UNIST, Comprehensive Summary of Metal-Peroxo Intermediates in Metalloenzymes

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Dongyeol Hwang] Professor Jaeheung Cho's team in the Department of Chemistry at UNIST recently published a comprehensive review paper compiling all research results on metal-peroxo species, one of the metal-reactive oxygen intermediates.

Metal-peroxo species have been proposed as reaction intermediates that govern important reactions in various metalloenzymes such as cyanobacterial aldehyde deformylating oxygenase and naphthalene dioxygenase.

To precisely understand the spectroscopic properties and reaction mechanisms of these metal-reactive oxygen species, numerous biomimetic compounds mimicking the active sites of metalloenzymes have been reported over the past decades.

First, the research team collected all published papers on various metal-peroxo species identified so far and classified them by metal. They particularly covered metal-peroxo species involving first-row transition metals closely used in biological systems, such as manganese, iron, cobalt, nickel, and copper.

Then, they summarized studies on the characterization of synthetically biomimetic metal-peroxo species and their reactivity with substrates. They also compiled important information for understanding metalloenzymes and presented prospects for future research on metal-reactive oxygen species.

Researchers including Professor Jaeheung Cho in the Department of Chemistry (second from the right in the top row) and first author Researcher Donghyun Jeong (second from the right in the bottom row).

Donghyun Jeong, the first author and a researcher in the Department of Chemistry at UNIST, said, “Recent research on metal-peroxo species has been actively conducted, leading to the discovery of important properties. This paper systematically classifies and organizes the extensive research topics developed over decades in the field of bioinorganic chemistry.”

Professor Jaeheung Cho of the Department of Chemistry stated, “This paper allows us to grasp the current research trends on metal-peroxo species and is expected to greatly assist in the development of biomimetic catalysts and the direction of subsequent research.”

This study was conducted with researcher Donghyun Jeong as the first author under Professor Jaeheung Cho’s team. The research results were published on January 24, 2023, in the prestigious international chemistry journal Coordination Chemistry Reviews.

The research was supported by the Basic Research Program (Mid-career Researcher) of the Ministry of Science and ICT and the National Research Foundation of Korea, as well as the Stepwise Leap Carbon Neutral Technology Development Project.