Objective

Abstract

It was shown, that nature is using the enzymes introduced in Sect. 1.3 to catalyze the activation of dioxygen, which is a four electron reduction. In the active center of cytochrome P450, two electrons are provided by the redox-state change of one Fe^II to Fe^IV. The third electron is generated by the participation of the porphyrin ligand which becomes a cationic π-radical. The fourth electron is provided by an electron transferring reagent. The active center of cytochrome P450 only provides three out of four needed electrons, methane monooxygenase with its advantageous bimetallic active center is able to provide all four.