Tautomeric Equilibria in Relation to Pi-Electron Delocalization

Synthesis and structural characterization of substituted 2-phenacylbenzoxazoles

¹H and ¹³C NMR spectra of eleven 2-phenacylbenzoxazoles (ketimine form) show that their CDCl₃-solutions contains also (Z)-2-(benzo[d]oxazol-2-yl)-1-phenylethenols (enolimine form). Intramolecular hydrogen bonding in the latter tautomer was found to be significantly weaker than that one in respective (Z)-2-(2-hydroxy-2-phenylvinyl)pyridines. Integrals of the ¹H NMR signals were used to evaluate the molar ratio of the tautomers. Strong electron-donating substituents were found to stabilize the ketimine tautomer. pK_T (negative logarithm of the equilibrium constant, K_T = [ketimine]/[enolimine]) was found to be linearly dependent on the Hammett substituent constant σ. The results of the MP2 ab initio calculations reveal enolimine including an intramolecular OH···N hydrogen bond to be the most stable form both with electron-donor and electron-acceptor substituents. The stability of ketimines is an intermediate of those found for enolimines and enaminones i.e., (E)-2-(benzo[d]oxazol-2(3H)-ylidene)-1-phenylethanones. ¹³C CPMAS NMR spectral data reveal that in the crystalline state the ketimine tautomer is predominant in p-NMe₂ substituted congener. On the other hand, enolimine forms were detected there when the substituent has less electron-donating character or when it is an electron-acceptor by character.

Cation radii induced structural variation in fluorescent alkaline earth networks constructed from tautomers of a nucleobase analogue

Nucleobase tautomers and their metal complexes have attracted considerable attention due to their fascinating architectures along with wide applications. In this paper, 4,6-dihydroxypyrimidine (H(2)DHP), an analogue of uracil and thymine, was employed to react with the vital elements of alkaline earth metals in an aqueous solution and lead to the formation of four novel complexes, [Mg(HDHP)(2) (H(2)O)(4)] (1), [Ca(HDHP)(2)(H(2)O)(3)](n)·nH(2)O (2), [Sr(HDHP)(2)(H(2)O)(3)](n)·nH(2)O (3), and [Ba(HDHP)(2)(H(2)O)(2)](n)·nH(2)O (4), which have been characterized by elemental analysis, IR, TG, UV-Vis, PL, powder and single-crystal X-ray diffraction and progressively evolve from zero-dimensional (0D) mononuclear, one-dimensional (1D) zig-zag double chain, two-dimensional (2D) double layer, to a three-dimensional (3D) porous network along with the increase of cation radii. This tendency in dimensionality follows salient crystal engineering principles and can be explained by considering factors such as hard-soft acid-base principles and cation radii. The deprotonated H(2)DHP ligand exhibits four new coordination modes, namely, O-monodentate (complex 1), N,O-chelating (complexes 2 and 3), O,O-bridging (complexes 2 and 3), and κ(1)O:κ(2)O-bridging mode (complex 4). Interestingly, the structural investigation indicates that the HDHP(-) monoanion shows three unusual types of tautomers, which are essential for the diagnosis of disease and investigation of medicine. Furthermore, the four complexes exhibit strong blue emission compared to free H(2)DHP ligand at room temperature and may be potential candidates for blue fluorescent biological materials used in organisms.

DFT studies on one-electron oxidation and one-electron reduction for 2- and 4-aminopyridines

Quantum-chemical calculations {DFT(B3LYP)/6-311+G(d,p)} were performed for all possible tautomers (aromatic and nonaromatic) of neutral 2- and 4-aminopyridines and their oxidized and reduced forms. One-electron oxidation has no important effect on the tautomeric preference for 2-aminopyridine. The amine tautomer is favored. However, oxidation increases the stability of the imine NH tautomer, and its contribution in the tautomeric mixture cannot be neglected. In the case of 4-aminopyridine, one-electron oxidation increases the stability of both the amine and imine NH tautomers. Consequently, they possess very close energies. As major tautomers, they dictate the composition of the tautomeric mixture. The CH tautomers may be considered as very rare forms for both neutral and oxidized aminopyridines. A reverse situation takes place for the reduced forms of aminopyridines. One-electron reduction favors the C3 atom for the labile proton for both aminopyridines. This may partially explain the origin of the CH tautomers for the anionic states of nucleobases containing the exo NH₂ group.

Effect of the H-bonding on aromaticity of purine tautomers

Four tautomers of purine (1-H, 3-H, 7-H, and 9-H) and their equilibrium H-bonded complexes with F(-) and HF for acidic and basic centers, respectively, were optimized by means of the B3LYP/6-311++G(d,p) level of theory. Purine tautomer stability increases in the following series: 1-H < 3-H < 7-H < 9-H, consistent with increasing aromaticity. Furthermore, the presence of a hydrogen bond with HF does not change this order. For neutral H-bonded complexes, the strongest and the weakest intermolecular interactions occur (-14.12 and -10.49 kcal/mol) for less stable purine tautomers when the proton acceptor is located in the five- and six-membered rings, respectively. For 9-H and 7-H tautomers the order is reversed. The H-bond energy for the imidazole complex with HF amounts to -14.03 kcal/mol; hence, in the latter case, the fusion of imidazole to pyrimidine decreases its basicity. The ionic H-bonds of N(-)···HF type are stronger by ~10 kcal/mol than the neutral N···HF intermolecular interactions. The hydrogen bond N(-)···HF energies in pyrrole and imidazole are -32.28 and -30.03 kcal/mol, respectively, and are substantially stronger than those observed in purine complexes. The aromaticity of each individual ring and of the whole molecule for all tautomers in ionic complexes is very similar to that observed for the anion of purine. This is not the case for neutral complexes and purine as a reference. The N···HF bonds perturb much more the π-electron structure of five-membered rings than that of the six-membered ones. The H-bonding complexes for 7-H and 9-H tautomers are characterized by higher aromaticity and a much lower range of HOMA variability.

Spectroscopic, structural, and conformational properties of (Z)-4,4,4-trifluoro-3-(2-hydroxyethylamino)-1-(2-hydroxyphenyl)-2-buten-1-one, C12H12F3NO3: a trifluoromethyl-substituted β-aminoenone

The (Z)-4,4,4-trifluoro-3-(2-hydroxyethylamino)-1-(2-hydroxyphenyl)-2-buten-1-one (C(12)H(12)F(3)NO(3)) compound was thoroughly studied by IR, Raman, UV-visible, and (13)C and (19)F NMR spectroscopies. The solid-state molecular structure was determined by X-ray diffraction methods. It crystallizes in the P2(1)/c space group with a = 12.1420(4) Å, b = 7.8210(3) Å, c = 13.8970(5) Å, β = 116.162(2)°, and Z = 4 molecules per unit cell. The molecule shows a nearly planar molecular skeleton, favored by intramolecular OH···O and NH···O bonds, which are arranged in the lattice as an OH···O bonded polymer coiled around crystallographic 2-fold screw-axes. The three postulated tautomers were evaluated using quantum chemical calculations. The lowest energy tautomer (I) calculated with density functional theory methods agrees with the observed crystal structure. The structural and conformational properties are discussed considering the effect of the intra- and intermolecular hydrogen bond interactions.

Electron-topological, energetic and π-electron delocalization analysis of ketoenamine-enolimine tautomeric equilibrium

The ketoenamine-enolimine tautometic equilibrium has been studied by the analysis of aromaticity and electron-topological parameters. The influence of substituents on the energy of the transition state and of the tautomeric forms has been investigated for different positions of chelate chain. The quantum theory of atoms in molecules method (QTAIM) has been applied to study changes in the electron-topological parameters of the molecule with respect to the tautomeric equilibrium in intramolecular hydrogen bond. Dependencies of the HOMA aromaticity index and electron density at the critical points defining aromaticity and electronic state of the chelate chain on the transition state (TS), OH and HN tautomeric forms have been obtained.

Gold-catalyzed formal [3 + 3] and [4 + 2] cycloaddition reactions of nitrosobenzenes with alkenylgold carbenoids

We report two new formal cycloaddition reactions between nitrosobenzenes and alkenylgold carbenoids. We obtained quinoline oxides 3 in satisfactory yields from the gold-catalyzed [3 + 3]-cycloadditions between nitrosobenzenes and alkenyldiazo esters 1. For propargyl esters 5, its resulting gold carbenes react with nitrosobenzene to give alkenylimine 8, followed by a [4 + 2]-cycloaddition with nitrosobenzene.

Estimation of σ- and π-donor properties of heterocyclic thioamides by spectroscopic and magnetic resonance methods

The charge-transfer complexes (CTC) of few thioamide: 1-methylimidazoline-2-thione (MMI), 3-methyl-1-ethoxycarbonilimidazoline-2-thione (Carb), 5-methylbenzimidazoline-2-thione (BIZ), benzothiazoline-2-thione (BTZ), benzoxazoline-2-thione (BOZ) as σ-donors and diiodine as σ-acceptor were studied by spectroscopic methods (UV/Vis, (1)H NMR). CTC formation constants of thioamides with diiodine were determined using the function of the average-iodine number. The charge-transfer complexes of thioamides as π-donors with tetracyanoethylene (TCNE) as π-electron acceptor, were studied by UV-spectroscopy in dichloromethane and chloroform solutions. The mechanism of interaction MMI and Carb with TCNE have been studied by EPR spectroscopy. Spectral characteristics and formation constants are discussed in the terms of electron donor affinity of thioamides and the nature of the organic solvent used. The ionization potentials of donors were estimated from the CT transition energies of their complexes. The photolytic equilibrium constants of five thioamides are determined using pH-metric titrations.

Consequence of one-electron oxidation and one-electron reduction for aniline

Quantum-chemical calculations were performed for all possible isomers of neutral aniline and its redox forms, and intramolecular proton-transfer (prototropy) accompanied by π-electron delocalization was analyzed. One-electron oxidation (PhNH₂ – e → [PhNH₂]^+•) has no important effect on tautomeric preferences. The enamine tautomer is preferred for oxidized aniline similarly as for the neutral molecule. Dramatical changes take place when proceeding from neutral to reduced aniline. One-electron reduction (PhNH₂ + e → [PhNH₂]^-•) favors the imine tautomer. Independently on the state of oxidation, π- and n-electrons are more delocalized for the enamine than imine tautomers. The change of the tautomeric preferences for reduced aniline may partially explain the origin of the CH tautomers for reduced nucleobases (cytosine, adenine, and guanine).

Tautomer preference in PDB complexes and its impact on structure-based drug discovery

Tautomer enrichment is a key step of ligand preparation prior to virtual screening. In this paper, we have investigated how tautomer preference in various media (water, gas phase, and crystal) compares to tautomer preference at the active site of the protein by analyzing the different possible H-bonding contacts for a set of 13 tautomeric structures. In addition, we have explored the impact of four different protocols for the enumeration of tautomers in virtual screening by using Flap, Glide, and Gold as docking tools on seven targets of the DUD data set. Excluding targets in which the binding does not involve tautomeric atoms (HSP90, p38, and VEGFR2), we found that the average receiver operating characteristic curve enrichment at 10% was 0.25 (Gold), 0.24 (Glide), and 0.50 (Flap) by considering only tautomers predicted to be unstable in water versus 0.41 (Gold), 0.56 (Glide), 0.51 (Flap) by limiting the enumeration process only to the predicted most stable tautomer. The inclusion of all tautomers (stable and unstable) yielded slightly poorer results than considering only the most stable form in water.

Mechanistic study of the reaction of thiol-containing enzymes with alpha,beta-unsaturated carbonyl substrates by computation and chemoassays

We investigated the reactions between substituted α,β‐unsaturated carbonyl compounds (Michael systems) and thiols by computations as well as chemoassays. The results give insight into variations in the underlying mechanisms as a function of the substitution pattern. This is of interest for the mechanisms of inhibition of the SARS coronavirus main protease (SARS‐CoV M^pro) by etacrynic acid derivatives as well as for the excess toxicity of substituted α,β‐unsaturated carbonyl compounds. This study compares possible reaction courses including 1,4‐addition followed by a ketonization step, and underscores the importance of a base‐catalyzed step for the reactivity of thiol groups in enzymes. Phenyl and methyl substituents at the Michael system decrease the reactivity of the electrophilic compound, but chlorophenyl substituents partly recover the reactivity. Computations also indicate that electron‐pushing substituents lead to a change in the reaction mechanism. The conformation of the Michael system is also found to significantly influence reactivity: the s‐cis conformation leads to higher reactivity than the s‐trans conformation. The computed data explain the trends in measured inhibition potencies of substituted α,β‐unsaturated carbonyl compounds and of reaction rates in chemical assays. They also indicate that the reversibility of inhibition does not stand in contrast to the formation of a new covalent bond between inhibitor and protease.