Département de chimie moléculaire

2-Hydroxypyridine-N-oxide (HOPNO) is described as a new and efficient transition-state analog (TS-analog) inhibitor for the mushroom tyrosinase with an IC50 = 1.16 $μ$M and a KI = 1.8 $μ$M. Using the binuclear copper(II) complex [Cu2(BPMP)($μ$-OH)](ClO4)2 (2) known as a functional model for the tyrosinase catecholase activity, a 1:1 (2)/OPNO adduct was isolated and fully characterized in which the HOPNO is deprotonated and chelates only one Cu-atom of the binuclear site in a bidentate mode. On the basis of these results, a structural model for the tyrosinase inhibition by HOPNO is proposed. [on SciFinder(R)]