With the objective of studying the conformational and
macrocyclic effects of selected metal chelates on their peroxidase
activities, Cu2+ and Fe3+ complexes were synthesized
with a macrocyclic derivative of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid and o-phenylenediamine (abbreviated as edtaodH2)
and its new open-chain analogue (edtabzH2). The Fe3+ complex of edtaodH2 has a peroxidase-like activity,
whereas the complex of edtabzH2 does not. The X-ray study
of the former shows the formation of a dimeric molecule {[Fe(edtaod)]2O} in which each metal with an octahedral coordination is
overposed over the macrocyclic cavity, as a result of rigid macrocyclic
frame, to form an Fe–O–Fe bridge; the exposure of the
central metal to the environment facilitates the capture of oxygen
to drive the biomimetic activity. The peroxidase-inactive Fe3+ complex consists of a mononuclear complex ion [Fe(edtabz)(H2O)]+, the metal ion of which is suited in a distorted
pentagonal bipyramid to be protected from environmental oxygen. The
copper(II) complexes, which have mononuclear structures with high
thermodynamic stability compared with the iron(III) complexes, show
no peroxidase activity. The steric effects play a fundamental role
in the biomimetic activity.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.