We report (1) the amino acid sequence of Hyphomicrobium denitrificans nitrite reductase (HdNIR), containing two type 1 Cu sites and one type 2 Cu site; (2) the expression and preparation of wild-type HdNIR and two mutants replacing the Cys ligand of each type 1 Cu with Ala; and (3) their spectroscopic and functional characterization. The open-reading frame of 50-kDa HdNIR is composed of the 15-kDa N-terminal domain having a type 1 Cu-binding motif like cupredoxins and the 35-kDa C-terminal domain having type 1 Cu-binding and type 2 Cu-binding motifs such as common nitrite reductases (NIRs). Moreover, the amino acid sequences of the N- and C-terminal domains are homologous to those of plastocyanins and NIRs, respectively. The point mutation of the Cys ligand of each type 1 Cu with Ala gives two mutants, C114A and C260A, possessing one type 1 Cu and one type 2 Cu. The spectroscopic data of C114A reveal that the C-terminal NIR-like domain has the green type 1 Cu (type 1 Cu(C)), showing two intense absorption peaks at 455 (epsilon = 2600 M(-1) cm(-1)) and 600 nm (epsilon = 2800 M(-1) cm(-1)) and a rhombic EPR signal like those of the green type 1 Cu of Achromobacter cycloclastes NIR (AcNlR). The spectroscopic data of C260A elucidate that the N-terminal Pc-like domain in HdNIR contains the blue type 1 Cu (type 1 Cu(N)), exhibiting an intense absorption band at 605 nm (epsilon = 2900 M(-1) cm(-1)) and an axial EPR signal like those of the blue type 1 Cu of Alcaligenes xylosoxidans NIR (AxNIR). The sum of the visible absorption or EPR spectra of C114A and C260A is almost equal to the corresponding spectrum of wild-type HdNIR. The spectroscopic characterization of the type 1 Cu indicates that the geometries of the type 1 Cu(N) and Cu(C) sites are slightly distorted tetrahedral (or axially elongated bipyramidal) and flattened tetrahedral, respectively. In the cyclic voltammograms, the midpoint potentials (E(1/2)), probably because of the type 1 Cu ions of C114A and C260A, are observed at +321 and +336 mV versus normal hydrogen electrode (NHE) at pH 7.0, respectively. These values, which are close to each other, are more positive than those ( approximately +0.24-0.28 V at pH 7.0) of the type 1 Cu sites of AcNIR and AxNIR. The electron-accepting capability of C114A from cytochrome c(550) is almost similar to that of wild-type HdNIR, whereas that of C260A is very low. This suggests that the type 1 Cu(C) in the C-terminal domain is essential for the enzyme functions of HdNIR.

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2-Phenylbenzimidazoline (PBI) as a mild, selective, and convenient reducing agent was efficiently generated in situ from o-phenylenediamine and benzaldehyde in alcohols. A generally applicable method for the selective reduction of carbon–carbon double bonds of a variety of electron-deficient olefins with an alcoholic solution of PBI is described. The reduction of α,β-unsaturated ketones to the corresponding saturated ketones could also be accomplished (but, less effectively) with PBI with the aid of a Lewis-acid catalyst. 1-Methyl-2-(o-nitrophenyl)benzimidazoline prepared and isolated by the reaction of o-nitrobenzaldehyde with N-methyl-o-phenylenediamine reduced benzylidenemalononitrile to give benzylmalononitrile and 1-methyl-2-(o-nitrophenyl)benzimidazole in high yields. This shows the validity of PBI to be the actual reducing species in the present reduction system. From a mechanistic study, the present reductions could be interpreted in terms of a mechanism involving a synchronous transport of a pair of hydrogens or a sequential transfer of a hydride and a proton from PBI to the olefins.

The reaction of 2-lithiobenzothiazole with a variety of electrophiles such as aldehydes, ketones, carboxylic esters, lactones, nitriles, and amides afforded the expected addition and substitution products. Trimethylsilyl chloride readily reacted with the benzothiazolyl anion to give 2-trimethylsilylbenzothiazole, while common alkyl halides including primary iodide and benzyl halides, as well as epoxides, did not react with the anion. This characteristic nucleophilicity of the anion was also demonstrated by its reaction with phenacyl halides and 5-chloro-2-pentanone leading to the formation of benzothiazolyl-substituted small-ring ethers. In order to demonstrate the value of 2-lithiobenzothiazole as a masked formyl anion, 2-(α-hydroxyalkyl)benzothiazoles were transformed into α-hydroxy carbonyl compounds in three reaction steps without masking the α-hydroxy groups. Quaternization of various 2-(α-hydroxyalkyl)benzothiazoles with methyl iodide in DMF afforded the corresponding 2-(α-hydroxyalkyl)-3-methylbenzothiazolium iodides in high yields and the subsequent alkylation or reduction of the C=N+ link was readily accomplished with organolithium and Grignard reagents or sodium borohydride leading to the corresponding 2-(α-hydroxyalkyl)-3-methylbenzothiazolines with or without another 2-substituents. Hydrolysis of former compounds performed in aqueous acetonitrile, buffered to pH 7 and containing AgNO3, gave the desired α-hydroxy ketones.