Manganese enzymes that react with dioxygen and its reduced derivatives catalyze a diverse array of reactions, including the detoxification of reactive oxygen species in humans, the synthesis of deoxynucleotides in certain bacteria and pathogens, and the conversion of water to dioxygen in leafy plants. Oxo- peroxo- and hydroxo-manganese species are often proposed as intermediates in these reactions; yet, key questions remain concerning structure-function relationships for these species. Our research program is focused on using spectroscopic techniques, such as electronic absorption, magnetic circular dichroism (MCD), electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), and X-ray absorption spectroscopies, in concert with density functional theory and multireference ab initio computations to generate experimentally validated bonding descriptions for synthetic manganese complexes with the aim of understanding electronic structure contributions to reactivity. This talk will focus on our latest findings in this effort, which includes MCD and Mn K-edge X-ray absorption studies of a series of manganese complexes.

Spectroscopic and computational insights into manganese-dependent enzymes from studies of biomimetic manganese complexes

245th National Meeting (2013)

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