title: Role of the somersault rearrangement in the oxidation step for flavin monooxygenases (FMO). A comparison between FMO and conventional xenobiotic oxidation with hydroperoxides.
abstract: Model quantum mechanical calculations presented for C-4a-flavin hydroperoxide (FlHOOH) at the B3LYP/6-311+G(d,p) level suggest a new mechanism for flavoprotein monooxygenase (FMO) oxidation involving a concerted homolytic O-O bond cleavage in concert with hydroxyl radical transfer from the flavin hydroperoxide rather than an S(N)2-like displacement by the substrate on the C-4a-hydroperoxide OOH group. Homolytic O-O bond cleavage in a somersault-like rearrangement of hydroperoxide C-4a-flavinhydroperoxide (1) (FLHO-OH → FLHO···HO) produces an internally hydrogen-bonded HO(•) radical intermediate with a classical activation barrier of 27.0 kcal/mol. Model hydroperoxide 1 is used to describe the transition state for the key oxidation step in the paradigm aromatic hydroxylase, p-hydroxybenzoate hydroxylase (PHBH). A comparison of the electron distribution in the transition structures for the PHBH hydroxylation of p-hydroxybenzoic acid (ΔE(‡) = 23.0 kcal/mol) with that of oxidation of trimethylamine (ΔE(‡) = 22.3 kcal/mol) and dimethyl sulfide (ΔE‡ = 14.1 kcal/mol) also suggests a mechanism involving a somersault mechanism in concert with transfer of an HO(•) radical to the nucleophilic heteroatom center with a hydrogen transfer back to the FLH-O residue after the barrier is crossed to produce the final product, FLH-OH. In each case the hydroxylation barrier was less than that of the O-O rearrangement barrier in the absence of a substrate supporting an overall concerted process. All three transition structures bear a resemblance to the TS for the comparable hydroxylation of isobutane (ΔE(‡) = 29.2 kcal/mol) and for simple Fenton oxidation by aqueous iron(III) hydroperoxides. To our surprise the oxidation of N- and S-nucleophiles with conventional oxidants such as alkyl hydroperoxides and peracids also proceeds by HO(•) radical transfer in a manner quite similar to that for tricyclic hydroperoxide 1. Stabilization of the developing oxyradical produced by somersault rearrangement for concerted enzymatic oxidation with tricyclic hydroperoxide 1 results in a reduced overall activation barrier.
authors: Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Delaware, Delaware, USA. rbach@udel.edu
authors: Robert D
authors: RD
authors: Bach
mesh_terms: D005415:Flavins / Q000378:metabolism*; D006861:Hydrogen Peroxide / Q000378:metabolism*; D006899:Mixed Function Oxygenases / Q000378:metabolism*; D015394:Molecular Structure; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D011789:Quantum Theory; D015262:Xenobiotics / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D005415:Flavins; D015262:Xenobiotics; D006861:Hydrogen Peroxide; D006899:Mixed Function Oxygenases