the efficiency of visible light photocatalysts. 
                        more » 
                        « less   
                    
                            
                            Iridium( iii ) polypyridine artificial metalloenzymes with tunable photophysical properties: a new platform for visible light photocatalysis in aqueous solution
                        
                    
    
            Artificial metalloenzymes (ArMs) can combine the unique features of both metal complexes and enzymes by incorporating a cofactor within a protein scaffold. Herein, we describe a panel of ArMs constructed by covalently linking Ir( iii ) polypyridyl complexes into a prolyl oligopeptidase scaffold. Spectroscopic methods were used to examine how properties of the resulting ArMs are influenced by structural variation of the cyclometalated ligands and the protein scaffold. Visible light photocatalysis by these hybrid catalysts was also examined, leading to the finding that they catalyze inter/intra-molecular [2 + 2] photocycloaddition in aqueous solution. Low but reproducible enantioselectivity was observed using a cofactor that undergoes partial kinetic resolution upon bioconjugation within the ArM active site, showing the importance of scaffold/cofactor interactions for enabling selective ArM photocatalysis. Further evidence of the importance of cofactor/scaffold interactions was provided by analyzing native POP peptidase catalysis by the ArMs. Together, these studies show how Ir( iii )-based ArMs constitute a promising starting point for ongoing studies to control the stereoselectivity of EnT reactions by engineering substrate binding/activation motifs in POP. 
        more » 
        « less   
        
    
                            - Award ID(s):
- 2154726
- PAR ID:
- 10411196
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Dalton Transactions
- Volume:
- 52
- Issue:
- 16
- ISSN:
- 1477-9226
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 5034 to 5038
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
More Like this
- 
            
- 
            This work investigates the effect of molecular flexibility on fundamental ligand substitution kinetics in a pair of manganese( i ) carbonyls supported by scaffold-based ligands. In previous work, we reported that the planar and rigid, anthracene-based scaffold with two pyridine ‘arms’ ( Anth-py 2 , 2) serves as a bidentate, cis donor set, akin to a strained bipyridine (bpy). In the present work, we have installed a more flexible and dynamic scaffold in the form of thianthrene ( Thianth-py 2 , 1), wherein the scaffold in the free ligand exhibits a ∼130° dihedral angle in the solid state. Thianth-py 2 also exhibits greater flexibility (molecular motion) in solution compared with Anth-py 2 , as evidenced by longer 1 H NMR T 1 times Thianthy-py 2 ( T 1 = 2.97 s) versus Anth-py 2 ( T 1 = 1.91 s). Despite the exchange of rigid Anth-py2 for flexible Thianth-py2 in the complexes [( Anth-py 2 )Mn(CO) 3 Br] (4) and [( Thianth-py 2 )Mn(CO) 3 Br] (3), respectively, nearly identical electronic structures and electron densities were observed at the Mn center: the IR of 3 exhibits features at 2026, 1938 and 1900 cm −1 , nearly identical to the features of the anthracene-based congener (4) at 2027, 1936 and 1888 cm −1 . Most importantly, we assessed the effect of ligand-scaffold flexibility on reactivity and measured the rates of an elementary ligand substitution reaction. For ease of IR study, the corresponding halide-abstracted, nitrile-bound (PhCN) cations [( Thianth-py 2 )Mn(CO) 3 (PhCN)](BF 4 ) (6) and [( Anth-py 2 )Mn(CO) 3 (PhCN)](BF 4 ) (8) were generated in situ , and the PhCN → Br – back-reaction was monitored. The more flexible 3 (thianth-based) exhibited ∼3–4× faster ligand substitution kinetics ( k 25 C = 22 × 10 −2 min −1 , k 0 C = 43 × 10 −3 min −1 ) than the rigid analogue 4 (anth-based: ( k 25 C = 6.0 × 10 −2 min −1 , k 0 C = 9.0 × 10 −3 min −1 ) on all counts. Constrained angle DFT calculations revealed that despite large changes in the thianthrene scaffold dihedral angle, the bond metrics of 3 about the metal center remain unchanged; i.e. the ‘flapping’ motion is strictly a second coordination sphere effect. These results suggest that the local environment of molecular flexibility plays a key role in determining reactivity at the metal center, which has essential implications for understanding the reactivity of organometallic catalysts and metalloenzyme active sites. We propose that this molecular flexibility component of reactivity can be considered a thematic ‘third coordination sphere’ that dictates metal structure and function.more » « less
- 
            Abstract Artificial metalloenzymes (ArMs) are commonly used to control the stereoselectivity of catalytic reactions, but controlling chemoselectivity remains challenging. In this study, we engineer a dirhodium ArM to catalyze diazo cross‐coupling to form an alkene that, in a one‐pot cascade reaction, is reduced to an alkane with high enantioselectivity (typically >99 %ee) by an alkene reductase. The numerous protein and small molecule components required for the cascade reaction had minimal effect on ArM catalysis. Directed evolution of the ArM led to improved yields andE/Zselectivities for a variety of substrates, which translated to cascade reaction yields. MD simulations of ArM variants were used to understand the structural role of the cofactor on ArM conformational dynamics. These results highlight the ability of ArMs to control both catalyst stereoselectivity and chemoselectivity to enable reactions in complex media that would otherwise lead to undesired side reactions.more » « less
- 
            Abstract Computational modeling of protein–DNA complex structures has important implications in biomedical applications such as structure‐based, computer aided drug design. A key step in developing methods for accurate modeling of protein–DNA complexes is similarity assessment between models and their reference complex structures. Existing methods primarily rely on distance‐based metrics and generally do not consider important functional features of the complexes, such as interface hydrogen bonds that are critical to specific protein–DNA interactions. Here, we present a new scoring function, ComparePD, which takes interface hydrogen bond energy and strength into account besides the distance‐based metrics for accurate similarity measure of protein–DNA complexes. ComparePD was tested on two datasets of computational models of protein–DNA complexes generated using docking (classified as easy, intermediate, and difficult cases) and homology modeling methods. The results were compared with PDDockQ, a modified version of DockQ tailored for protein–DNA complexes, as well as the metrics employed by the community‐wide experiment CAPRI (Critical Assessment of PRedicted Interactions). We demonstrated that ComparePD provides an improved similarity measure over PDDockQ and the CAPRI classification method by considering both conformational similarity and functional importance of the complex interface. ComparePD identified more meaningful models as compared to PDDockQ for all the cases having different top models between ComparePD and PDDockQ except for one intermediate docking case.more » « less
- 
            Cp*Ir( iii ) complexes have been shown to be effective for the halogenation of N , N -diisopropylbenzamides with N -halosuccinimide as a suitable halogen source. The optimized conditions for the iodination reaction consist of 0.5 mol% [Cp*IrCl 2 ] 2 in 1,2-dichloroethane at 60 °C for 1 h to form a variety of iodinated benzamides in high yields. Increasing the catalyst loading to 6 mol% and the time to 4 h enabled the bromination reaction of the same substrates. Reactivity was not observed for the chlorination of these substrates. A variety of functional groups on the para -position of the benzamide were well tolerated. Kinetic studies showed the reaction dependence is first order in iridium, positive order in benzamide, and zero order in N -iodosuccinimide. A KIE of 2.5 was obtained from an independent H/D kinetic isotope effect study. Computational studies (DFT-BP3PW91) indicate that a CMD mechanism is more likely than an oxidative addition pathway for the C–H bond activation step. The calculated functionalization step involves an Ir( v ) species that is the result of oxidative addition of acetate hypoiodite that is generated in situ from N -iodosuccinimide and acetic acid.more » « less
 An official website of the United States government
An official website of the United States government 
				
			 
					 
					
 
                                    