Binding and Stabilization of a Semiquinone Radical by an Artificial Metalloenzyme Containing a Binuclear Copper (II) Cofactor

A binuclear Cu(II) cofactor was covalently bound to a lauric acid anchor. The resulting conjugate was characterized then combined with beta‐lactoglobulin (βLG) to generate a new biohybrid following the so‐called “Trojan horse” strategy. This biohybrid was examined for its effectiveness in the oxidation of a catechol derivative to the corresponding quinone. The resulting biohybrid did not exhibit the sought after catecholase activity, likely due to its ability to bind and stabilize the semiquinone radical intermediate DTB‐SQ. This semi‐quinone radical was stabilized only in the presence of the protein and was characterized using optical and magnetic spectroscopic techniques, demonstrating stability for over 16 hours. Molecular docking studies revealed that this stabilization could occur owing to interactions of the semi‐quinone with hydrophobic amino acid residues of βLG. An artificial metalloenzyme was obtained by insertion of a binuclear copper complex coupled to a lauric acid anchor into β‐lactoglobulin, using the Trojan Horse strategy. The resulting biohybrid did not show any catecholase activity as it efficiently stabilized the intermediate 3,5‐di‐tert‐butyl‐semi‐quinone radical (DTB‐SQ).