A carbonyl-rich bridging hydride complex relevant to the Fe-Fe hydrogenase active site

A hydrogen bond is formed when a weakly positive hydrogen atom already bonded to one electronegative atom (for example, the oxygen in the water molecule) is attracted to another electronegative atom from another polar molecule, such as water (H2O), hydrogen fluoride (HF), or ammonia (NH3). The huge electronegativity difference between the H atom (2.1) and the atom to which it is bonded (4.0 for an F atom, 3.5 for an O atom, or 3.0 for an N atom), combined with the very small size of an H atom...

Hydrogen BondsHydrogen bonds are weak attractions between atoms that have formed other chemical bonds. One of these atoms is electronegative, like oxygen, and has a partial negative charge. The other is a hydrogen atom that has bonded with another electronegative atom and has a partial positive charge.Hydrogen Bonds Control the World!Because hydrogen has very weak electronegativity when it binds with a strongly electronegative atom, such as oxygen or nitrogen, electrons in the bond are...

Enzymes are proteins made of amino acids. The functional group of each constituent amino acid catalyzes a wide variety of chemical reactions via ionic interactions or acid-base reactions. However, amino acids cannot catalyze oxidation-reduction and group transfer reactions and need to be aided by non-protein components called cofactors. Cofactors are also referred to as the chemical teeth of an enzyme.
Cofactors can be metallic ions or organic molecules called coenzymes. These types of helper...

Enzymes require additional components for proper function. There are two such classes of molecules: cofactors and coenzymes. Cofactors are metallic ions and coenzymes are non-protein organic molecules. Both of these types of helper molecule can be tightly bound to the enzyme or bound only when the substrate binds.

The mitochondrial electron transport chain (ETC) is the main energy generation system in the eukaryotic cells. However, mitochondria also produce cytotoxic reactive oxygen species (ROS) due to the large electron flow during oxidative phosphorylation. While Complex I is one of the primary sources of superoxide radicals, ROS production by Complex II is uncommon and may only be observed in cancer cells with mutated complexes.
ROS generation is regulated and maintained at moderate levels necessary...

During the electron transport chain, electrons from NADH and FADH2 are first transferred to complexes I and II, respectively. These two complexes then transfer the electrons to ubiquinol, which carries them further to complex III. Complex III passes the electrons across the intermembrane space to Cyt c, which carries them further to complex IV. Complex IV donates electrons to oxygen and reduces it to water. As electrons pass through complexes I, III, and IV, the energy released aids the pumping...