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Hydrogenase Inhibition By O2: Density Functional Theory/Molecular Mechanics Investigation, Daniela Dogaru Jan 2008

Hydrogenase Inhibition By O2: Density Functional Theory/Molecular Mechanics Investigation, Daniela Dogaru

ETD Archive

[Fe-Fe]-hydrogenases are enzymes that reversibly catalyze the reduction of protons to molecular hydrogen, which occurs in anaerobic media. In living systems, [Fe-Fe]-hydrogenases shift the reversible reaction towards H2 formation. The [Fe-Fe]-hydrogenase H-cluster is the active site, which contains two iron atoms (Fep-Fed, i.e., proximal and distal iron). Because most experimental and theoretical investigations confirm that the structure of di-iron air inhibited species is FepII-FedII-O-O-H-, O2 has to be prevented from binding to Fed in all di-iron subcluster oxidation states in order to retain a catalytically active enzyme. By understanding the catalytic processes of metalloenzymes, researches are enabled to produce an …


A Theoretical Study For The Reactivation Of O2 Inhibited [Fe-Fe]-Hydrogenase, Stefan Motiu Jan 2008

A Theoretical Study For The Reactivation Of O2 Inhibited [Fe-Fe]-Hydrogenase, Stefan Motiu

ETD Archive

The current investigation presents a reactivation pathway of the exogenously inhibited H-cluster (viz., by O2, or OH-, which metabolizes to H2O), for both vacuum and aqueous enzyme phase. The H-cluster is the catalytic site of [Fe-Fe]-hydrogenase, with the latter extracted from Desulfovibrio desulfuricans (Dd) bacteria. It consists of proximal iron, Fep, and distal Fed subunit, [Fep-Fed], which is bridged by di(thiomethyl)amine (DTMA) ligand, and a proximal cubane subunit, [Fe4-S4]2+p. [Fep-Fed] is coordinated by two cyanides (CN-), two terminal carbonyls (COt), and a bridging carbonyl (COb)*. An Fe atom from [Fe4-S4]2+p connects Fep through a cysteinyl sulfur (of Cys382). Density functional …