Synthetic Inorganic Chemistry Related to the Nitrogenase Cofactor: Core Heteroligated Fe-S-X Cubanes and Higher Nuclearity Clusters

大气中氮的生物转化为氨对地球上的生命是必不可少的。该反应很难完成--相当于工业化学需要高温和压力才能完成转化。微生物利用固氮酶系统在温和的环境条件下实现这一反应。这种酶的核心是一簇铁、硫、钼和碳原子，被称为铁钼辅因子，执行这种化学作用。它是如何做到这一点是非常神秘的。*我们的研究项目试图定义与辅因子相关的化学。我们研究模仿星系团关键方面的小的、可接触的分子。通过了解这些模型的行为，我们希望进一步阐明辅因的工作原理。从我们的研究中获得的知识不仅对于对关键生化过程的基本理解非常重要，而且对于开发对化工和制药行业有用的新反应也是重要的。**

The biological conversion of atmospheric nitrogen to ammonia is essential to life on Earth. The reaction is difficult to accomplish -- the equivalent industrial chemistry requires high temperatures and pressures to perform the conversion. Microbes use the nitrogenase enzyme system to achieve this reaction under mild, ambient conditions. At the heart of the enzyme is a cluster of iron, sulfur, molybdenum, and carbon atoms termed the iron-molybdenum cofactor that carries out this chemistry. How it does so is very much a mystery.****Our research program attempts to define the chemistry associated with the cofactor. We study small, accessible molecules that mimic key aspects of the cluster. By understanding the behavior of these models, we hope to shed light on the workings of the cofactor. Knowledge gained from our studies is important not only with respect to the fundamental understanding of a critical biochemical process, but also for the development of new reactions useful to the chemical and pharmaceutical industries.**