Fe-O versus O-O bond cleavage in reactive iron peroxide intermediates of superoxide reductase.

It is generally accepted that the catalytic cycles of superoxide reductases (SORs) and cytochromes P450 involve a ferric hydroperoxo intermediate at a mononuclear iron center with a coordination sphere consisting of four equatorial nitrogen ligands and one axial cysteine thiolate trans to the hydroperoxide. However, although SORs and P450s have similar intermediates, SORs selectively cleave the Fe-O bond and liberate peroxide, whereas P450s cleave the O-O bond to yield a high-valent iron center. This difference has attracted the interest of researchers, and is further explored here.