Chiral recognition by mass-resolved laser spectroscopy

Can the Partial Peptide SIVSF of the β2-Adrenergic Receptor Recognize Chirality of the Epinephrine Neurotransmitter?

Chirality plays an essential role in biological molecular recognition, such as neurotransmission. Here, we applied electrospray-cold ion trap spectroscopy to complexes of a partial binding motif SIVSF of a β₂-adrenergic receptor pocket with L- and D-epinephrine AdH⁺. The ultraviolet spectrum of the SIVSF-AdH⁺ complex changed drastically when L-AdH⁺ was replaced by its enantiomer. The isomer-selected infrared spectra revealed that D-AdH⁺ was bound to SIVSF by its protonated amino-group or a single catechol OH and induced nonhelical secondary structures of SIVSF. This is in sharp contrast to the helical SIVSF complex with L-AdH⁺, which is close to the natural binding structure with two catechol OHs binding in the receptor. This shows that a short pentapeptide SIVSF can distinguish the chirality of the ligand AdH⁺ as well as the receptor. This stereoselectivity is suggested to arise from an additional interaction involving the hydroxyl group on the chiral carbon.

Mass-Selective Chiral Analysis

Three ways of realizing mass-selective chiral analysis are reviewed. The first is based on the formation of diastereomers that are of homo- and hetero- type with respect to the enantiomers of involved chiral molecules. This way is quite well-established with numerous applications. The other two ways are more recent developments, both based on circular dichroism (CD). In one, conventional or nonlinear electronic CD is linked to mass spectrometry (MS) by resonance-enhanced multiphoton ionization. The other is based on CD in the angular distribution of photoelectrons, which is measured in combination with MS via photoion photoelectron coincidence. Among the many important applications of mass-selective chiral analysis, this review focuses on its use as an analytical tool for the development of heterogeneous enantioselective chemical catalysis. There exist other approaches to combine chiral analysis and mass-selective detection, such as chiral chromatography MS, which are not discussed here.

Diastereo-specific conformational properties of neutral, protonated and radical cation forms of (1R,2S)-cis- and (1R,2R)-trans-amino-indanol by gas phase spectroscopy

The effects of ionisation and protonation on the geometric and electronic structure of a prototypical aromatic amino-alcohol with two chiral centres are revealed by IR and UV spectroscopy.

Chirality effects on the IRMPD spectra of basket resorcinarene/nucleoside complexes

The IRMPD spectra of the ESI-formed proton-bound complexes of the R,R,R,R- and S,S,S,S-enantiomers of a bis(diamido)-bridged basket resorcin[4]arene (R and S) with cytosine (1), cytidine (2), and cytarabine (3) were measured in the region 2800-3600 cm(-1). Comparison of the IRMPD spectra with the corresponding ONIOM (B3LYP/6-31(d):UFF)-calculated absorption frequencies allowed the assessment of the vibrational modes that are responsible for the observed spectroscopic features. All of the complexes investigated, apart from [R⋅H⋅3](+), showed similar IRMPD spectra, which points to similar structural and conformational landscapes. Their IRMPD spectra agree with the formation of several isomeric structures in the ESI source, wherein the N(3)-protonated guest establishes noncovalent interactions with the host amidocarbonyl groups that are either oriented inside the host cavity or outside it between one of the bridged side-chains and the upper aromatic nucleus. The IRMPD spectrum of the [R⋅H⋅3](+) complex was clearly different from the others. This difference is attributed to the effect of intramolecular hydrogen-bonding interactions between the C(2')-OH group and the aglycone oxygen atom of the nucleosidic guest upon repulsive interactions between the same oxygen atom and the aromatic rings of the host.

Excited-State Proton Transfer in Chiral Environments: Photoracemization of BINOLs

We have studied excited-state proton transfer (ESPT) from chiral proton donors to chiral and achiral acceptors. The key role of the exergonicity of the reaction and the transition-state position along the reaction coordinate for the existence of an enantiomeric effect was established. This effect was observed for "super" photoacids (ΔG ≪ 0) and vanished for endergonic reactions (ΔG > 0) where a "late" transition state similar to planar achiral binaphtholate anion occurs. As a result, photoracemization was observed, as confirmed by circular dichroism spectroscopy. The photoracemization effects were studied for several chiral photoacids (BINOLs and their ethers) and proton acceptors (amines, aminoalcohols, and water) using UV-vis, steady-state fluorescence, and time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopies. The nature of the solvent and the proton acceptor, as well as the chemical structure of the BINOL, played a pivotal role in the photochemical reactivity of the system. Two proposed pathways competed for photoracemization: excited-state inter- and intra-molecular proton transfer, the former being more effective. Irradiation of the dimethoxy BINOL derivative, which lacks an acidic proton and cannot undergo ESPT, produced no appreciable reaction or racemization.

Chirality recognition between neutral molecules in the gas phase

Noncovalent interactions are particularly intriguing when they involve chiral molecules, because the interactions change in a subtle way upon replacing one of the partners by its mirror image. The resulting phenomena involving chirality recognition are relevant in the biosphere, in organic synthesis, and in polymer design. They may be classified according to the permanent or transient chirality of the interacting partners, leading to chirality discrimination, chirality induction, and chirality synchronization processes. For small molecules, high-level quantum chemical calculations for such processes are feasible. To provide reliable connections between theory and experiment, such phenomena are best studied in vacuum isolation at low temperature, using rotational, vibrational, electronic, and photoionization spectroscopy. We review these techniques and the results which have become available in recent years, with special emphasis on dimers of permanently chiral molecules and on the influence of conformational flexibility. Analogies between the microscopic mechanisms and macroscopic phenomena and between intra- and intermolecular cases are drawn.

Chiral Recognition in Diaziridine Clusters and the Problem of Racemization Waves

Theoretical calculations (B3LYP/6-31+G**) of chiral clusters of diaziridines have been carried out. Five configurations of chiral and nonchiral clusters with up to eight monomers have been considered. The proton transfer within the neutral and protonated clusters has been studied as a possible source of racemization waves. The optical rotatory power (ORP) has been calculated for the neutral and protonated homochiral clusters. The results show that the clusters with alternated chiral molecules are the preferred ones and that the proton transfer proceeds with low energetic barriers in the protonated systems. The ORP results are very dependent on the shape of the clusters and the neutral or protonated state of them.

Stereoisomer Discrimination in Complexes of Halogen-Substituted Difuranes and Li or Na Cations

The theoretical study of the stereoisomer discrimination of the 2:1 homo- and heterochiral complexes between chiral 5,5'-dihalogen bifuranes and lithium or sodium cations has been carried out using DFT methods. To understand the chiral effect produced by the introduction of a second bifurane molecule, the 1:1 complexes also have been calculated. All the 2:1 heterochiral complexes computed showed a nonplanar configuration around the metallic cation, but in the case of the homochiral complexes, the dibromo- and dichloro-bifurane systems around Na+ were quasi-planar. The nature of the interactions established between cations and bifurane systems has been analyzed by means of AIM and NBO, and correlations between the electron density topological parameters with the O...M distance and with the orbital interaction energy have been found. Stereodiscrimination is observed favoring the heterochiral complexes except for the Na+ complexes with chloro and bromo substituents in which the homochiral forms are more stable. Stereodiscrimination values correlate with the difference in electron density at the bond critical point and orbital interaction energy between homo- and heterochiral systems.

Gas-Phase Enantioselectivity of Chiral Amido[4]resorcinarene Receptors

Diastereomeric proton-bound [1(L)HA]+ complexes between selected amino acids (A=phenylglycine (Phg), tryptophan (Trp), tyrosine methyl ester (TyrOMe), threonine (Thr), and allothreonine (AThr)) and a chiral amido[4]resorcinarene receptor (1(L)) display a significant enantioselectivity when undergoing loss of the amino acid guest A by way of the enantiomers of 2-aminobutanes (B) in the gas phase. The enantioselectivity of the B-to-A displacement is ascribed to a combination of thermodynamic and kinetic factors related to the structure and the stability of the diastereomeric [1(L)HA]+ complexes and of the reaction transition states. The results of the present and previous studies allow classification of the [1(L)HA]+ complexes in three main categories wherein: i) guest A does not present any additional functionalities besides the amino acid one (alanine (Ala), Phg, and phenylalanine (Phe)); ii) guest A presents an additional alcohol function (serine (Ser), Thr, and AThr); and iii) guest A contains several additional functionalities on its aromatic ring (tyrosine (Tyr), TyrOMe, Trp, and 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (DOPA)). Each category exhibits a specific enantioselectivity depending upon the predominant [1(L)HA]+ structures and the orientation of the 2-aminobutane reactant in the relevant adducts observed. The results may contribute to the understanding of the exceptional selectivity and catalytic properties of enzyme mimics towards unsolvated biomolecules.

Structural relationships in small molecule interactions governing gas-phase enantioselectivity and zwitterionic formation

Gas-phase zwitterionic amino acids were formed in complexes of underivatized beta-cyclodextrin through reactions with a neutral base, n-propylamine. The reaction was performed in the analyzer cell of an electrospray ionization-Fourier transform mass spectrometer. Most of the natural amino acids were studied with three cyclodextrin hosts including alpha-, beta-, and gamma-cyclodextrin to understand better the structural features that lead to the stabilization of the zwitterionic complexes. Molecular dynamics calculations were performed to provide insight into the structural features of the complexes. The rate constants of the reactions were obtained through kinetic plots. Examination of both L- and D-enantiomers of the amino acid showed that the reaction was enantioselective. The reaction was then employed to analyze mixtures of Glu enantiomers naturally occurring in the bacteria Bacillus licheniformis.

Chiral clusters in a supersonic beam: R2PI-TOF spectroscopy of diastereomeric carboxylic esters/(R)-(+)-1-phenyl-1-propanol complexes

Wavelength and mass resolved resonance-enhanced two photon ionization (R2PI) excitation spectra of (R)-(+)-1-phenyl-1-propanol (P(R)) and its complexes with some chiral esters, i.e. methyl lactates (L(R) and L(S)), methyl 3-hydroxybutyrates (H(R) and H(S)), and methyl 2-chloropropionates (C(R) and C(S)), have been recorded after a supersonic molecular beam expansion and interpreted in the light of DFT calculations. The spectral features of the selected complexes were found to depend on the nature of hydrogen-bond interactions within the diasteromeric complexes, whose intensity in turn depends upon the structure and the configuration of the estereal moiety. The study further confirms resonant two-photon ionization spectroscopy, coupled with time-of-flight mass resolution (R2PI-TOF), as an excellent tool for gathering valuable information on the interactive forces in molecular clusters and for the enantiodiscrimination of chiral molecules in the gas phase.