DFT study of the structure of hydroxybenzoic acids and their reactions with OH and radicals

Theoretical study on the radical scavenging activity of gallic acid

The global descriptors of the chemical activity: ionization potential IP, electron affinity EA, chemical potential μ, absolute electronegativity χ, molecular hardness η and softness S, electrophilicity index ω, electro-donating ω^-, electro-accepting ω⁺ powers as well as Ra and Rd indexes for gallic acid (GA) in the gas phase and water medium have been determined. To this aim, the HOMO and LUMO energies were calculated using the DFT method at the B3LYP, M06-2X, LC-ωPBE, BHandLYP, ωB97XD/cc-pVQZ theory levels using C-PCM, IEF-PCM and SMD solvation models, enabling more accurate descriptor calculations than those carried out so far. Quantum-chemical computations were also applied to investigate the GA structure and thermodynamic parameters characterizing its radical scavenging properties. To this aim, the full optimization of the neutral GA and its radical, cationic and anionic forms in vacuum and water medium has been performed, and then the bond dissociation enthalpy BDE, adiabatic ionization potential AIP, proton dissociation enthalpy PDE, proton affinity PA, electron transfer enthalpy ETE, gas phase acidity H_acidity and free Gibbs acidity G_acidity in water have been determined. The calculations revealed that GA in vacuum scavenges free radicals via hydrogen atom transfer (HAT), whereas in water (polar) medium by sequential proton loss electron transfer (SPLET). Analysis of the global activity descriptors of GA indicates that only B3LYP method combined with different solvation models satisfactory reproduces LUMO-HOMO energies and provides the smallest value of the total electron energy of GA. Among the parameters of chemical activity, the indexes Ra and Rd are the most independent of the computational method and the solvation model used. They can be recommended as a reliable source of information on the antioxidant activity of chemical compounds.

Radical Scavenging Activity and Pharmacokinetic Properties of Coumarin-Hydroxybenzohydrazide Hybrids

Free radicals often interact with vital proteins, violating their structure and inhibiting their activity. In previous studies, synthesis, characterisation, and the antioxidative properties of the five different coumarin derivatives have been investigated. In the tests of potential toxicity, all compounds exhibited low toxicity with significant antioxidative potential at the same time. In this paper, the radical scavenging activity of the abovementioned coumarin derivatives towards ten different radical species was investigated. It was found that all investigated compounds show good radical scavenging ability, with results that are in correlation with the results published in the previous study. Three additional mechanisms of radical scavenging activity were investigated. It was found that all three mechanisms are thermodynamically plausible and in competition. Interestingly, it was found that products of the Double Hydrogen Atom Transfer (DHAT) mechanism, a biradical species in triplet spin state, are in some cases more stable than singlet spin state analogues. This unexpected trend can be explained by spin delocalisation over the hydrazide bridge and phenolic part of the molecule with a low probability of spin pairing. Besides radical-scavenging activity, the pharmacokinetic and drug-likeness of the coumarin hybrids were investigated. It was found that they exhibit good membrane and skin permeability and potential interactions with P-450 enzymes. Furthermore, it was found that investigated compounds satisfy all criteria of the drug-likeness tests, suggesting they possess a good preference for being used as potential drugs.

Characterization of a CholesteroNitrone (ISQ-201), a Novel Drug Candidate for the Treatment of Ischemic Stroke

Nitrones have a well-recognized capacity as spin-traps and are considered powerful free radical scavengers, which are two important issues in hypoxia-induced oxidative stress and cell death in brain ischemia. Consequently, nitrones have been proposed as therapeutic agents in acute ischemic stroke (AIS). In this paper, we update the biological and pharmacological characterization of ISQ-201, a previously identified cholesteronitrone hybrid with antioxidant and neuroprotective activity. This study characterizes ISQ-201 as a neuroprotective agent against the hypoxia-induced ischemic injury. Transitory four-vessel occlusion and middle cerebral artery occlusion (tMCAO) were used to induce cerebral ischemia. Functional outcomes were determined using neurofunctional tests. Infarct area, neuronal death, and apoptosis induction were evaluated. In addition, ISQ-201 reactivity towards free radicals was studied in a theoretical model. ISQ-201 significantly decreased the ischemia-induced neuronal death and apoptosis, in a dose-dependent manner, showing its therapeutic effect when administered up until 6 h after post-ischemic reperfusion onset, effects that remained after 3 months from the ischemic episode. Furthermore, ISQ-201 significantly reduced infarct volume, leading to recovery of the motor function in the tMCAO model. Finally, the theoretical study confirmed the reactivity of ISQ-201 towards hydroxyl radicals. The results reported here prompted us to suggest ISQ-201 as a promising candidate for the treatment of AIS.

A combined experimental and theoretical analysis on molecular structure and vibrational spectra of 2,4-dihydroxybenzoic acid

The FT-IR and FT-Raman spectra of 2,4-dihydroxybenzoic acid (2,4-DHBA) in the solid phase have been recorded in the regions 4000-400 cm(-1) and 3700-100 cm(-1), respectively. The total energies of sixteen stable conformers for 2,4-DHBA have been calculated by density functional theory (DFT) using the B3LYP method with 6-311++G (d, p) basis set, and the C1 conformer with the lowest energy was obtained, the geometrical parameters between X-ray experiment diffraction and DFT calculation show good consistency. Furthermore, the vibrational frequencies of 2,4-DHBA were computed, and the detailed analysis of vibrational spectra was made on the basis of the potential energy distribution (PED) by combining experimental with theoretical data. In addition, frontier molecular orbitals, atomic charge distribution and molecular electrostatic potential (MEP) were also given.

DFT study of the effect of solvent on the H-atom transfer involved in the scavenging of the free radicals (·)HO2 and (·)O2(-) by caffeic acid phenethyl ester and some of its derivatives

H-atom transfer from caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE), MBC (3-methyl-2-butenyl caffeate), BC (benzoic caffeate), P3HC (phenethyl-3-hydroxycinnamate), and P4HC (phenethyl-4-hydroxycinnamate) to the selected free radicals (·)HO2 and (·)O2(-) was studied. Such a transfer can proceed in three different ways: concerted proton-coupled electron transfer (CPCET), electron transfer followed by proton transfer (ET-PT), and proton transfer followed by electron transfer (PT-ET). The latter pathway is sometimes competitive with SPLET (sequential proton loss electron transfer) in polar media. Analyzing the thermodynamic descriptors of the reactions of CAPE and its derivatives with co-reactive species-in particular, the free energies of reactions, the activation barrier to the CPCET mechanism, and their rate constants-appears to be the most realistic method of investigating the H-atom transfers of interest. These analyses were performed via DFT calculations, which agree well with the data acquired from experimental studies (IC50) and from CBS calculations. The CPCM solvation model was used throughout the work, while the SMD model-employed as a reference-was used only for CAPE. The main conclusion drawn from the analysis was that SPLET is the mechanism that governs the reaction of phenolic acids with (·)HO2, while PT-ET governs the reaction of phenols with (·)O2(-). In kinetic investigations of the CPCET process, the rate constant decreases as the solvent polarity increases, so the reaction velocity slows down.

Electrochemical and spectroscopic characteristics of p-acryloyloxybenzoyl chloride and p-acryloyloxybenzoic acid and antimicrobial activity of organic compounds

The purpose of this multidisciplinary work is to characterize title compounds, p-acryloyloxybenzoyl chloride (ABC) and p-acryloyloxybenzoic acid (ABA) by means of experimental and theoretical evidences. As experimental research, Fourier transformation-infrared spectra (in the region 400-4000 cm(-1)) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) chemical shifts (with a frequency of 400 MHz) are examined for spectroscopic properties belonging to the new synthesized compounds. Moreover, the compounds are investigated for antimicrobial activity against various microorganisms (Gram-positive and Gram-negative) by means of the visual inhibition zone technique on the agar media. The experimental results observed indicate that ABA exhibits more powerful inhibitors of microorganisms due to the presence of the hydroxyl group leading to higher reactive system, one of the most striking features of the paper. As for the theoretical studies, the optimized molecular structures, vibrational frequencies, corresponding vibrational spectra interpreted with the aid of normal coordinate analysis based on scaled density functional force field, atomic charges, thermodynamic properties at different temperature, 1H NMR chemical shifts by way of density functional theory (DFT) with the standard (B3LYP) methods at 6-311G++(d,p) basis set combination for the first time. According to findings, the 1H NMR chemical shifts and vibrational frequencies are obtained to be in good agreement with the suitable experimental results. Thus, it would be more precise to say that the calculation level chosen is powerful approach for understanding in the identification of the molecules investigated. At the same time, we determine the electrochemical characteristics belonging to the samples via the simulation of translation energy (HOMO-LUMO), molecular electrostatic potential (MEP) and electrostatic potential (ESP) investigations. It is observed that the strong intra-molecular charge transfer (ICT) appears between the donor and acceptor in the both compounds (especially ABA) due to the existence of the strong electronic donating groups and effective π-π* conjugated segments with high electronic donor ability for the electrophilic attack (intermolecular interactions).

Influence of different free radicals on scavenging potency of gallic acid

The M05-2X/6-311++G(d,p) and B3LYP-D2/6-311++G(d,p) models are used to evaluate scavenging potency of gallic acid. The hydrogen atom transfer (HAT), sequential proton loss electron transfer (SPLET), and single electron transfer followed by proton transfer (SET-PT) mechanisms of gallic acid with some radicals ((•)OO(-), (•)OH, and CH3OO(•)) were investigated using the corresponding thermodynamic quantities: bond dissociation enthalpy (BDE), ionization potential (IP), and proton affinity (PA). Namely, the ΔHBDE, ΔHIP, and ΔHPA values of the corresponding reactions in some solvents (water, DMSO, pentylethanoate, and benzene) are investigated using an implicit solvation model (SMD). An approach based on the reactions enthalpies related to the examined mechanisms is applied. This approach shows that a thermodynamically favored mechanism depends on the polarity of reaction media and properties of free radical reactive species. The most acidic 4-OH group of gallic acid is the active site for radical inactivation. The results of this investigation indicate that the SPLET mechanism can be a favored reaction pathway for all three radicals in all solvents, except for (•)OH in the aqueous solution. In water, gallic acid can inactivate (•)OH by the HAT mechanism.

A DFT STUDY ON THE ROLE OF DIFFERENT OH GROUPS IN THE RADICAL SCAVENGING PROCESS

The molecular properties of robinetin and melanoxetin which are the two naturally occurring flavonoid compounds have been studied theoretically by means of density functional theory approach (DFT) at the level of B3LYP/6-311G(d,p). The analysis of computed bond dissociation enthalpy (BDE), proton dissociation enthalpy (PDE), proton affinity (PA), electron transfer enthalpy (ETE) values for both the flavonoid compounds indicate the role of B-ring for the significant antioxidant characteristics and the instability of the A-ring. It also concerns the dominant role of BDE mechanism for antioxidant activity than PDE, PA and ETE mechanisms. Ionization potential (IP) is also found to be trustworthy in the study of antioxidant activity and the computed IP magnitudes are in agreement with the values of synthetic food additives. Further, the various molecular descriptors along with the plot of frontier molecular orbitals and Mulliken spin population analysis have been obtained and the validity of Koopmans' theorem is also verified with reference to antioxidant behavior.

Antioxidant behavior of mearnsetin and myricetin flavonoid compounds--a DFT study

The molecular characteristics of two naturally occurring flavonoid compounds mearnsetin and myricetin have been computed using density functional theory (DFT) approach with B3LYP/6-311G(d,p) level of theory. The computation and analysis of bond dissociation enthalpy magnitudes for all the OH sites for both the compounds clearly denotes the contribution of the B-ring for the antioxidant activity. The analysis has also indicated the higher values of BDE on the C5-OH radical species in both the compounds. The computed vibrational frequency analysis indicates the absence of imaginary frequency in the neutral as well as radical species of both the flavonoid compounds. The ionisation potential (IP) analysis was found to be within the range of the IP of synthetic food additives. In addition, various molecular descriptors such as electron affinity, hardness, softness, electronegativity, electrophilic index have also been calculated and the validity of Koopman's theorem is verified. The plot of frontier molecular orbital and spin density distribution analysis for neutral and the corresponding radical species for both the compounds have been computed and interpreted. The polar nature and their polarizing capacity are well established through the analysis of dipole moment and polarisability magnitudes.

Theoretical and experimental investigation of the semiquinone forms of protocatechuic acid. The effect of manganese

Ten oxidized, oxygenated and dimeric forms of protocatechuic acid (PCA, 3,4-dihydroxybenzoic acid, 3,4-DHBA) have been studied using DFT calculations (at the B3LYP/TZVP level of theory) and their structural and spectroscopic parameters (electronic transitions, NMR resonances) have been calculated. Combination with experimental results (under anaerobic or aerobic environment) determines the conditions for the existence of protonated, fully deprotonate and/or oxygenated semiquinones of PCA. Several energy optimized conformers containing manganese-(PCA-semiquinones) and water or/and peroxo-groups have been drawn (species 11-16) and their structural and spectroscopic properties have been calculated at the same level of theory. Experimental parallel to the theoretical results provide evidence for the existence of Mn(II)- and Mn(III)-[PCA-semiquinone] as well the conditions of dioxygen activation. Two of the blue solids (17 and 18) isolated from these solutions, have been characterized. Elemental analyzes, TGA, IR and ESR spectra support the formulation Mn(2)(PCA)(2)(O(2))(OH)(2)(AcO)(ClO(4))(2)(H(2)O)(3) (17), and Mn(2)(PCA)(2)(O(2))(2)(OH)(2)(AcO)H(2)O (18). Their ESR spectra, in solution (blue solutions), are almost identical and indicative of Mn(IV) existence. From the whole investigation, the activation of dioxygen by the PCA, its relocation on manganese and the oxidation of the metal ion have been provided.