Determination of the Absolute Configuration of Pentacoordinate Chiral Phosphorus Compounds in Solution by Using Vibrational Circular Dichroism Spectroscopy and Density Functional Theory

The isomeric structure of pentacoordinate chiral spirophosphoranes in solution by the combined use of NMR experiments and GIAO DFT calculations of NMR parameters

The interplay of NMR experiments and DFT calculations of NMR parameters is a reliable method for determining the relative configurations of pentacoordinate chiral spirophosphoranes bearing two six- or five-membered rings at the phosphorus atom in solution. The major product of the Betti based derivatives corresponds to the isomers with both substituents at chiral carbons being opposite to the P-H proton. The next populated product corresponds to the isomer with different chiralities at carbons. The least populated isomer is one with both substituents being at the same side of the heterocycle as the P-H bond.

Chiral Hypervalent, Pentacoordinated Phosphoranes

This review presents synthetic procedures applied to the preparation of chiral (mainly optically active) pentacoordinated, hypervalent mono and bicyclic phosphoranes. The mechanisms of their stereoisomerization and their selected interconversions are also presented.

Stereoselective PCO/POC-Rearrangement of P-C-Cage Phosphorane in the Reaction of 4,5-Dimethyl-2-(2-oxo-1,2-diphenyl)ethoxy-1,3,2-dioxaphospholane with Hexafluoroacetone

Interaction of 4,5-dimethyl-2-(2-oxo-1,2-diphenyl)ethoxy-1,3,2-dioxaphospholane, bearing a carboxyl group in the γ-position with respect to the phosphorus atom and obtained from d,l-butanediol, with hexafluoroacetone (CCl4, -40 °C) leads to the simultaneous formation of regio- and stereoisomeric cage-like phosphoranes with phosphorus-carbon and phosphorus-oxygen bonds with a high stereoselectivity (>95%), whose structure was determined by 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopy and XRD. When stored as a solution in dichloromethane for one month, the PCO-isomer rearranges into the thermodynamically more stable POC-isomer of the cage-like phosphorane. Mild hydrolysis of the PCO/POC-isomers proceeds with a high chemoselectivity and leads to the formation of P(IV)-dioxaphospholane derivatives. Acidic hydrolysis of the POC-isomer leads to the formation of an oxirane derivative with an unexpectedly high stereoselectivity (>95%). DFT calculations (using the PBE functional) allowed us to obtain structures and energies of the initial phospholane, reaction products (PCO/POC-isomers), and an intermediate P(V)-oxaphosphirane.

Identifying dominant conformations of N-acetyl-L-cysteine methyl ester and N-acetyl-L-cysteine in water: VCD signatures of the amide I and the C=O stretching bands

Infrared (IR) and vibrational circular dichroism (VCD) spectra of N-Acetyl-L-Cysteine Methyl Ester (NALCME) and N-Acetyl-L-Cysteine (NALC) in D2O under different pHs were measured. We focus on the VCD signatures of the amide I and the C=O stretching spectral signatures of the neutral NALCME and NALC species and the related ones of the deprotonated NALC species in the region of 1800-1500 cm(-1). A sign inversion is observed for the amide I VCD band going from the neutral NALCME and NALC to the deprotonated NALC species. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations were carried out to search for the possible conformations of these three species and to simulate their IR and VCD spectra at the B3LYP/aug-cc-pVTZ level in the gas phase and with the polarization continuum model of water solvent. The most stable conformations found for neutral NALCME and NALC exhibit drastically difference VCD patterns, whereas those of deprotonated NALC show similar patterns. We establish an empirical structural-spectral relationship where the aforementioned VCD signatures can be used as spectral markers to identify dominant conformations of these two amino acid derivatives under different pHs. It is recognized that the dominant conformers identified using the VCD spectral markers differ from those based on the relative DFT energies for neutral NALCME and NALC. The influence of solvent on both the conformational geometries and their relative stabilities is discussed. The aforementioned discrepancy can be attributed to the explicit solute-solvent hydrogen-bonding interactions which are not accounted for in the calculations. The empirical structural-spectral relationship identified can potentially be applied to large, related amino acids and polypeptides in water.

Determination of the absolute configurations of bicyclo[3.1.0]hexane derivatives via electronic circular dichroism, optical rotation dispersion and vibrational circular dichroism spectroscopy and density functional theory calculations

The electronic circular dichroism (ECD), optical rotation dispersion (ORD), and vibrational circular dichroism (VCD) spectra of a pair of enantiomers, i.e. 3 and 4, of a bicyclo[3.1.0]hexane derivative have been measured in acetonitrile and acetonitrile-d(3), respectively. Extensive conformational searches at the B3LYP/6-311++G** level have been carried out for 3, which has four OH and one N(3) functional groups. For the bicyclo[3.1.0]hexane ring of 3, the boat-like conformers have been found to be much more stable than the chair-like conformers, while the number and the strength of the intramolecular hydrogen bonds have been identified as the dominant factors in the relative stability among the boat-like and among the chair-like conformers. DFT simulations of the ECD, ORD and VCD spectra have been performed for all low energy conformers at the B3LYP/6-311++G** and B3LYP/aug-cc-pVDZ level. Implicit continuum polarization model has been used to account for solvent effects in all these chiroptical measurements. Comparison of the DFT simulations with the experimental data shows that all three chiroptical properties yield the same absolute configuration assignment for . This work demonstrates that using multiple chiroptical spectroscopic methods in combination with DFT calculations allows one to determine absolute configurations with high confidence for chiral carbohydrates and their analogues, which possess a large number of rotatable bonds.

Vibrational circular dichroism spectroscopy of chiral molecules

In this chapter, new developments and main applications of vibrational circular dichroism (VCD) spectroscopy reported in the last 5 years are described. This includes the determinations of absolute configurations of chiral molecules, understanding solvent effects and modeling solvent-solute explicit hydrogen bonding networks using induced solvent chirality, studies of transition metal complexes and their peculiar and enormous intensity enhancements in VCD spectra, investigations of conformational preference of chiral ligands bound to gold nano particles, and two new advances in applying matrix isolation VCD spectroscopy to flexible, multi-conformational chiral molecules and complexes, and in development of femtosecond laser based VCD instruments for transient VCD monitoring. A brief review of the experimental techniques and theoretical methods is also given. The purpose of this chapter is to provide an up-to-date perspective on the capability of VCD to solve significant problems about chiral molecules in solution, in thin film states, or on surfaces.