Modeling based on the structure of vicilins predicts a histidine cluster in the active site of oxalate oxidase

It is known that germin, which is a marker of the onset of growth in germinating wheat, is an oxalate oxidase, and also that germins possess sequence similarity with legumin and vicilin seed storage proteins. These two pieces of information have been combined in order to generate a 3D model of germin based on the structure of vicilin and to examine the model with regard to a potential oxalate oxidase active site. A cluster of three histidine residues has been located within the conserved beta-barrel structure. While there is a relatively low level of overall sequence similarity between the model and the vicilin structures, the conservation of amino acids important in maintaining the scaffold of the beta-barrel lends confidence to the juxtaposition of the histidine residues. The cluster is similar structurally to those found in copper amine oxidase and other proteins, leading to the suggestion that it defines a metal-binding location within the oxalate oxidase active site. It is also proposed that the structural elements involved in intermolecular interactions in vicilins may play a role in oligomer formation in germin/oxalate oxidase.

Bis[bis(methoxycarbimido)aminato]copper(II) 1-methylpyrrolidin-2-one disolvate

The title compound, [Cu(C4H8N3O2)(2)]center dot 2C(5)H(9)NO, consists of a neutral copper complex, in which the Cu II centre coordinates to two bis(methoxycarbimido) aminate ligands, solvated by two molecules of 1-methylpyrrolidin-2-one. The complex is planar and centrosymmetric, with the Cu II centre occupying a crystallographic inversion centre and adopting approximately square-planar geometry. N-H center dot center dot center dot O hydrogen-bonding interactions exist between the amine NH groups of the ligands and the O atoms of the 1-methylpyrrolidin-2-one molecules. The associated units pack to form sheets.

Synthesis, structure and properties of a mononuclear and an end-on double azido-bridged copper(II) complex incorporating an N,N,N,O-coordinating tripodal ligand

The blue coloured complex [Cu(HL)(H2O)(ClO4)]ClO.H2O.MeOH (1.H2O.MeOH) has been synthesised in excellent yields by reacting Cu(ClO4)(2).6H(2)O with N,N-bis(2-methylpyridyl)(3,5-dimethyl-2-hydroxybenzyl)amine (HL) in methanol. The same reaction, when carried out in the presence of sodium azide, afforded a dark-blue complex of formula [Cu-2(HL)(2)(mu-1,1-N-3)(2)](ClO4)(2) (2). The crystal and molecular structures of the complexes have been solved. Variable-temperature magnetic susceptibility data in the range of 2-300 K for 2 reveal the existence of an antiferromagnetic interaction through an end-on azido linker. Temperature-dependent susceptibility studies for 2 were fitted using the Bleaney-Bowers expression, which led to the parameters J = -3.2 cm(-1), g = 2.12 and R = 2.14 x 10(-4). (C) Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, 69451 Weinheim, Germany, 2004.

Nickel(II) and copper(II) complexes of Schiff base ligands containing N4O2 and N4S2 donors with pyrrole terminal binding groups: synthesis, characterization, X-ray structures, DFT and electrochemical studies

A series of hexadentate ligands, H2Lm (m = 1−4), [1H-pyrrol-2-ylmethylene]{2-[2-(2-{[1H-pyrrol-2-ylmethylene]amino}phenoxy)ethoxy]phenyl}amine (H2L1), [1H-pyrrol-2-ylmethylene]{2-[4-(2-{[1H-pyrrol-2-ylmethylene]amino}phenoxy)butoxy]phenyl}amine (H2L2), [1H-pyrrol-2-ylmethylene][2-({2-[(2-{[1H-pyrrol-2-ylmethylene]amino}phenyl)thio]ethyl}thio)phenyl]amine (H2L3) and [1H-pyrrol-2-ylmethylene][2-({4-[(2-{[1H-pyrrol-2-lmethylene]amino}phenyl)thio]butyl}thio) phenyl]amine (H2L4) were prepared by condensation reaction of pyrrol-2-carboxaldehyde with {2-[2-(2-aminophenoxy)ethoxy]phenyl}amine, {2-[4-(2-aminophenoxy)butoxy]phenyl}amine, [2-({2-[(2-aminophenyl)thio]ethyl}thio)phenyl]amine and [2-({4-[(2-aminophenyl)thio]butyl}thio)phenyl]amine respectively. Reaction of these ligands with nickel(II) and copper(II) acetate gave complexes of the form MLm (m = 1−4), and the synthesized ligands and their complexes have been characterized by a variety of physico-chemical techniques. The solid and solution states investigations show that the complexes are neutral. The molecular structures of NiL3 and CuL2, which have been determined by single crystal X-ray diffraction, indicate that the NiL3 complex has a distorted octahedral coordination environment around the metal while the CuL2 complex has a seesaw coordination geometry. DFT calculations were used to analyse the electronic structure and simulation of the electronic absorption spectrum of the CuL2 complex using TDDFT gives results that are consistent with the measured spectroscopic behavior of the complex. Cyclic voltammetry indicates that all copper complexes are electrochemically inactive but the nickel complexes with softer thioethers are more easily oxidized than their oxygen analogs.