Electronic structure contributions to reactivity in xanthine oxidase family enzymes.

We review the xanthine oxidase (XO) family of pyranopterin molybdenum enzymes with a specific emphasis on electronic structure contributions to reactivity. In addition to xanthine and aldehyde oxidoreductases, which catalyze the two-electron oxidation of aromatic heterocycles and aldehyde substrates, this mini-review highlights recent work on the closely related carbon monoxide dehydrogenase (CODH) that catalyzes the oxidation of CO using a unique Mo-Cu heterobimetallic active site. A primary focus of this mini-review relates to how spectroscopy and computational methods have been used to develop an understanding of critical relationships between geometric structure, electronic structure, and catalytic function.