Binju Wang

Chemical synthesis of lactic acid from cellulose catalysed by lead(II) ions in water

The direct transformation of cellulose, which is the main component of lignocellulosic biomass, into building-block chemicals is the key to establishing biomass-based sustainable chemical processes. Only limited successes have been achieved for such transformations under mild conditions. Here we report the simple and efficient chemocatalytic conversion of cellulose in water in the presence of dilute lead(II) ions, into lactic acid, which is a high-value chemical used for the production of fine chemicals and biodegradable plastics. The lactic acid yield from microcrystalline cellulose and several lignocellulose-based raw biomasses is >60% at 463 K. Both theoretical and experimental studies suggest that lead(II) in combination with water catalyses a series of cascading steps for lactic acid formation, including the isomerization of glucose formed via the hydrolysis of cellulose into fructose, the selective cleavage of the C3-C4 bond of fructose to trioses and the selective conversion of trioses into lactic acid.

A mononuclear non-heme high-spin iron(III)-hydroperoxo complex as an active oxidant in sulfoxidation reactions.

We report the first direct experimental evidence showing that a high-spin iron(III)-hydroperoxo complex bearing an N-methylated cyclam ligand can oxidize thioanisoles. DFT calculations showed that the reaction pathway involves heterolytic O-O bond cleavage and that the choice of the heterolytic pathway versus the homolytic pathway is dependent on the spin state and the number of electrons in the d(xz) orbital of the Fe(III)-OOH species.

Theory uncovers an unusual mechanism of DNA repair of a lesioned adenine by AlkB enzymes.

DNA-base lesions cause cancer and propagate into the genome. We use in-protein QM/MM calculations to study the repair of etheno-bridged adenine (εA) by the iron(IV)-oxo species of AlkB enzymes. Recent experimental investigations, using mass-spectrometry and in crystallo isolation, suggested that εA was repaired by formation of an epoxide (εA-ep) that further transforms to a glycol (εA-gl), ending finally in adenine and glyoxal. Theory reproduces the experimentally observed barrier for the rate-determining step and its pH dependence. However, as we show, the mass-spectrometrically identified species are side-byproducts unassociated with the repair mechanism. The repair is mediated by a zwitterionic species, of the same molecular mass as the epoxide, which transforms to an intermediate that matches the in crystallo trapped species in structure and mass, but is NOT the assumed εA-gl iron-glycol complex. Verifiable/falsifiable predictions, regarding the key protein residues, follow. The paper underscores the indispensable role of theory by providing atomistic descriptions of this vital mechanism, and guiding further experimental investigations.

Molecular Dynamics and QM/MM Calculations Predict the Substrate-Induced Gating of Cytochrome P450 BM3 and the Regio- and Stereoselectivity of Fatty Acid Hydroxylation

Theory predicts herein enzymatic activity from scratch. We show that molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and quantum-mechanical/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) calculations of the fatty acid hydroxylase P450 BM3 predict the binding mechanism of the fatty acid substrate and its enantio/regioselective hydroxylation by the active species of the enzyme, Compound I. The MD simulations show that the substrates entrance involves hydrogen-bonding interactions with Pro25, Glu43, and Leu188, which induce a huge conformational rearrangement that closes the substrate channel by pulling together the A helix and the β1 sheet to the F/G loop. In turn, at the bottom of the substrates channel, residue Phe87 controls the regioselectivity by causing the substrates chain to curl up and juxtapose its CH2 positions ω-1/ω-2/ω-3 to Compound I while preventing access to the endmost position, ω-CH3. Phe87 also controls the stereoselectivity by the enantioselective steric blocking of the pro-S C-H bond, thus preferring R hydroxylation. Indeed, the MD simulations of the mutant Phe87Ala predict predominant ω hydroxylation. These findings, which go well beyond the X-ray structural data, demonstrate the predictive power of theory and its insight, which can potentially be used as a partner of experiment for eventual engineering of P450 BM3 with site-selective C-H functionalization capabilities.

Computation Sheds Insight into Iron Porphyrin Carbenes’ Electronic Structure, Formation, and N–H Insertion Reactivity

Iron porphyrin carbenes constitute a new frontier of species with considerable synthetic potential. Exquisitely engineered myoglobin and cytochrome P450 enzymes can generate these complexes and facilitate the transformations they mediate. The current work harnesses density functional theoretical methods to provide insight into the electronic structure, formation, and N-H insertion reactivity of an iron porphyrin carbene, [Fe(Por)(SCH3)(CHCO2Et)](-), a model of a complex believed to exist in an experimentally studied artificial metalloenzyme. The ground state electronic structure of the terminal form of this complex is an open-shell singlet, with two antiferromagnetically coupled electrons residing on the iron center and carbene ligand. As we shall reveal, the bonding properties of [Fe(Por)(SCH3)(CHCO2Et)](-) are remarkably analogous to those of ferric heme superoxide complexes. The carbene forms by dinitrogen loss from ethyl diazoacetate. This reaction occurs preferentially through an open-shell singlet transition state: iron donates electron density to weaken the C-N bond undergoing cleavage. Once formed, the iron porphyrin carbene accomplishes N-H insertion via nucleophilic attack. The resulting ylide then rearranges, using an internal carbonyl base, to form an enol that leads to the product. The findings rationalize experimentally observed reactivity trends reported in artificial metalloenzymes employing iron porphyrin carbenes. Furthermore, these results suggest a possible expansion of enzymatic substrate scope, to include aliphatic amines. Thus, this work, among the first several computational explorations of these species, contributes insights and predictions to the surging interest in iron porphyrin carbenes and their synthetic potential.

Hydration of Carbonyl Groups: The Labile H3O+ Ion as an Intermediate Modulated by the Surrounding Water Molecules†

National Science Foundation of China[20733002, 20873105]; Ministry of Science and Technology[2011CB808504]

Acid-catalyzed reactions of twisted amides in water solution: competition between hydration and hydrolysis.

The acid-catalyzed reactions of twisted amides in water solution were investigated by using cluster-continuum model calculations. In contrast to the previous widely suggested concerted hydration of the C=O group, our calculations show that the reaction proceeds in a practically stepwise manner, and that the hydration and hydrolysis channels of the C-N bond compete. The Eigen ion (H(3)O(+)) is the key species involved in the reaction, and it modulates the hydration and hydrolysis reaction pathways. The phenyl substitution in the twisted amide not only activates the N-CO bond, but also stabilizes the hydrolysis product through n(N)→π(phenyl) delocalization, leading exclusively to the hydrolysis product of the ring-opened carboxylic acid. Generally, the twisted amides are more active than the planar amides, and such a rate acceleration results mainly from the increase in exothermicity in the first N-protonation step; the second step of the nucleophilic attack is less affected by the twisting of the amide bond. The present results show good agreement with the available experimental observations.

Emergence of Function in P450-Proteins: A Combined Quantum Mechanical/Molecular Mechanical and Molecular Dynamics Study of the Reactive Species in the H2O2-Dependent Cytochrome P450SPα and Its Regio- and Enantioselective Hydroxylation of Fatty Acids

This work uses combined quantum mechanical/molecular mechanical and molecular dynamics simulations to investigate the mechanism and selectivity of H2O2-dependent hydroxylation of fatty acids by the P450SPα class of enzymes. H2O2 is found to serve as the surrogate oxidant for generating the principal oxidant, Compound I (Cpd I), in a mechanism that involves homolytic O-O bond cleavage followed by H-abstraction from the Fe-OH moiety. Our results rule out a substrate-assisted heterolytic cleavage of H2O2 en route to Cpd I. We show, however, that substrate binding stabilizes the resultant Fe-H2O2 complex, which is crucial for the formation of Cpd I in the homolytic pathway. A network of hydrogen bonds locks the HO· radical, formed by the O-O homolysis, thus directing it to exclusively abstract the hydrogen atom from Fe-OH, thereby forming Cpd I, while preventing the autoxoidative reaction, with the porphyrin ligand, and the substrate oxidation. The so formed Cpd I subsequently hydroxylates fatty acids at their α-position with S-enantioselectivity. These selectivity patterns are controlled by the active site: substrates binding by Arg241 determines the α-regioselectivity, while the Pro242 residue locks the prochiral α-CH2, thereby leading to hydroxylation of the pro-S C-H bond. Our study of the mutant Pro242Ala sheds light on potential modifications of the enzymes active site in order to modify reaction selectivity. Comparisons of P450SPα to P450BM3 and to P450BSβ reveal that function has evolved in these related metalloenzymes by strategically placing very few residues in the active site.

A redox-mediated Kemp eliminase

The acid/base-catalysed Kemp elimination of 5-nitro-benzisoxazole forming 2-cyano-4-nitrophenol has long served as a design platform of enzymes with non-natural reactions, providing new mechanistic insights in protein science. Here we describe an alternative concept based on redox catalysis by P450-BM3, leading to the same Kemp product via a fundamentally different mechanism. QM/MM computations show that it involves coordination of the substrates N-atom to haem-Fe(II) with electron transfer and concomitant N–O heterolysis liberating an intermediate having a nitrogen radical moiety Fe(III)–N· and a phenoxyl anion. Product formation occurs by bond rotation and H-transfer. Two rationally chosen point mutations cause a notable increase in activity. The results shed light on the prevailing mechanistic uncertainties in human P450-catalysed metabolism of the immunomodulatory drug leflunomide, which likewise undergoes redox-mediated Kemp elimination by P450-BM3. Other isoxazole-based pharmaceuticals are probably also metabolized by a redox mechanism. Our work provides a basis for designing future artificial enzymes.

Transformation of cellulose and related carbohydrates into lactic acid with bifunctional Al(III)–Sn(II) catalysts

The catalytic transformation of cellulose into valuable chemicals such as lactic acid under mild conditions represents a promising route for the efficient utilization of renewable biomass. Here, we report that the combination of Al(III) and Sn(II) cations can efficiently catalyse the conversion of cellulose and related carbohydrates into lactic acid in water. Al(III)–Sn(II) is the most efficient combination for lactic acid formation among the many dual cations investigated. Al(III) and Sn(II) with a molar ratio of 1/1 work cooperatively, providing lactic acid with yields of 90%, 81% and 65% in the conversions of fructose, glucose and cellulose, respectively. The formation of lactic acid involves a series of tandem steps including the hydrolysis of cellulose to glucose, the isomerisation of glucose to fructose, the retro-aldol fragmentation of fructose to C3 intermediates and the subsequent conversion of the C3 intermediates to lactic acid. Our experimental and computational studies suggest that Al(III) mainly catalyses the isomerisation of glucose or the C3 intermediates, whereas Sn(II) is primarily responsible for the retro-aldol fragmentation. The combination of the two cations enables the reaction to proceed smoothly with few side reactions, providing outstanding catalytic performances for lactic acid production from cellulose or the related carbohydrates.