Determination of the linkages of disaccharides containing a 2-acetamido-2-deoxy sugar unit by solvent effects in circular dichroism

Circular dichroism of the O-specific polysaccharide of Vibrio cholerae O1 and some related derivatives

The O-specific polysaccharide (O-SP) of Vibrio cholerae O1 is a homopolymer of alpha-(1 --> 2)-linked 4-amino-4, 6-dideoxy-D-mannopyranose whose amino group is acylated with 3-deoxy-L-glycero-tetronic acid [N-(3-deoxy-L-glycero- tetronyl)-alpha-D-perosamine]. The circular dichroism (CD) of the O-SP as well as of a number of N-acyl (formyl, acetyl, 4-hydroxybutyl, 3-deoxy-L-and D-glycero-tetronyl) derivatives of methyl alpha-glycosides of 4-amino-4,6-dideoxy-D-mannopyranose (methyl alpha-D-perosaminide) has been studied for solutions in water, acetonitrile and 1,1,1-trifluoroethanol. The strong solvent dependence of the sign and intensity of the CD observed for the monosaccharide amides bearing achiral acyl groups is explained by solvent-mediated change of the orientation of the amido group relative to the proximal hydroxyl group at C-3. A change in the population of the nonplanar conformers with a pyramidal arrangement of bonds at the amido nitrogen has also been considered. The effect of solvents upon the CD spectra of compounds bearing chiral N-acyl substituents is less pronounced than that of their counterparts bearing achiral N-acyl substituents. The sign of the CD for the O-SP was found negative in all solvents used. This result is in agreement with the negative sign of the CD of the n --> pi electron transition observed, independent of the solvent, for the monosaccharide derivative containing the L-glycero-3-deoxytetronamido group, and the positive sign found for its D-glycero-counterpart.

Antifreeze glycoprotein. Conformational model based on vacuum ultraviolet circular dichroism data

Circular dichroism spectra (CD) of an active fraction of antifreeze glycoprotein (AFGP) and of a lower molecular weight fraction which is less active are found to be similar in the wavelength range 170-230 nm. The contribution of the disaccharide side chain chromophores to the CD spectra of the glycoprotein is estimated from spectra of model oligosaccharides having similar structures. Comparison of the CD spectra of the peptide portion of AFGP to those of established model polypeptides suggests a 3-fold left-handed helix of the collagen type as the most likely conformation of the peptide. In the proposed model, the disaccharide moieties attached to every third residue are in identical environments. Furthermore, proline residues which are found in the less active fraction can be accommodated in this helical structure, consistent with the observed similarity of the spectra of the two fractions.