Ravirala Ramu

Developing an efficient catalyst for controlled oxidation of small alkanes under ambient conditions

The tricopper complex [CuICuICuI(7-N-Etppz)]1+, where 7-N-Etppz denotes the ligand 3,3′-(1,4-diazepane-1,4-diyl)bis[1-(4-ethyl piperazine-1-yl)propan-2-ol], is capable of mediating facile conversion of methane into methanol upon activation of the tricopper cluster by dioxygen and/or H2O2 at room temperature. This is the first molecular catalyst that can catalyze selective oxidation of methane to methanol without over-oxidation under ambient conditions. When this CuICuICuI tricopper complex is activated by dioxygen or H2O2, the tricopper cluster harnesses a “singlet oxene”, the strongest oxidant that could be used to accomplish facile O-atom insertion across a C–H bond. To elucidate the properties of this novel catalytic system, we examine here methane oxidation over a wider range of conditions and extend the study to other small alkanes, including components of natural gas. We illustrate how substrate solubility, substrate recognition and the amount of H2O2 used to drive the catalytic oxidation can affect the outcome of the turnover, including regiospecificity, product distributions and yields of substrate oxidation. These results will help in designing another generation of the catalyst to alleviate the limitations of the present system.

Regioselective hydroxylation of C(12)-C(15) fatty acids with fluorinated substituents by cytochrome P450 BM3.

We demonstrate herein that wild-type cytochrome P450 BM3 can recognize non-natural substrates, such as fluorinated C12 -C15 chain-length fatty acids, and show better catalysis for their efficient conversion. Although the binding affinities for fluorinated substrates in the P450 BM3 pocket are marginally lower than those for non-fluorinated substrates, spin-shift measurements suggest that fluoro substituents at the ω-position can facilitate rearrangement of the dynamic structure of the bulk-water network within the hydrophobic pocket through a micro desolvation process to expel the water ligand of the heme iron that is present in the resting state. A lowering of the Michaelis-Menten constant (Km ), however, indicates that fluorinated fatty acids are indeed better substrates compared with their non-fluorinated counterparts. An enhancement of the turnover frequencies (kcat ) for electron transfer from NADPH to the heme iron and for CH bond oxidation by compound I (Cpd I) to yield the product suggests that the activation energies associated with going from the enzyme-substrate (ES state) to the corresponding transition state (ES(≠) state) are significantly lowered for both steps in the case of the fluorinated substrates. Delicate control of the regioselectivity by the fluorinated terminal methyl groups of the C12 -C15 fatty acids has been noted. Despite the fact that residues Arg47/Tyr51/Ser72 exert significant control over the hydroxylation of the subterminal carbon atoms toward the hydrocarbon tail, the fluorine substituent(s) at the ω-position affects the regioselective hydroxylation. For substrate hydroxylation, we have found that fluorinated lauric acids probably give a better structural fit for the heme pocket than fluorinated pentadecanoic acid, even though pentadecanoic acid is by far the best substrate among the reported fatty acids. Interestingly, 12-fluorododecanoic acid, with only one fluorine atom at the terminal methyl group, exhibits a comparable turnover frequency to that of pentadecanoic acid. Thus, fluorination of the terminal methyl group introduces additional interactions of the substrate within the hydrophobic pocket, which influence the electron transfers for both dioxygen activation and the controlled oxidation of aliphatics mediated by high-valent oxoferryl species.

Mechanistic Study of the Stereoselective Hydroxylation of [2-(2) H1 ,3-(2) H1 ]Butanes Catalyzed by Cytochrome P450 BM3 Variants.

Engineered bacterial cytochrome P450s are noted for their ability in the oxidation of inert small alkanes. Cytochrome P450 BM3 L188P A328F (BM3 PF) and A74E L188P A328F (BM3 EPF) variants are able to efficiently oxidize n-butane to 2-butanol. Esterification of the 2-butanol derived from this reaction mediated by the aforementioned two mutants gives diastereomeric excesses (de) of -56±1 and -52±1 %, respectively, with the preference for the oxidation occurring at the C-HS bond. When tailored (2R,3R)- and (2S,3S)-[2-2 H1 ,3-2 H1 ]butane probes are employed as substrates for both variants, the obtained de values from (2R,3R)-[2-2 H1 ,3-2 H1 ]butane are -93 and -92 % for BM3 PF and EPF, respectively; whereas the obtained de values from (2S,3S)-[2-2 H1 ,3-2 H1 ]butane are 52 and 56 % in the BM3 PF and EPF systems, respectively. The kinetic isotope effects (KIEs) for the oxidation of (2R,3R)-[2-2 H1 ,3-2 H1 ]butane are 7.3 and 7.8 in BM3 PF and EPF, respectively; whereas KIEs for (2S,3S)-[2-2 H1 ,3-2 H1 ]butanes are 18 and 25 in BM3 PF and EPF, respectively. The discrepancy in KIEs obtained from the two substrates supports the two-state reactivity (TSR) that is proposed for alkane oxidation in cytochrome P450 systems. Moreover, for the first time, experimental evidence for tunneling in the oxidation mediated by P450 is given through the oxidation of the C-HR bond in (2S,3S)-[2-2 H1 ,3-2 H1 ]butane.

Chemistry in confined space: a strategy for selective oxidation of hydrocarbons with high catalytic efficiencies and conversion yields under ambient conditions

Selective catalytic oxidation of hydrocarbons is challenging. Here, we show how this chemistry could be accomplished for cyclohexane (C6H12) at room temperature with good turnover numbers, excellent catalytic efficiencies, high conversion yields and product selectivity, when the catalysis is mediated by a tricopper cluster complex immobilized in the nanochannels of mesoporous silica nanoparticles. The CuICuICuI tricopper cluster is activated by dioxygen (O2) to mediate the hydrocarbon oxidation to cyclohexanol (C6H12O) and cyclohexanone (C6H10O) by a direct O-atom transfer mechanism and the turnover of the catalyst is driven by hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). The desired product is obtained by simply varying the experimental conditions. In the case of limiting H2O2, the catalytic efficiency can reach 96%. When H2O2 is in large excess, the conversion of C6H12 and selectivity to C6H10O can reach close to 100%. The nano-confined catalytic system leads to higher solubility of O2 and thus to higher activity. The heterogeneous catalyst is robust and reusable after many cycles.

Electrochemical Hydroxylation of C 3 –C 12 n -Alkanes by Recombinant Alkane Hydroxylase (AlkB) and Rubredoxin-2 (AlkG) from Pseudomonas putida GPo1

An unprecedented method for the efficient conversion of C3–C12 linear alkanes to their corresponding primary alcohols mediated by the membrane-bound alkane hydroxylase (AlkB) from Pseudomonas putida GPo1 is demonstrated. The X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) studies support that electrons can be transferred from the reduced AlkG (rubredoxin-2, the redox partner of AlkB) to AlkB in a two-phase manner. Based on this observation, an approach for the electrocatalytic conversion from alkanes to alcohols mediated by AlkB using an AlkG immobilized screen-printed carbon electrode (SPCE) is developed. The framework distortion of AlkB–AlkG adduct on SPCE surface might create promiscuity toward gaseous substrates. Hence, small alkanes including propane and n-butane can be accommodated in the hydrophobic pocket of AlkB for C–H bond activation. The proof of concept herein advances the development of artificial C–H bond activation catalysts.