The considerable recent advances in copper-dioxygen coordination chemistry demonstrate the existence of a variety of dioxygen-derived Cu(n)-O(2) complexes, forming a basis for discussion of alternate oxidant types in copper chemistry and biochemistry. Peroxo complexes may react as nucleophilic reagents, and several types of electrophilic mono- or dicopper (hydro)peroxides exist. Side-on peroxo-dicopper(II) species effect aromatic hydroxylations, including phenolic substrates, in model systems and in the enzyme tyrosinase. Bis-micro-oxo-dicopper(III) entities are capable of hydrogen-atom abstraction reactions, or atom transfer to phosphines and sulfides. The scope and mechanisms of mononuclear Cu(II) superoxides or peroxides are yet to be established, but may be relevant to monooxygenases like peptidylglycine alpha-hydroxylating monooxygenase.

The amyloid beta (A beta) peptide of Alzheimer's disease binds copper(II), and the peptide-bound metal may be a source of reactive oxygen species and neurotoxicity. To circumvent peptide aggregation and reduce redox activity, there is growing interest in using metal chelates as drug therapeutics for AD, whose design requires accurate data on the affinity of A beta peptides for copper(II). Reports on Cu2+ binding to A beta range from approximately 10(5) to approximately 10(9); these values' being obtained for different peptide lengths (1-16, 1-28, 1-40, 1-42) at varying pH. Herein, we report that Cu2+'s binding to A beta(1-40) at 37 degrees C occurs in a 1:1 stoichiometry with a pH-dependent binding constant: 1.1 (+/-0.2) x 10 (9) M (-1) and 2.4 (+/-0.2) x 10 (9) M(-1) at pH 7.2 and 7.4, respectively. Under identical conditions, A beta(1-16) reveals a comparable binding constant, confirming that this portion of the peptide is the binding region. Several previously reported values can be reconciled with the current measurement by careful consideration of thermodynamics associated with the presence of competing ligands used to solubilize copper.

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The variation of ligand para substituents on pyridyl donor groups of tridentate amine copper(I) complexes was carried out in order to probe electronic effects on the equilibrium between mu-eta2:eta2-(side-on)-peroxo [Cu(II)2(O2(2-))]2+ and bis(mu-oxo) [Cu(III)2(O(2-))2] species formed upon reaction with O2. [Cu(I)(R-PYAN)(MeCN)n]B(C6F5)4 (R-PYAN = N-[2-(4-R-pyridin-2-yl)-ethyl]-N,N',N'-trimethyl-propane-1,3-diamine, R = NMe2, OMe, H, and Cl) (1R) vary over a narrow range in their Cu(II)/Cu(I) redox potentials (E(1/2) vs Fe(cp)2(+/0) = -0.40 V for 1(NMe2), -0.38 V for 1(OMe), -0.33 V for 1H, and -0.32 V for 1Cl) and in C-O stretching frequencies of their carbonyl adducts, 1R-CO: nu(C-O) = 2080, 2086, 2088, and 2090 cm(-1) for R = NMe2, OMe, H, and Cl, respectively. However, within this range of electronic properties for 1R, dioxygen reactivity is significantly affected. The reaction of 1Cl or 1H with O2 at -78 degrees C in CH2Cl2 gives UV-vis and resonance Raman spectra indicative of a mu-eta2:eta2-(side-on)-peroxo dicopper(II) adduct (2R). Compound 1(OMe) reacts with O2, yielding equilibrium mixtures of side-on peroxo (2(OMe)) and bis(mu-oxo) (3(OMe)) species. Oxygenation of 1(NMe2) leads to the sole generation of the bis(mu-oxo) dicopper(III) complex (3(NMe2)). A solvent effect was also observed; in acetone or THF, increased ratios of bis(mu-oxo) relative to side-on peroxo complex are observed. Thus, the equilibrium between a dicopper side-on peroxo and bis(mu-oxo) species can be tuned by ligand design-specifically, more electron donating ligands favor the formation of the latter isomer, and the peroxo/bis(mu-oxo) equilibrium can be shifted from one extreme to the other within the same ligand system. Observations concerning the reactivity of the dioxygen adducts 2H and 3(NMe2) toward external substrates are also presented.