Huisgen's 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions become nonconcerted when copper(I) acetylides react with azides and nitrile oxides, providing ready access to 1,4-disubstituted 1,2,3-triazoles and 3,4-disubstituted isoxazoles, respectively. The process is highly reliable and exhibits an unusually wide scope with respect to both components. Computational studies revealed a stepwise mechanism involving unprecedented metallacycle intermediates, which appear to be common for a variety of dipoles.

Quantum chemical methods are today a viable tool in the study of enzyme catalysis. The development of new density functional techniques and the enormous advancement in computer power have made it possible to accurately describe active sites of enzymes. This review gives a brief account of the methods and models used in this field. Three specific enzymes are discussed: pyruvate-formate lyase (PFL), spore photoproduct lyase (SPL), and benzylsuccinate synthase (BSS). What these enzymes have in common is that they use radical chemistry to catalyze C–C bond formation or cleavage reactions.

Density functional theory calculations using the hybrid functional B3LYP have been performed to study the methyl transfer step in glycine N-methyltransferase (GNMT). This enzyme catalyzes the S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAM)-dependent methylation of glycine to form sarcosine. The starting point for the calculations is the recent X-ray crystal structure of GNMT complexed with SAM and acetate. Several quantum chemical models with different sizes, employing up to 98 atoms, were used. The calculations demonstrate that the suggested mechanism, where the methyl group is transferred in a single S(N)2 step, is thermodynamically plausible. By adding or eliminating various groups at the active site, it was furthermore demonstrated that hydrogen bonds to the amino group of the glycine substrate lower the reaction barrier, while hydrogen bonds to the carboxylate group raise the barrier.

The reaction mechanism of human deoxyribonucleotidase (dN) is studied using high-level quantum-chemical methods. dN catalyzes the dephosphorylation of deoxyribonucleoside monophosphates (dNMPs) to their nucleoside form in human cells. Large quantum models are employed (99 atoms) based on a recent X-ray crystal structure. The calculations support the proposed mechanism in which Asp41 performs a nucleophilic attack on the phosphate to form a phospho-enzyme intermediate. Asp43 acts in the first step as an acid, protonating the leaving nucleoside, and in the second step as a base, deprotonating the lytic water. No pentacoordinated intermediates could be located.

The catalytic mechanism of limonene epoxide hydrolase (LEH) was investigated theoretically using the density functional theory method B3LYP. LEH is part of a novel limonene degradation pathway found in Rhodococcus erythropolis DCL14, where it catalyzes the hydrolysis of limonene-1,2-epoxide to give limonene-1,2-diol. The recent crystal structure of LEH was used to build a model of the LEH active site composed of five amino acids and a crystallographically observed water molecule. With this model, hydrolysis of different substrates was investigated. It is concluded that LEH employs a concerted general acid/general base-catalyzed reaction mechanism involving protonation of the substrate by Asp101, nucleophilic attack by water on the epoxide, and abstraction of a proton from water by Asp132. Furthermore, we provide an explanation for the experimentally observed regioselective hydrolysis of the four stereoisomers of limonene-1,2-epoxide.

On the basis of the Franck-Condon principle, a density functional vertical self-consistent reaction field (VSCRF) solvation model for vertical excitation and emission processes is established. The principles and implementation of the VSCRF model are presented. The predicted blue shifts of the vertical excitation energies of diazines in different solvents from n-heptane to water solutions are compared with the corresponding time dependent density functional calculations and are in very good agreement with experiment. We have also applied this method to predict the blue shifts and the vertical excitation and emission energies of Brooker's merocyanine dye with increasing solvent polarities from CHCI3 to H2O solutions. Overall, our calculations predicted the relative excitation and emission energy orderings for Brooker's merocyanine in different solvents with different polarities. Also, the calculated Stokes shift is fairly well represented for different solvents, and the calculations correctly show that the absorption energies have a much stronger solvent dependence than the emission energies. The importance of both relaxation of the molecular structures and consideration of explicit H-bonding H2O and CH3OH molecules in water and methanol solvents in predicting the solvatochromic shifts is also discussed.

The catalytic mechanism of the glycyl-radical-containing enzyme pyruvate-formate lyase (PFL) is investigated using high-level quantum chemical methods. PFL catalyzes the reversible conversion of pyruvate and coenzyme A (CoA) into formate and acetylated CoA. Large models are employed, based on a recent X-ray crystal structure of PFL in complex with the pyruvate substrate. The rate-limiting step is shown to be the homolytic C1-C2 bond cleavage of pyruvate, which occurs after the attack of the Cys418 radical on the carbonyl carbon of pyruvate. For the acetylation of CoA, we propose a new mechanism, in which the released formyl radical anion abstracts a hydrogen atom directly from CoA. This way, the acetyl group transfer from Cys418 becomes facile. The full potential energy curve for the PFL reactions is presented.

AbstractFor Abstract see ChemInform Abstract in Full Text.

For Abstract see ChemInform Abstract in Full Text.

Density functional theory calculations using the hybrid functional B3LYP have been performed to study tetrazole formation by intramolecular [2 + 3] dipolar cycloaddition of organic azides and nitriles. Experimental reactivity trends are explained and rationalized in terms of a number of parameters, such as strain, tether length, and solvation and entropy effects. Interestingly, no correlation was found between the overall free energies and the free energies of activation of the reactions, due to the significant difference in strain and geometry between the transition states and products.

The hammerhead ribozyme is an RNA molecule capable of self-cleavage at a unique site within its sequence. Hydrolysis of this phosphodiester linkage has been proposed to occur via an in-line attack geometry for nucleophilic displacement by the 2'-hydroxyl on the adjoining phosphorus to generate a 2',3'cyclic phosphate ester with elimination of the 5'-hydroxyl group, requiring a divalent metal ion under physiological conditions. The proposed S(N)2(P) reaction mechanism was investigated using density functional theory calculations incorporating the hybrid functional B3LYP to study this metal ion-dependent reaction with a tetraaquo magnesium (II)-bound hydroxide ion. For the Mg2+-catalyzed reaction, the gas-phase geometry optimized calculations predict two transition states with a kinetically insignificant, yet clearly defined, pentacoordinate intermediate. The first transition state located for the reaction is characterized by internal nucleophilic attack coupled to proton transfer. The second transition state, the rate-determining step, involves breaking of the exocyclic P-O bond where a metal-ligated water molecule assists in the departure of the leaving group. These calculations demonstrate that the reaction mechanism incorporating a single metal ion, serving as a Lewis acid, functions as a general base and can afford the necessary stabilization to the leaving group by orienting a water molecule for catalysis.

Density functional theory calculations using the hybrid functional B3LYP have been performed to probe the energetics of the spore photoproduct lyase (SPL) reactions. This enzyme catalyzes the repair of a thymine dimer caused by UV irradiation of bacterial spore DNA. The calculations support the experimentally suggested mechanism, in which the reaction proceeds through hydrogen atom abstraction from the C6 position of the thymine dimer, followed by beta-scission of the C-C bond linking the two bases. The calculations propose, furthermore, that an inter-thymine hydrogen atom transfer step takes place before the back-transfer of the hydrogen atom from the adenosine cofactor. The last step is shown to be the rate-determining step in the reactions.

Using the density-functional vertical self-consistent reaction field (VSCRF) solvation model, incorporated with the conductor-like screening model (COSMO) and the self-consistent reaction field (SCRF) methods, we have studied the solvatochromic shifts of both the absorption and emission bands of four solvent-sensitive dyes in different solutions. The dye molecules studied here are: S-TBA merocyanine, Abdel-Halim's merocyanine, the rigidified amino-coumarin C153, and Nile red. These dyes were selected because they exemplify different structural features likely to impact the solvent-sensitive fluorescence of "push-pull", or merocyanine, fluorophores. All trends of the blue or red shifts were correctly predicted, comparing with the experimental observations. Explict H-bonding interactions were also considered in several protic solutions like H2O, methanol and ethanol, showing that including explicit H-bonding solvent molecule(s) in the calculations is important to obtain the correct order of the excitation and emission energies. The geometries, electronic structures, dipole moments, and intra- and intermolecular charge transfers of the dyes in different solvents are also discussed.

Density functional calculations for structures, spin states, redox energetics and reaction pathways are presented for some selected metalloenzymes. The specific enzymes examined are: (1) Fe and Mn superoxide dismutase for redox energetics and the role of second shell residues; (2) galactose oxidase (Cu enzyme) and (3) glyoxalase I (Zn enzyme) for reaction pathways, mechanisms, intermediates, and transition states (reaction barriers); (4) iron-oxo dimer enzymes methane monooxygenase and ribonucleotide reductase for characterizing the oxidized and reduced forms in terms of structures and protonation states, and for a proposed structure for the high-valent intermediate Q in MMO. The interaction of the active site with the surrounding protein environment is also explored in a number of cases either by using expanded quantum mechanically treated clusters, or by using electrostatic/dielectric representations of the protein–solvent environment.

The mechanism by which zinc(II) catalyzes the union of an azide ion with organic nitriles to form tetrazoles is investigated by means of density functional theory using the hybrid functional B3LYP. The calculations indicate that coordination of the nitrile to the zinc ion is the dominant factor affecting the catalysis; this coordination substantially lowers the barrier for nucleophilic attack by azide. Relative reaction rates of catalyzed and uncatalyzed tetrazole formation also provide experimental support for this conclusion.

Some of the principal physical features of iron-sulfur clusters in proteins are analyzed, including metal-ligand covalency, spin polarization, spin coupling, valence delocalization, valence interchange and small reorganization energies, with emphasis on recent spectroscopic and theoretical work. The current state of structural, spectroscopic, and computational knowledge for the iron-sulfur clusters in the nitrogenase iron and iron-molybdenum proteins is examined by comparison and contrast to 'simpler' ironclusters. The differing interactions of the nitrogenase iron and iron-molybdenum clusters compared with those of other iron-sulfur clusters with the protein and solvent environment are also explored.

Density functional theory calculations using the hybrid functional B3LYP have been performed to study the catalytic mechanism of benzylsuccinate synthase. This enzyme catalyzes the novel addition of the methyl carbon of toluene to fumarate, forming benzylsuccinate and thereby initiating the anaerobic metabolism of toluene in denitrifying bacteria. Benzylsuccinate synthase was suggested to contain a stable glycyl radical, based on sequence similarity to the two known glycyl radical containing enzymes pyruvate-formate lyase and class III anaerobic ribonucleotide reductase. This suggestion was recently confirmed by electron paramagnetic resonance experiments. The calculations demonstrate that an overall homolytic radical mechanism is thermodynamically very plausible. The radical is transferred from the stable glycyl radical to toluene via a cysteinyl radical in two hydrogen atom transfer steps. The rate-limiting step is shown to be the addition of benzyl radical to fumarate, forming a benzylsuccinyl radical ...

B3LYP hybrid density functional theory method is employed to study the five carotenoid radical cations of canthaxanthin (1), 7′,7′-dimethyl-7′-apo-β-carotene (2), 8′-apo-β-carotene-8′-al hydrazone (3), 7′,7′-dicyano-7′-apo-β-carotene (4), and 8′-apo-β-carotene-8′-al (5). The radicals are characterized by means of their geometries, spin populations, and isotropic hyperfine coupling constants. It is shown that for all the systems, the unpaired spin is delocalized over the whole π-conjugated system in an odd-alternant pattern. As a result of this, the hyperfine coupling constants are rather low. The radical cations of 1, 2, and 3, have very similar properties to the unsubstituted β-carotene radical, while the dicyano- and aldehyde-substitutions result in significantly different electronic structures.

The effects of a variety of ortho-substituents (CH3, OH, OCH3, SH, SCH3, NH2, NO2, F, Cl, CN, and imidazole) on the acidity of phenol are investigated using hybrid density functional theory. Substitutions are made at the ortho-position to model modified tyrosine residues found in enzymes. Although the experimental trends are reproduced, the calculations tend to exaggerate the substituent effects. It is shown that the cysteine cross-link to tyrosine, present in the radical enzyme galactose oxidase, has a small effect on the pK(a) of the residue. The histidine cross-link present in cytochrome c oxidase, on the other hand, will contribute more to. lower the pKa. Comparing the substituent effects on the O-H bond strengths and the acidities, no simple correlation is found between the two.