Nucleophilic reactivity of a copper(II)-superoxide complex

Metal-bound superoxide intermediates are often implicated as electrophilic oxidants in dioxygen-activating metalloenzymes. In the nonheme iron α-ketoglutarate dependent oxygenases and pterin-dependent hydroxylases, however, Fe(III)-superoxide intermediates are postulated to react by nucleophilic attack on electrophilic carbon atoms. By reacting a Cu(II)-superoxide complex (1) with acyl chloride substrates, we have found that a metal-superoxide complex can be a very reactive nucleophile. Furthermore, 1 was found to be an efficient nucleophilic deformylating reagent, capable of Baeyer-Villiger oxidation of a number of aldehyde substrates. The observed nucleophilic chemistry represents a new domain for metal-superoxide reactivity. Our observations provide support for the postulated role of metal-superoxide intermediates in nonheme iron α-ketoglutarate dependent and pterin-dependent enzymes.