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Research
Bioinorganic Chemistry
has developed in the last 30 years to become a field that attracts a broad spectrum
of scientists that range from biochemists, enzymologists, coordination chemists, spectroscopists to theoreticians.
The draw for these scientists is the unique role that transition metals play in biology. They act as catalysts in
the transformation of biological molecules to mediate essential biological processes. The ultimate goal of
bioinorganic chemistry is the determination of mechanisms of enzymatic reactions on a molecular level. Our research
evaluates the properties of metal centers in enzymes using inorganic model complexes that we investigate with
high-end spectroscopic methods to provide insight into how these metalloproteins work.
In comparison, Bioorganometallic Chemistry is a relatively new field that is
focused on the properties of metal-carbon bonds in biology and their utilization for catalysis. The by far most
prominent example for this area is coenzyme B12 (cobalamine), which corresponds to a cobalt complex of
a highly functionalized porphyrin derivative (a 'corrin' macrocycle).
More recent examples are nickel-hydrocarbyl complexes as observed in the methane generating enzyme Methyl-Coenzyme M Reductase (MCR),
which again contains a porphyrin-derivative as ligand for the catalytically active metal ion (cofactor 'F430'). We are especially
interested in hydrogenases , which are enzymes that catalyze the
conversion of protons into dihydrogen (and vice versa). These enzymes are of special interest in the area of alternative energies.
For the investigation of the bioinorganic model complexes, a number of sophisticated spectroscopic methods are
used. However, in order to apply them to the usually quite complicated vibrational or electronic spectra
of metalloporphyrins, it is necessary to calibrate these methods using simple metalloporphyrin complexes.
Therefore, we are carrying out high-level Spectroscopic Investigations of Metalloporhyrins
using magnetic circular dichroism and polarized resonance Raman spectroscopy on a number of compounds of type [MIII(TPP)X]
(M = Fe, Co, Mn; X = Cl, ClO4, SR, etc.;
TPP = Tetraphenylporphyrin).
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