Electrochemical Investigations of the Mechanism of Assembly of the Active-Site H-Cluster of [FeFe]-Hydrogenases.

Protein film electrochemistry (PFE) has been used to study the assembly of the complex 6Fe active site of [FeFe]-hydrogenases (known as the H-cluster) from its precursors-the [4Fe-4S] domain that is already coordinated within the host, and the 2Fe domain that is presented as a synthetic water-soluble complex stabilized by an additional CO. Not only does PFE allow control of redox states via the electrode potential but also the immobilized state of the enzyme facilitates control of extremely low concentrations of the 2Fe complex. Results for two enzymes, CrHydA1 from Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and CpI from Clostridium pasteurianum, are very similar, despite large differences in size and structure. Assembly begins with very tight binding of the 34-valence electron 2Fe complex to the apo-[4Fe-4S] enzyme, well before the rate-determining step. The precursor is trapped under highly reducing conditions (<-0.5 V vs SHE) that prevent fusion of the [4Fe-4S] and 2Fe domains (via cysteine-S) since the immediate product would be too electron-rich. Relaxing this condition allows conversion to the active H-cluster. The intramolecular steps are relevant to the final stage of biological H-cluster maturation.

Guiding Principles of Hydrogenase Catalysis Instigated and Clarified by Protein Film Electrochemistry.

Protein film electrochemistry (PFE) is providing cutting-edge insight into the chemical principles underpinning biological hydrogen. Attached to an electrode, many enzymes exhibit "reversible" electrocatalytic behavior, meaning that a catalyzed redox reaction appears reversible or quasi-reversible when viewed by cyclic voltammetry. This efficiency is most relevant for enzymes that are inspiring advances in renewable energy, such as hydrogen-activating and CO2-reducing enzymes. Exploiting the rich repertoire of available instrumental methods, PFE experiments yield both a general snapshot and fine detail, all from tiny samples of enzyme. The dynamic electrochemical investigations blaze new trails and add exquisite detail to the information gained from structural and spectroscopic studies. This Account describes recent investigations of hydrogenases carried out in Oxford, including ideas initiated with PFE and followed through with complementary techniques, all contributing to an eventual complete picture of fast and efficient H2 activation without Pt. By immobilization of an enzyme on an electrode, catalytic electron flow and the chemistry controlling it can be addressed at the touch of a button. The buried nature of the active site means that structures that have been determined by crystallography or spectroscopy are likely to be protected, retained, and fully relevant in a PFE experiment. An electrocatalysis model formulated for the PFE of immobilized enzymes predicts interesting behavior and gives insight into why some hydrogenases are H2 producers and others are H2 oxidizers. Immobilization also allows for easy addition and removal of inhibitors along with precise potential control, one interesting outcome being that formaldehyde forms a reversible complex with reduced [FeFe]-hydrogenases, thereby providing insight into the order of electron and proton transfers. Experiments on O2-tolerant [NiFe]-hydrogenases show that O2 behaves like a reversible inhibitor: it is also a substrate, and implicit in the description of some hydrogenases as "H2/O2 oxidoreductases" is the hypothesis that fast and efficient multielectron transfer is a key to O2 tolerance because it promotes complete reduction of O2 to harmless water. Not only is a novel [4Fe-3S] cluster (able to transfer two electrons consecutively) an important component, but connections to additional electron sources (other Fe-S clusters, an electrode, another quaternary structure unit, or the physiological membrane itself) ensure that H2 oxidation can be sustained in the presence of O2, as demonstrated with enzyme fuel cells able to operate on a H2/air mixture. Manipulating the H-H bond in the active site is the simplest proton-coupled electron-transfer reaction to be catalyzed by an enzyme. Unlike small molecular catalysts or the surfaces of materials, metalloenzymes are far better suited to engineering the all-important outer-coordination shell. Hence, recent successful site-directed mutagenesis of the conserved outer-shell "canopy" residues in a [NiFe]-hydrogenase opens up new opportunities for understanding the mechanism of H2 activation beyond the role of the inner coordination shell.

How Formaldehyde Inhibits Hydrogen Evolution by [FeFe]-Hydrogenases: Determination by ¹³C ENDOR of Direct Fe-C Coordination and Order of Electron and Proton Transfers.

Formaldehyde (HCHO), a strong electrophile and a rapid and reversible inhibitor of hydrogen production by [FeFe]-hydrogenases, is used to identify the point in the catalytic cycle at which a highly reactive metal-hydrido species is formed. Investigations of the reaction of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii [FeFe]-hydrogenase with formaldehyde using pulsed-EPR techniques including electron-nuclear double resonance spectroscopy establish that formaldehyde binds close to the active site. Density functional theory calculations support an inhibited super-reduced state having a short Fe-(13)C bond in the 2Fe subsite. The adduct forms when HCHO is available to compete with H(+) transfer to a vacant, nucleophilic Fe site: had H(+) transfer already occurred, the reaction of HCHO with the Fe-hydrido species would lead to methanol, release of which is not detected. Instead, Fe-bound formaldehyde is a metal-hydrido mimic, a locked, inhibited form analogous to that in which two electrons and only one proton have transferred to the H-cluster. The results provide strong support for a mechanism in which the fastest pathway for H2 evolution involves two consecutive proton transfer steps to the H-cluster following transfer of a second electron to the active site.

Unusual reaction of [NiFe]-hydrogenases with cyanide.

Cyanide reacts rapidly with [NiFe]-hydrogenases (hydrogenase-1 and hydrogenase-2 from Escherichia coli) under mild oxidizing conditions, inhibiting the electrocatalytic oxidation of hydrogen as recorded by protein film electrochemistry. Electrochemical, EPR, and FTIR measurements show that the final enzyme product, formed within a second (even under 100% H2), is the resting state known as Ni-B, which contains a hydroxido-bridged species, Ni(III)-µ(OH)-Fe(II), at the active site. "Cyanide inhibition" is easily reversed because it is simply the reductive activation of Ni-B. This paper brings back into focus an observation originally made in the 1940s that cyanide inhibits microbial H2 oxidation and addresses the interesting mechanism by which cyanide promotes the formation of Ni-B. As a much stronger nucleophile than hydroxide, cyanide binds more rapidly and promotes oxidation of Ni(II) to Ni(III); however, it is quickly replaced by hydroxide which is a far superior bridging ligand.

A unified model for surface electrocatalysis based on observations with enzymes.

Despite being so large, many enzymes are not only excellent electrocatalysts - making possible chemical transformations under almost reversible conditions - but they also facilitate our understanding of electrocatalysis by allowing complex processes to be dissected systematically. The electrocatalytic voltammograms obtained for enzymes attached to an electrode expose fundamental aspects of electrocatalysis that can be addressed in ways that are not available to conventional molecular or surface electrocatalysts. The roles of individual components, each characterisable by diffraction or spectroscopy, can be tested and optimised by genetic engineering. Importantly, unlike small-molecule electrocatalysts (RMM < 1000) that are structurally well-defined but invariably altered by being attached to a surface, the enzyme is a giant, multi-component assembly in which the active site is buried and relatively insensitive to the presence of the electrode and solvent interface. A central assertion is that for a given driving force (electrode potential) a true catalyst has no influence on the direction of the reaction; consequently, 'catalytic bias', i.e. the common observation that an enzyme or indeed any electrocatalyst operates preferentially in one direction, must arise from secondary effects beyond the elementary catalytic cycle. This Perspective highlights and extends a general model for electrocatalysis by surface-confined enzymes, and explains how two secondary effects control the bias: (i) the electrode potential at which electrons enter or leave the catalytic cycle; (ii) potential-dependent interconversions between states of the catalyst differing in catalytic activity due to changes in the composition and arrangements of atoms. The model, which is easily applied to enzymes that have been studied recently, highlights important considerations for understanding and developing surface-confined electrocatalysts.

Electrocatalytic mechanism of reversible hydrogen cycling by enzymes and distinctions between the major classes of hydrogenases.

The extraordinary ability of Fe- and Ni-containing enzymes to catalyze rapid and efficient H(+)/H(2) interconversion--a property otherwise exclusive to platinum metals--has been investigated in a series of experiments combining variable-temperature protein film voltammetry with mathematical modeling. The results highlight important differences between the catalytic performance of [FeFe]-hydrogenases and [NiFe]-hydrogenases and justify a simple model for reversible catalytic electron flow in enzymes and electrocatalysts that should be widely applicable in fields as diverse as electrochemistry, catalysis, and bioenergetics. The active site of [FeFe]-hydrogenases, an intricate Fe-carbonyl complex known as the "H cluster," emerges as a supreme catalyst.