Electrochemical and peroxidase catalysed oxidation of 9-β-D-ribofuranosyluric acid 5′-monophosphate
Abstract
The electrochemical oxidation of 9-β-D-ribofuranosyluric acid 5′-monophosphate (UA-9R-5′-P) in aqueous solution has been studied in the pH range 2.10–10.0. The evidence strongly indicates that UA-9R-5′-P is oxidized in a 2e–, 2H+ reaction to give an unstable diimine which subsequently decomposes. A UV absorbing intermediate is observed during electrooxidation which decays in a pseudo first-order reaction to give alloxan, urea and ribosyl phosphate at pH 3.0. Controlled potential electrolysis results in the transfer of 2.0 ± 0.2 electrons per molecule and three major products are obtained at pH 7.0; allantoin, 5-hydroxyhydantoin-5-carboxamide and D-ribose. Tentative reaction schemes are proposed to explain the formation of these products.
Oxidation of UA-9R-5′-P in the presence of peroxidase and H2O2 also generates an intermediate which has spectral and kinetic properties identical to those of the intermediate generated electrochemically. Thus, it is believed that electrochemical and enzymic oxidation of UA-9R-5′-P proceed by identical reaction mechanisms.