Gupta, Aalo Kumar2013-10-162013-10-162011-08https://hdl.handle.net/11299/158309University of Minnesota Ph.D. dissertation. August 2011. Major: Chemistry. Advisor: William B. Tolman. 1 computer file (PDF); vi, 244 pages.The research described within this thesis focuses on a number biologically inspired copper complexes. We sought to synthesize and characterize bio-inspired Cu(I) complexes followed by examining the reactivity of these systems towards dioxygen and oxo-transfer reagents to further understand the mechanisms, including the identity of reactive intermediates, of copper-containing metalloenzymes.en-USThesis or Dissertation