Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Spectroscopic And Computational Studies Of Molybdenum Enzymes And Models, Chao Dong

Chemistry and Chemical Biology ETDs

In this dissertation spectroscopic methods such as electronic absorption (EAS), resonance Raman (rRaman), electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), and MCD spectroscopies have been used in combination with DFT calculations for the interpretation of experimental results. These methods have been used to investigate the molybdenum coordination environment in enzymes and model complexes. Xanthine oxidase (XO), one of the canonical molybdenum enzyme families, hydroxylizes heterocyclic substrates by inserting an oxygen atom from molybdenum-activated water into a substrate C-H bond. This generates reducing equivalents that pass through two iron sulfur clusters and then to FAD, where oxidation of the FAD takes place. In this …