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Title: Iron-sulfur clusters: the road to room temperature

Journal Article · · JBIC Journal of Biological Inorganic Chemistry

Abstract Iron-sulfur proteins perform a wide variety of reactions central to the metabolisms of all living organisms. Foundational to their reaction chemistry are the rich electronic structures of their constituent Fe-S clusters, which differ in important ways from the active sites of mononuclear Fe enzymes. In this perspective, we summarize the essential electronic structure features that make Fe-S clusters unique, and point to the need for studies aimed at understanding the electronic basis for their reactivity under physiological conditions. Specifically, at ambient temperature, both the ground state and a large number of excited states are thermally populated, and thus a complete understanding of Fe-S cluster reactivity must take into account the properties, energies, and reactivity patterns of these excited states. We highlight prior research toward characterizing the low-energy excited states of Fe-S clusters that has established what is now a consensus model of these excited state manifolds and the bonding interactions that give rise to them. In particular, we discuss the low-energy alternate spin states and valence electron configurations that occur in Fe-S clusters of varying nuclearities, and finally suggest that there may be unrecognized functional roles for these states. Graphical abstract

Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
Grant/Contract Number:
SC0020974
OSTI ID:
2536817
Journal Information:
JBIC Journal of Biological Inorganic Chemistry, Journal Name: JBIC Journal of Biological Inorganic Chemistry Journal Issue: 2 Vol. 30; ISSN 1432-1327
Publisher:
Springer Science + Business MediaCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
Germany
Language:
English

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