Epoxidation of styrene by hemoglobin and myoglobin. Transfer of oxidizing equivalents to the protein surface.

Methemoglobin and metmyoglobin catalyze the H2O2-dependent oxidation of styrene to styrene oxide and benzaldehyde. The formation of styrene oxide requires molecular oxygen as well as H2O2 but does not, as shown by inhibitor studies, involve the superoxide or hydroxyl radicals. Approximately 38, 67, and 78% of the oxygen in styrene oxide derives from 18O2 in the reactions catalyzed, respectively, by bovine hemoglobin, sperm whale myoglobin, and equine heart myoglobin, whereas 70, 55, and 35% of the oxygen can be shown to be derived from [18O]H2O2. However, a larger fraction of the epoxide oxygen than suggested by the labeling data (perhaps all) derives from molecular oxygen rather than H2O2 because the hemoproteins produce molecular oxygen from the peroxide. The epoxidation of styrene by methemoglobin gives equal amounts of the R and S enantiomers and, as shown by studies with trans-[1-2H]styrene, proceeds with partial (33%) loss of the olefin stereochemistry. The results are rationalized by H2O2-dependent formation of a protein radical that combines with molecular oxygen to give a protein-peroxy radical that oxidizes styrene.