Using Reduced Catalysts for Oxidation Reactions: Mechanistic Studies of the “Periana-Catalytica” System for CH_4 Oxidation

Designing oxidation catalysts based on CH activation with reduced, low oxidation state species is a seeming dilemma given the proclivity for catalyst deactivation by overoxidation. This dilemma has been recognized in the Shilov system where reduced Pt^(II) is used to catalyze methane functionalization. Thus, it is generally accepted that key to replacing Pt^(IV) in that system with more practical oxidants is ensuring that the oxidant does not over-oxidize the reduced Pt^(II) species. The “Periana-Catalytica” system, which utilizes (bpym)Pt^(II)Cl_2 in concentrated sulfuric acid solvent at 200 °C, is a highly stable catalyst for the selective, high yield oxy-functionalization of methane. In lieu of the over-oxidation dilemma, the high stability and observed rapid oxidation of (bpym)Pt^(II)Cl_2 to Pt^(IV) in the absence of methane would seem to contradict the originally proposed mechanism involving CH activation by a reduced Pt^(II) species. Mechanistic studies show that the originally proposed mechanism is incomplete and that while CH activation does proceed with Pt^(II) there is a solution to the over-oxidation dilemma. Importantly, contrary to the accepted view to minimize Pt^(II) overoxidation, these studies also show that increasing that rate could increase the rate of catalysis and catalyst stability. The mechanistic basis for this counterintuitive prediction could help to guide the design of new catalysts for alkane oxidation that operate by CH activation

Catalytic Mechanism and Efficiency of Methane Oxidation by Hg(II) in Sulfuric Acid and Comparison to Radical Initiated Conditions

Methane conversion to methyl bisulfate by Hg^(II)(SO_4) in sulfuric acid is an example of fast and selective alkane oxidation catalysis. Dichotomous mechanisms involving C–H activation and electron transfer have been proposed based on experiments. Radical oxidation pathways have also been proposed for some reaction conditions. Hg^(II) is also of significant interest because as a d^(10) transition metal it is similar to d^(10) main-group metals that also oxidize alkanes. Density-functional calculations are presented that use both implicit and a mixture of implicit/explicit solvent models for the complete Hg_(II) catalytic cycle of methane oxidation to methyl bisulfate. These calculations are consistent with experiment and reveal that methane is functionalized to methyl bisulfate by a C–H activation and reductive metal alkyl functionalization mechanism. This reaction pathway is lower in energy than both electron transfer and proton-coupled electron transfer pathways. After methane C–H functionalization, catalysis is completed by conversion of the proposed resting state, [Hg^I(HSO_4)]_2, into Hg^0 followed by Hg^0 to Hg^(II) oxidation induced by SO_3 from dehydration of sulfuric acid. This catalytic cycle is efficient because in sulfuric acid the Hg^(II)/Hg^0 potential results in a moderate free energy barrier for oxidation (∼40 kcal/mol) and Hg^(II) is electrophilic enough to induce barriers of <40 kcal/mol for C–H activation and reductive metal alkyl functionalization. Comparison of Hg^(II) to Tl^(III) shows that while C–H activation and reductive metal alkyl functionalization have reasonable barriers for Tl^(III), the oxidation of Tl^I to Tl^(III) has a significantly larger barrier than Hg^0 to Hg^(II) oxidation and therefore Tl^(III) is not catalytic in sulfuric acid. Comparison of Hg^(II) to Cd^(II) and Zn^(II) reveals that while M^0 to M^(II) oxidation and C–H activation are feasible for these first-row and second-row transition metals, reductive metal alkyl functionalization barriers are very large and catalysis is not feasible. Calculations are also presented that outline the mechanism and energy landscape for radical-initiated (K_2S_2O_8) methane oxidation to methanesulfonic acid in sulfuric acid

Thermostable DNA Polymerase from a Viral Metagenome Is a Potent RT-PCR Enzyme

Viral metagenomic libraries are a promising but previously untapped source of new reagent enzymes. Deep sequencing and functional screening of viral metagenomic DNA from a near-boiling thermal pool identified clones expressing thermostable DNA polymerase (Pol) activity. Among these, 3173 Pol demonstrated both high thermostability and innate reverse transcriptase (RT) activity. We describe the biochemistry of 3173 Pol and report its use in single-enzyme reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR). Wild-type 3173 Pol contains a proofreading 3′-5′ exonuclease domain that confers high fidelity in PCR. An easier-to-use exonuclease-deficient derivative was incorporated into a PyroScript RT-PCR master mix and compared to one-enzyme (Tth) and two-enzyme (MMLV RT/Taq) RT-PCR systems for quantitative detection of MS2 RNA, influenza A RNA, and mRNA targets. Specificity and sensitivity of 3173 Pol-based RT-PCR were higher than Tth Pol and comparable to three common two-enzyme systems. The performance and simplified set-up make this enzyme a potential alternative for research and molecular diagnostics

A Novel Diagnostic Target in the Hepatitis C Virus Genome

Christian Drosten and colleagues develop, validate, and make openly available a prototype hepatitis C virus assay based on the conserved 3' X-tail element, with potential for clinical use in developing countries

Evaluation of the COBAS Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) TaqMan Analyte-Specific Reagent Assay and Comparison to the COBAS Amplicor HCV Monitor V2.0 and Versant HCV bDNA 3.0 Assays

Performance characteristics of the COBAS hepatitis C virus (HCV) TaqMan analyte-specific reagent (TM-ASR) assay using the QIAGEN BioRobot 9604 for RNA extraction were evaluated and compared to the COBAS Amplicor HCV Monitor V2.0 (Amplicor) and Versant HCV bDNA 3.0 (Versant) assays using clinical samples. Calibration of TM-ASR using Armored RNA allowed determination of the distribution of HCV RNA in clinical samples, using 22,399 clinical samples. Limit of detection, linearity, and inter- and intraassay assay precision were determined for the TM-ASR assay using multiple clinical specimen panels across multiple determinations. Genotype specificity for the TM-ASR assay was determined using samples with different HCV RNA genotypes evaluated and compared against predetermined results. Contamination control of the TM-ASR assay was evaluated using pools of HCV RNA-positive and -negative samples tested in a checkerboard pattern over 12 runs of 96 samples. Correlation of the TM-ASR, Amplicor, and Versant assays was determined using 100 paired clinical samples and Deming regression analysis. The TM-ASR performed well with respect to linearity, precision, and contamination control. The correlation between TM-ASR and the Amplicor and Versant assays was poor, with large differences between assay results for individual samples. Calibration of the TM-ASR assay with Armored RNA allowed for a wide dynamic range and description of the distribution of HCV RNA in clinical samples

Using reduced catalysts for oxidation reactions: Mechanistic studies of the "Periana-Catalytica" system for CH4 oxidation

Designing oxidn. catalysts based upon CH activation with reduced, low oxidn. state species is challenging given the proclivity for catalyst deactivation by over-oxidn. This dilemma has been recognized in the Shilov system where reduced Pt is used to catalyze methane functionalization. Thus, it is generally accepted that the key to replacing Pt in that system with more practical oxidants is ensuring that the oxidant does not over-oxidize the reduced Pt^(II) catalyst. The "Catalytica" system, which utilizes (bpym)Pt^(II)Cl_2 in concd. H_2SO_4 solvent at 200 °C, is a highly stable catalyst for the selective, high yield oxyfunctionalization of methane. In lieu of the over-oxidn. dilemma, the high stability and obsd. rapid oxidn. of (bpym)Pt^(II)Cl_2 to Pt^(IV) in the absence of methane would seem to contradict the originally proposed mechanism involving CH activation by a reduced Pt^(II) species. Mechanistic studies show that the originally proposed mechanism is incomplete and that, while CH activation proceeds with Pt^(II), the system provides a soln. to the over-oxidn. dilemma. Importantly, contrary to the accepted view (to minimize Pt^(II) over-oxidn.), these studies indicate that increasing the rate of Pt^(II) oxidn. could actually increase the rate of catalysis and enhance system stability if catalysts are designed to facilitate a rapid Pt^(IV) + Pt^(II)-R reaction. The mechanistic basis for this counterintuitive prediction could help to guide the design of new catalysts for alkane oxidn. that operate by CH activation