Transition state

About: Transition state is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 4978 publications have been published within this topic receiving 117965 citations. The topic is also known as: transition state of elementary reaction.

Coordinate-dependent diffusion in protein folding.

Abstract: Diffusion on a low-dimensional free-energy surface is a remarkably successful model for the folding dynamics of small single-domain proteins. Complicating the interpretation of both simulations and experiments is the expectation that the effective diffusion coefficient D will in general depend on the position along the folding coordinate, and this dependence may vary for different coordinates. Here we explore the position dependence of D, its connection to protein internal friction, and the consequences for the interpretation of single-molecule experiments. We find a large decrease in D from unfolded to folded, for reaction coordinates that directly measure fluctuations in Cartesian configuration space, including those probed in single-molecule experiments. In contrast, D is almost independent of Q, the fraction of native amino acid contacts: Near the folded state, small fluctuations in position cause large fluctuations in Q, and vice versa for the unfolded state. In general, position-dependent free energies and diffusion coefficients for any two good reaction coordinates that separate reactant, product, and transition states, are related by a simple transformation, as we demonstrate. With this transformation, we obtain reaction coordinates with position-invariant D. The corresponding free-energy surfaces allow us to justify the assumptions used in estimating the speed limit for protein folding from experimental measurements of the reconfiguration time in the unfolded state, and also reveal intermediates hidden in the original free-energy projection. Lastly, we comment on the design of future single-molecule experiments that probe the position dependence of D directly.

Enzymatic Transition States and Transition State Analog Design

Abstract: All chemical transformations pass through an unstable structure called the transition state, which is poised between the chemical structures of the substrates and products. The transition states for chemical reactions are proposed to have lifetimes near 10(-13) sec, the time for a single bond vibration. No physical or spectroscopic method is available to directly observe the structure of the transition state for enzymatic reactions. Yet transition state structure is central to understanding catalysis, because enzymes function by lowering activation energy. An accepted view of enzymatic catalysis is tight binding to the unstable transition state structure. Transition state mimics bind tightly to enzymes by capturing a fraction of the binding energy for the transition state species. The identification of numerous transition state inhibitors supports the transition state stabilization hypothesis for enzymatic catalysis. Advances in methods for measuring and interpreting kinetic isotope effects and advances in computational chemistry have provided an experimental route to understand transition state structure. Systematic analysis of intrinsic kinetic isotope effects provides geometric and electronic structure for enzyme-bound transition states. This information has been used to compare transition states for chemical and enzymatic reactions; determine whether enzymatic activators alter transition state structure; design transition state inhibitors; and provide the basis for predicting the affinity of enzymatic inhibitors. Enzymatic transition states provide an understanding of catalysis and permit the design of transition state inhibitors. This article reviews transition state theory for enzymatic reactions. Selected examples of enzymatic transition states are compared to the respective transition state inhibitors.

Ru(arene)(amino alcohol)-Catalyzed Transfer Hydrogenation of Ketones: Mechanism and Origin of Enantioselectivity

Abstract: The mechanism of the Ru(arene)(amino alcohol)-catalyzed transfer hydrogenation of ketones using isopropyl alcohol as the hydrogen source has been studied by means of hybrid density functional methods (B3PW91). Three mechanistic alternatives were evaluated, and it was shown that the reaction takes place via a six-membered transition state, where a metal-bound hydride and a proton of a coordinated amine are transferred simultaneously to the ketone. Further calculations provided a general rationale for the rate of the reaction by comparison of steric effects in the ground and transition states of the ruthenium hydride complex. It was found that the TS has a strong preference for planarity, and this in turn is dependent on the conformational behavior of the O,N-linkage of the amino alcohol ligand. Finally, a general model, rationalizing the enantioselectivity of the reaction, was developed. Experimental studies of both rate and enantioselectivity were used in order to support the computational results.

Design of biomimetic catalysts by molecular imprinting in synthetic polymers: the role of transition state stabilization.

Abstract: The impressive efficiency and selectivity of biological catalysts has engendered a long-standing effort to understand the details of enzyme action. It is widely accepted that enzymes accelerate reactions through their steric and electronic complementarity to the reactants in the rate-determining transition states. Thus, tight binding to the transition state of a reactant (rather than to the corresponding substrate) lowers the activation energy of the reaction, providing strong catalytic activity. Debates concerning the fundamentals of enzyme catalysis continue, however, and non-natural enzyme mimics offer important additional insight in this area. Molecular structures that mimic enzymes through the design of a predetermined binding site that stabilizes the transition state of a desired reaction are invaluable in this regard. Catalytic antibodies, which can be quite active when raised against stable transition state analogues of the corresponding reaction, represent particularly successful examples. Recent...