We performed an assessment of 10 common DFT functionals to determine their suitability for calculating the reduction potentials of the ([M(S2C2H2)2](0)/[M(S2C2H2)2](1-)), ([M(Se2C2H2)2](0)/[M(Se2C2H2)2](1-)), ([M(S2C2H2)2](1-)/[M(S2C2H2)2](2-)), and ([M(Se2C2H2)2](1-)/[M(Se2C2H2)2](2-)) redox couples (M = Ni, Pd, and Pt). Overall it was found that the M06 functional leads to the best agreement with the gold standard CCSD(T) method with an average difference of only +0.07 V and a RMS of 0.07 V in calculated reduction potentials. The variability in calculated reduction potentials between the various DFT functionals arise, in part, from the multireference character of these systems, which was determined by the T1 diagnostic values. Thus, the bisdiselenolene complexes show similar multireference character as the bisdithiolene complexes, which were previously shown to have such character. In particular, for the Ni-, Pd-, and Pt-bisdiselenolene complexes the average T1 values are 0.05, 0.03, and 0.02, respectively. For the CCSD(T) calculations the similarities in the reduction potentials between analogous bisdithiolene and bisdiselenolene redox couples, which appear to be independent of the metal, is a result of the noninnocence of the dithiolene and diselenolene ligands. Thus, the reduction potential is more dependent on the ligand than the metal.

A density functional theory cluster and first-principles quantum and statistical mechanics approach have been used to investigate the ability of iron-oxygen intermediates to oxidize a histidine cosubstrate, which may then allow for the possible formation of 2- and 5-histidylcysteine sulfoxide, respectively. Namely, the ability of ferric superoxo (Fe(III)O(2)(•-)), Fe(IV)═O, and ferrous peroxysulfur (Fe(III)OOS) complexes to oxidize the imidazole of histidine via an electron transfer (ET) or a proton-coupled electron transfer (PCET) was considered. While the high-valent mononuclear Fe(IV)═O species is generally considered the ultimate biooxidant, the free energies for its reduction (via ET or PCET) suggest that it is unable to directly oxidize histidine's imidazole. Instead, only the ferrous peroxysulfur complexes are sufficiently powerful enough oxidants to generate a histidyl-derived radical via a PCET process. Furthermore, while this process preferably forms a HisN(δ)(-H)(•) radical, several such oxidants are also suggested to be capable of generating the higher-energy HisC(δ)(-H)(•) and HisC(ε)(-H)(•) radicals. Importantly, the present results suggest that formation of the sulfoxide-containing products (seen in both OvoA and EgtB) is a consequence of the reduction of a powerful Fe(III)OOS oxidant via a PCET.

The ability of hybrid, nonhybrid and meta-GGA density functional theory (DFT) based methods (B3LYP, BP86, M06 and M06L) to provide reliable structures and thermochemical properties of biochemically important Cu(I)/(II)···ESH (ergothioneine) and ···OSH (ovothiol) has been assessed. For all functionals considered, convergence in the optimized structures and Cu(I)/(II)···S/N bond lengths is only obtained using the 6-311+G(2df,p) basis set or larger, with the nonhybrid DFT method BP86 appearing, in general, to provide the most reliable structures. The reduction potentials associated with the reduction of Cu(II) to Cu(I) when complexed with either OSH and ESH were also determined. The implications for their ability to thus help protect against Cu-mediated oxidative damage are discussed. Importantly, the binding of OSH and ESH with Cu ions disfavors Cu(I)/Cu(II) recycling by increasing the reduction potential for the Cu(II) to Cu(I) reduction and as a result, inhibits the potential oxidative damage caused by such Cu ions.

No abstract

A series of nine commonly used density functional methods were assessed to accurately predict the oxidation potential of the (C2H2S2(-2)/C2H2S2(•-)) redox couple. It was found that due to their greater tendency for charge delocalization the GGA functionals predict a structure where the radical electron is delocalized within the alkene backbone of C2H2S2(•-), whereas the hybrid functionals and the reference QCISD/cc-pVTZ predict that the radical electron remains localized on the sulfurs. However, chemical intuition suggests that the results obtained with the GGA functionals should be correct. Indeed, with the use of the geometries obtained at the HCTH/6-311++G(3df,3pd) level of theory both the QCISD and hybrid DFT methods yield a molecule with a delocalized electron. Notably, this new molecule lies at least 53 kJ mol(-1) lower in energy than the previously optimized one that had a localized radical. Using these new structures the calculated oxidation potential was found to be 2.71-2.97 V for the nine DFT functionals tested. The M06-L functional provided the best agreement with the QCISD/cc-pVTZ reference oxidation potential of 3.28 V.