Search for: All records

Mo K-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) is used to probe the structure of wild-type Campylobacter jejuni nitrate reductase NapA and the C176A variant. The results of extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) experiments on wt NapA support an oxidized Mo(VI) hexacoordinate active site coordinated by a single terminal oxo donor, four sulfur atoms from two separate pyranopterin dithiolene ligands, and an additional S atom from a conserved cysteine amino acid residue. We found no evidence of a terminal sulfido ligand in wt NapA. EXAFS analysis shows the C176A active site to be a 6-coordinate structure, and this is supported by EPR studies on C176A and small molecule analogs of Mo(V) enzyme forms. The SCys is replaced by a hydroxide or water ligand in C176A, and we find no evidence of a coordinated sulfhydryl (SH) ligand. Kinetic studies show that this variant has completely lost its catalytic activity toward nitrate. Taken together, the results support a critical role for the conserved C176 in catalysis and an oxygen atom transfer mechanism for the catalytic reduction of nitrate to nitrite that does not employ a terminal sulfido ligand in the catalytic cycle. 

Calculated conductance through Au n –S–Bridge–S–Au n (Bridge = organic σ/π-system) constructs are compared to experimentally-determined magnetic exchange coupling parameters in a series of Tp Cum,Me ZnSQ–Bridge–NN complexes, where Tp Cum,Me = hydro-tris(3-cumenyl-1-methylpyrazolyl)borate ancillary ligand, Zn = diamagnetic zinc( ii ), SQ = semiquinone ( S = 1/2), and NN = nitronylnitroxide radical ( S = 1/2). We find that there is a nonlinear functional relationship between the biradical magnetic exchange coupling, J D→A , and the computed conductance, g mb . Although different bridge types (monomer vs. dimer) do not lie on the same J D→A vs. g mb , curve, there is a scale invariance between the monomeric and dimeric bridges which shows that the two data sets are related by a proportionate scaling of J D→A . For exchange and conductance mediated by a given bridge fragment, we find that the ratio of distance dependent decay constants for conductance ( β g ) and magnetic exchange coupling ( β J ) does not equal unity, indicating that inherent differences in the tunneling energy gaps, Δ ε , and the bridge–bridge electronic coupling, H BB , are not directly transferrable properties as they relate to exchange and conductance. The results of these observations are described in valence bond terms, with resonance structure contributions to the ground state bridge wavefunction being different for SQ–Bridge–NN and Au n –S–Bridge–S–Au n systems.