Isotope Effects Induced by Molecular Compression.

Zero-point energies (ZPEs) of hydroxyl ion and hydrogen and water molecules, free and compressed in C60 cages, are computed; the excess energy acquired by molecules under compression is in the range 2-3 kcal/mol and depends on the isotopes. The differences in ZPE of compressed isotopic molecules strongly exceed those of the free molecules, resulting in the large deuterium and tritium isotope effects. These effects induced by compression are suggested as a probe for testing molecular compression of enzymatic sites; they may be important for understanding enormously large isotope effects observed in some enzymatic reactions, where they are attributed to the tunneling.

Magnetic isotope and magnetic field effects on the DNA synthesis.

Magnetic isotope and magnetic field effects on the rate of DNA synthesis catalysed by polymerases ß with isotopic ions (24)Mg(2+), (25)Mg(2+) and (26)Mg(2+) in the catalytic sites were detected. No difference in enzymatic activity was found between polymerases ß carrying (24)Mg(2+) and (26)Mg(2+) ions with spinless, non-magnetic nuclei (24)Mg and (26)Mg. However, (25)Mg(2+) ions with magnetic nucleus (25)Mg were shown to suppress enzymatic activity by two to three times with respect to the enzymatic activity of polymerases ß with (24)Mg(2+) and (26)Mg(2+) ions. Such an isotopic dependence directly indicates that in the DNA synthesis magnetic mass-independent isotope effect functions. Similar effect is exhibited by polymerases ß with Zn(2+) ions carrying magnetic (67)Zn and non-magnetic (64)Zn nuclei, respectively. A new, ion-radical mechanism of the DNA synthesis is suggested to explain these effects. Magnetic field dependence of the magnesium-catalysed DNA synthesis is in a perfect agreement with the proposed ion-radical mechanism. It is pointed out that the magnetic isotope and magnetic field effects may be used for medicinal purposes (trans-cranial magnetic treatment of cognitive deceases, cell proliferation, control of the cancer cells, etc).

Magnesium isotope effects in enzymatic phosphorylation.

Recent discovery of magnesium isotope effect in the rate of enzymatic synthesis of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) offers a new insight into the mechanochemistry of enzymes as the molecular machines. The activity of phosphorylating enzymes (ATP-synthase, phosphocreatine, and phosphoglycerate kinases) in which Mg(2+) ion has a magnetic isotopic nucleus 25Mg was found to be 2-3 times higher than that of enzymes in which Mg(2+) ion has spinless, nonmagnetic isotopic nuclei 24Mg or 26Mg. This isotope effect demonstrates unambiguously that the ATP synthesis is a spin-dependent ion-radical process. The reaction schemes, suggested to explain the effect, imply a reversible electron transfer from the terminal phosphate anion of ADP to Mg(2+) ion as a first step, generating ion-radical pair with singlet and triplet spin states. The yields of ATP along the singlet and triplet channels are controlled by hyperfine coupling of unpaired electron in 25Mg+ ion with magnetic nucleus 25Mg. There is no difference in the ATP yield for enzymes with 24Mg and 26Mg; it gives evidence that in this reaction magnetic isotope effect (MIE) operates rather than classical, mass-dependent one. Similar effects have been also found for the pyruvate kinase. Magnetic field dependence of enzymatic phosphorylation is in agreement with suggested ion-radical mechanism.

Ion-radical mechanism of enzymatic ATP synthesis: DFT calculations and experimental control.

A new, ion-radical mechanism of enzymatic ATP synthesis was recently discovered by using magnesium isotopes. It functions at a high concentration of MgCl(2) and includes electron transfer from the Mg(H(2)O)(m)(2+)(ADP(3-)) complex (m = 0-4) to the Mg(H(2)O)(n)(2+) complex as a primary reaction of ATP synthesis in catalytic sites of ATP synthase and kinases. Here, the structures and electron transfer reaction energies of magnesium complexes related to ATP synthesis are calculated in terms of DFT. ADP is modeled by pyrophosphate anions, protonated (HP(2)O(7)H(2-), HP(2)O(7)CH(3)(2-)) and deprotonated (HP(2)O(7)(3-), CH(3)P(2)O(7)(3-)). The reaction generates an ion-radical pair, composed of Mg(H(2)O)(n)(+) ion and pyrophosphate anion-radical coordinated to Mg(2+) ion. The addition of the latter to the substrate P=O bond results in ATP formation. Populations of the singlet and triplet states and singlet-triplet spin conversion in the pair are controlled by hyperfine coupling of unpaired electrons with magnetic (25)Mg and (31)P nuclei and by Zeeman interaction. Due to these two interactions, the yield of ATP is a function of nuclear magnetic moment and magnetic field; both of these effects were experimentally detected. Electron transfer reaction does not depend on m but strongly depends on n. It is exoergic and energy allowed at 0 < or = n << infinity for the deprotonated pyrophosphate anions and at 0 < or = n < 4 for the protonated ones; for other values of n, the reaction is energy deficient and forbidden. The boundary between exoergic and endoergic regimes corresponds to the trigger magnitude n* (n* = 4 for protonated anions and 6 < n* << infinity for deprotonated ones). These results explain why ATP synthesis occurs only in special devices, molecular enzymatic machines, but not in water (n = infinity). Biomedical consequences of the ion-radical enzymatic ATP synthesis are also discussed.