Biomimetic Modeling of Copper Complexes : A Study of Enantioselective Catalytic Oxidation on D-(+)‎-Catechin and L-(−)‎-Epicatechin with Copper Complexes

Abstract EN

The biomimetic catalytic oxidations of the dinuclear and trinuclear copper(II) complexes versus two catechols, namely, D-(+)-catechin and L-(−)-epicatechin to give the corresponding quinones are reported.

The unstable quinones were trapped by the nucleophilic reagent, 3-methyl-2-benzothiazolinone hydrazone (MBTH), and have been calculated the molar absorptivities of the different quinones.

The catalytic efficiency is moderate, as inferred by kinetic constants, but the complexes exhibit significant enantio-differentiating ability towards the catechols, albeit for the dinuclear complexes, this enantio-differentiating ability is lower.

In all cases, the preferred enantiomeric substrate is D-(+)-catechin to respect the other catechol, because of the spatial disposition of this substrate.