LAUSR

The central role of cupric superoxide intermediates proposed in hormone and neurotransmitter biosynthesis by noncoupled binuclear copper monooxygenases like dopamine-β-monooxygenase has drawn significant attention to the unusual methionine ligation of the CuM ("CuB") active site characteristic of this class of enzymes. The copper-sulfur interaction has proven critical for turnover, raising still-unresolved questions concerning Nature's selection of an oxidizable Met residue to facilitate C-H oxygenation. We describe herein a model for CuM, [(TMGN3S)CuI]+ ([1]+), and its O2-bound analog [(TMGN3S)CuII(O2•-)]+ ([1·O2]+). The latter is the first reported cupric superoxide with an experimentally proven Cu-S bond which also possesses demonstrated hydrogen atom abstraction (HAA) reactivity. Introduction of O2 to a precooled solution of the cuprous precursor [1]B(C6F5)4 (-135 °C, 2-methyltetrahydrofuran (2-MeTHF)) reversibly forms [1·O2]B(C6F5)4 (UV/vis spectroscopy: λmax 442, 642, 742 nm). Resonance Raman studies (413 nm) using 16O2 [18O2] corroborated the identity of [1·O2]+ by revealing Cu-O (446 [425] cm-1) and O-O (1105 [1042] cm-1) stretches, and extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectroscopy showed a Cu-S interatomic distance of 2.55 Å. HAA reactivity between [1·O2]+ and TEMPO-H proceeds rapidly (1.28 × 10-1 M-1 s-1, -135 °C, 2-MeTHF) with a primary kinetic isotope effect of kH/kD = 5.4. Comparisons of the O2-binding behavior and redox activity of [1]+ vs [2]+, the latter a close analog of [1]+ but with all N atom ligation (i.e., N3S vs N4), are presented.