Inspired by the observation of polar interactions between CO and O(2) ligands and the peptide residues at the active site of hemoglobin and myoglobin, we synthesized two kinds of superstructured porphyrins: TCP-IM, which contains a linked imidazole ligand, and TCP-PY, which contains a linked pyridine ligand, and examined the thermodynamic, kinetic, and spectroscopic (UV/Vis, IR, NMR, and resonance Raman) properties of their CO and O(2) complexes. On both sides of each porphyrin plane, bulky binaphthyl bridges form hydrophobic cavities that are suitable for the binding of small molecules. In the proximal site, an imidazole or pyridine residue is covalently fixed and coordinates axially to the central iron atom. In the distal site, two naphtholic hydroxyl groups overhang toward the center above the heme. The CO affinities of TCPs are significantly lower than those of other heme models. In contrast, TCPs have moderate O(2) binding ability. Compared with reported model hemes, the binding selectivity of O(2) over CO in TCP-IM and TCP-PY complexes is greatly improved. The high O(2) selectivity of the TCPs is mainly attributable to a low CO affinity. The comparison of k(on)(CO) values of TCPs with those of unhindered hemes indicates the absence of steric hindrance to the intrinsically linear CO coordination to Fe(II) in TCP-IM and TCP-PY. The abnormally large k(off)(CO) values are responsible for the low CO affinities. In contrast, k(off)(O(2)) of TCP-PY is smaller than those of other pyridine-coordinated model hemes. For the CO adducts of TCPs, unusually low nu(Fe-CO) and unusually high nu(C-O) frequencies are observed. These results can be ascribed to decreased back-bonding from the iron atom to the bound CO. The lone pairs of the oxygen atoms of the hydroxyl groups prevent back-bonding by exertion of a strong negative electrostatic interaction. On the other hand, high nu(Fe-O(2)) frequencies are observed for the O(2) adducts of TCPs. In the resonance Raman (RR) spectrum of oxy-TCP-IM, we observed simultaneous enhancement of the Fe-O(2) and O-O stretching modes. Furthermore, direct evidence for hydrogen bonding between the hydroxyl groups and bound dioxygen was obtained by RR and IR spectroscopy. These spectroscopic data strongly suggest that O(2) and CO binding to TCPs is controlled mainly by the two different electrostatic effects exerted by the overhanging OH groups: destabilization of CO binding by decreasing back-bonding and stabilization of O(2) binding by hydrogen bonding.

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A stable dioxygen adduct is formed from a synthetic analogue for cytochrome P450, which has an alkanethiolate ligand and hydroxyl groups inside the molecular cavities (see scheme). The structure exhibits the first clear evidence for a hydrogen bond to bound dioxygen among thiolate‐coordinated hemes, including the enzymes.

Two kinds of novel cytochrome P450 models, which have alkanethiolate axial ligands and hydroxyl groups inside molecular cavities, were designed and synthesized as functional O(2) binding systems. A superstructured porphyrin, designated as "twin-coronet" porphyrin, was used as the common framework of the model complexes. This porphyrin bears four binaphthalene bridges on the both sides and forms two pockets surrounded by the bulky aromatic rings. Thiobenzyloxy and thioglycolate moieties, which contain an alkanethiolate group exhibiting various electron-donating abilities and degrees of bulkiness, were covalently linked to twin-coronet porphyrin to yield thiolate-coordinated hemes, TCP-TB and TCP-TG (twin-coronet porphyrin with thiobenzyloxy and thioglycolate groups), respectively. Both ferric complexes exhibited high stability during usual experimental manipulation under air and were characterized by MS, UV/vis, ESR spectroscopies, and CV. The ESR spectra exhibited low-spin signals (TCP-TB: g = 2.334, 2.210, 1.959; TCP-TG: g = 2.313, 2.209, 1.966). The cyclic voltammogram of TCP-TB in CH(3)CN gave a quasi-reversible wave which corresponds to the Fe(III)/Fe(II) redox couple: E(p)()(/2) = -1.35 V (vs Fc/Fc(+)). On the other hand, TCP-TG showed a fine reversible wave: E(1/2) (Fe(III)/Fe(II)) = -1.12 V. The stable dioxygen adducts were formed in the reaction of the ferric complexes with KO(2) under an oxygen atmosphere and characterized by UV/vis and resonance Raman (RR) spectroscopies. In the RR spectra, the nu(O--O) bands of the dioxygen adducts were observed at 1138 cm(-1) (TCP-TB) and 1137 cm(-1) (TCP-TG). The hypothesis that hydrogen bonding between the bound oxygen and the hydroxyl groups of the binaphthyl moieties could increase their stability was verified by RR spectroscopy. When all hydroxyl groups were deuterated, only the frequencies of the nu(O--O) bands were upshifted by 2 cm(-1) without any perturbation in the porphyrin skeleton. This work shows the first direct evidence for a hydrogen bond to dioxygen in an oxy form of a thiolate-coordinated heme model system. These results are discussed in context of the process of dioxygen binding and activation in cytochrome P450.