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Theoretical calculation has been carried out for the nucleophilic displacement reaction of 1,2-dichloroethane catalyzed by haloalkane dehalogenase. The results indicate that different hydrogen bond patterns of the oxyanion hole and the halide-stabilizing residues play an important role in the dehalogenation reaction. They cause concertedly an earlier transition state (TS) with the activation barrier of 16.60 kcal/mol. The stabilization effect of Trp125 and Trp175 on chlorine atom in the TS is larger than that of the reactant complex by 15.67 kcal/mol so that, they make contribution to the stabilization of the TS. Moreover, the reaction shows the enzymatic action can be attributed to a combination of reactant-state destabilization and transition-state electrostatic stabilization. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2011 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The decomposition of triphenyl phosphite ozonide (TPPO) has been well recognized as a potential source of singlet oxygen (O2, 1Δg) for the chemical oxygen–iodine laser. Experimental observations suggested that ammonia or pyridine water solution can accelerate the decomposition of TPPO, and hydroxyl ion is responsible for accelerating singlet oxygen liberation during this decomposition. In this paper, we studied the mechanism of OH−-accelerated reaction using density functional theory (DFT) at B3LYP/6-31+G* levels of theory. The calculations reveal a favorable free energy pathway for hydroxide-accelerated decomposition of TPPO, i.e. nucleophilic addition at phosphorus, followed by elimination of phenoxy group and subsequent liberation of singlet oxygen. The solvent effects were studied using a polarizable continuum model. The frontier molecular orbitals of the ozonides, atom–atom Wiberg bond index and corresponding atomic charges were also investigated to shed further light on the reaction pathway. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]