Bio-inspired amino acid oxidation by a non-heme iron catalyst modeling the action of 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid oxidase.

In this communication we describe the first example of a biomimetic mononuclear iron complex, [Fe(III)(Salen)Cl] (Salen = N,N'-bis(salicylidene)-ethylenediaminato), that highly selectively and efficiently catalyzes the oxidation of 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACCH), α-aminoisobutyric acid (AIBH), and alanine (ALAH) to ethylene or the corresponding carbonyl compounds, mimicking the action of the non-heme iron enzyme 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid oxidase (ACCO).