Reactivity of mu-hydroxodizinc(II) centers in enzymatic catalysis through model studies

The stable dinuclear complex [Zn2(BPAM)(mu-OH)(mu-O2PPh2)](ClO4)2, where BPAN = 2,7-bis[2-(2-pyridylethyl)-aminomethyl]-1,8-naphthyridine, was chosen as a model to investigate the reactivity of (mu-hydroxo)dizinc(II) centers in metallohydrolases. Two reactions, the hydrolysis of phosphodiesters and the hydrolysis of beta-lactams, were studied. These two processes are catalyzed in vivo by zinc(II)-containing enzymes: P1 nucleases and beta-lactamases, respectively. The former catalyzes the hydrolysis of single-stranded DNA and RNA. beta-Lactamases, expressed in many types of pathogenic bacteria, are responsible for the hydrolytic degradation of beta-lactam antibiotic drugs. In the first step of phosphodiester hydrolysis promoted by the dinuclear model complex, the substrate replaces the bridging diphenylphosphinate. The bridging hydroxide serves as a general base to deprotonate water, which acts as a nucleophile in the ensuing hydrolysis. The dinuclear model complex is only 1.8 times more reactive in hydrolyzing phosphodiesters than a mononuclear analogue, Zn(bpta)(OTf)2, where bpta = N,N-bis(2-pyridylmethyl)-tert-butylamine. Hydrolysis of nitrocefin, a beta-lactam antibiotic analogue, catalyzed by [Zn2(BPAN)(mu-OH)(mu-O2PPh2)](ClO4)2 involves monodentate coordination of the substrate via its carboxylate group, followed by nucleophilic attack of the zinc(II)-bound terminal hydroxide at the beta-lactam carbonyl carbon atom. Collapse of the tetrahedral intermediate results in product formation. Mononuclear complexes Zn(cyclen)-(NO3)2 and Zn(bpta)(NO3)2, where cyclen = 1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane, are as reactive in the beta-lactam hydrolysis as the dinuclear complex. Kinetic and mechanistic studies of the phosphodiester and beta-lactam hydrolyses indicate that the bridging hydroxide in [Zn2(BPAN)(mu-OH)(mu-O2PPh2)](ClO4)2 is not very reactive, despite its low pKa value. This low reactivity presumably arises from the two factors. First, the briding hydroxide and coordinated substrate in [Zn2(BPAN)(mu-OH)(substrate)]2+ are not aligned properly to favor nucleophilic attack. Second, the nucleophilicity of the bridging hydroxide is diminished because it is simultaneously bound to the two zinc(II) ions.