Purple acid phosphatases (PAPs) belong to the family of binuclear metallohydrolases and catalyze the hydrolysis of a variety of phosphoester substrates within the pH range of 4-7. 1 They are the only binuclear metallohydrolases where the necessity for a heterovalent active site (Fe III -M II , where M ) Fe, Zn, or Mn) for catalysis has been clearly established. To date, the crystal structures of PAPs from red kidney bean (rkbPAP), 2a rat, 2b,c pig, 2d human, 2e and sweet potato 2f have been reported. In the structure of rkbPAP, 2a the Fe III ion is coordinated by a tyrosine, a histidine, and an aspartate, and a Zn II ion is coordinated by two histidines and an asparagine. The Fe III Zn II ions are bridged by two oxygen atoms, one from the carboxylate group of an aspartate and the other from a modeled µ-(hydr)oxo group. Two oxygen atoms from a µ-1,3 phosphate group complete the coordination spheres of the Zn II and Fe III ions.Despite the availability of detailed structural data, the catalytic mechanism of PAPs remains a matter of controversy. For rkbPAP, a mechanism in which, in the first step of the catalytic cycle, the substrate binds in a monodentate fashion to the Zn II ion has been proposed. 2a The enzyme-substrate complex is oriented in such a way that a terminal Fe III -bound hydroxide can efficiently attack the phosphorus atom of the substrate, leading to the release of the alcohol product. 2a The monodentate binding of the substrate to Zn II is corroborated by the fact that the addition of phosphate to the Fe III Zn II derivative of bovine spleen PAP does not affect the spectroscopic properties of the Fe III ion at the pH of optimal activity (pH 6.5). 3 However, for pig 4a and sweet potato PAP, 2f,4b an alternative mechanism in which the substrate forms a µ-1,3 phosphate complex, thus placing the µ-(hydr)oxo bridge in an ideal position to act as the reaction-initiating nucleophile, has also been proposed.Homo-and heterodinuclear Fe III M II complexes which are capable of reproducing the structural, spectroscopic, and functional properties of PAPs can be very informative to evaluate the mechanism(s) of these metalloenzymes. Recently, we reported on the syntheses, characterization, and phosphatase-like activity of the heterodinuclear [LFe III (µ-OAc) 2 Zn II ] + complex (H 2 L ) 2-bis[{(2-pyridylmethyl)-aminomethyl}-6-{(2-hydroxybenzyl)-(2-pyridylmethyl)}aminomethyl]-4-methylphenol), and we have proposed that upon dissolving the complex in an aqueous solution the dissociation of the carboxylate groups leads to the formation of the catalytically active [(OH)Fe III -(µ-OH)Zn II (OH 2 )] species, 5 similar to that proposed to be present in the active site of rkbPAP. 2a Herein we report the X-ray structure, solution studies, and phosphatase activity of the first mixed-valence complex containing the Fe III (µ-OH)Zn II motif (1). The molecular structure of 1 (Figure 1) shows that in the dinuclear [L(OH 2 )Fe-(µ-OH)Zn] 2+ unit the Fe III ion is facially coordinated by the hard tridentate pendant arm of L 2-...

The catecholase activity of a series of dicopper(II) complexes containing different numbers of phenol groups coordinated to the metal centers was studied to identify functional as well as structural models for the type III copper enzymes tyrosinase and catechol oxidase. The syntheses and characterization of complexes [Cu(2)(H(2)bbppnol)(mu-OAc)(H(2)O)(2)]Cl(2).2H(2)O (1) and [Cu(2)(Hbtppnol)(mu-OAc)](ClO(4))(2) (2) were previously reported by us (Inorg. Chim. Acta 1998, 281, 111-115; Inorg. Chem. Commun. 1999, 2, 334-337), and complex [Cu(2)(P1-O(-))(OAc(-))](ClO(4))(2) (3) was previously reported by Karlin et al. (J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1997, 119, 2156-2162). The catalytic activity of the complexes 1-3 on the oxidation of 3,5-di-tert-butylcatechol was determined spectrophotometrically by monitoring the increase of the 3,5-di-tert-butyl-o-benzoquinone characteristic absorption band at about 400 nm over time in methanol saturated with O(2)/aqueous buffer pH 8 solutions at 25 degrees C. The complexes were able to oxidize 3,5-di-tert-butylcatechol to the corresponding o-quinone with distinct catalytic activity. A kinetic treatment of the data based on the Michaelis-Mentèn approach was applied. The [Cu(2)(H(2)bbppnol)(mu-OAc)(H(2)O)(2)]Cl(2) small middle dot2H(2)O complex showed the highest catalytic activity of the three complexes as a result of a high turnover rate (k(cat) = 28 h(-1)) combined with a moderate substrate-catalyst binding constant (K(ass) = 1.3 x 10(3) M(-1)). A mechanism for the oxidation reaction is proposed, and reactivity differences, k(cat)/K(M) of the complexes, were found to be dependent on (DeltaE)(1,2), the difference in the driving force for the reduction reactions Cu(II)(2)/Cu(II)Cu(I) and Cu(II)Cu(I)/Cu(I)(2).

The new heterodinuclear mixed valence complex [Fe(III)Mn(II)(BPBPMP)(OAc)(2)]ClO(4) (1) with the unsymmetrical N(5)O(2) donor ligand 2-bis[((2-pyridylmethyl)-aminomethyl)-6-((2-hydroxybenzyl)(2-pyridylmethyl))-aminomethyl]-4-methylphenol (H(2)BPBPMP) has been synthesized and characterized. Compound 1 crystallizes in the monoclinic system, space group P2(1)/c, and has an Fe(III)Mn(II)(mu-phenoxo)-bis(mu-carboxylato) core. Two quasireversible electron transfers at -870 and +440 mV versus Fc/Fc(+) corresponding to the Fe(II)Mn(II)/Fe(III)Mn(II) and Fe(III)Mn(II)/Fe(III)Mn(III) couples, respectively, appear in the cyclic voltammogram. The dinuclear Fe(III)Mn(II) center has weakly antiferromagnetic coupling with J = -6.8 cm(-1) and g = 1.93. The (57)Fe Mössbauer spectrum exhibits a single doublet, delta = 0.48 mm s(-1) and DeltaE(Q) = 1.04 mm s(-1) for the high spin Fe(III) ion. Phosphatase-like activity at pH 6.7 with the substrate 2,4-bis(dinitrophenyl)phosphate reveals saturation kinetics with the following Michaelis-Menten constants: K(m) = 2.103 mM, V(max) = 1.803 x 10(-5) mM s(-1), and k(cat) = 4.51 x 10(-4) s(-1).