Density functional study of the 5-methylcytosine tautomers

Raman spectroscopy and quantum-mechanical analysis of tautomeric forms in cytosine and 5-methylcytosine on gold surfaces

Spectral differences between cytosine (Cyt) and 5-methylcytosine (5MC) were investigated by means of Raman spectroscopy with a combination of density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) revealed discriminating peaks of 5MC from those of Cyt upon adsorption on gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). Among the notable features, the multiple bands between 850 and 700cm^-1 for the ring-breathing modes of 5MC and Cyt could be correlated well with the simulated spectra based on the DFT calculations of the adsorbates on the gold cluster atoms. The relative energetic stabilities of the enol/keto and the amino/imino tautomeric forms of Cyt and 5MC have been estimated using DFT calculations, before and after binding six atom gold clusters. Among the six tautomeric forms, the 7H keto amino and the 4H imino trans forms are expected to be predominant in binding gold atoms, whereas the enol trans/cis conformers would coexist in the free gas phase. Our approach may provide useful theoretical guidelines for identifying 5MC from Cyt by analyzing Raman spectra on gold surfaces on the basis of quantum-mechanical calculations.

A complete vibrational study on a potential environmental toxicant agent, the 3,3',4,4'-tetrachloroazobenzene combining the FTIR, FTRaman, UV-Visible and NMR spectroscopies with DFT calculations

In this study 3,3',4,4'-tetrachloroazobenzene (TCAB) was prepared and then characterized by infrared, Raman, multidimensional nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and ultraviolet-visible spectroscopies. The density functional theory (DFT) together with the 6-31G(*) and 6-311++G(**) basis sets were used to study the structures and vibrational properties of the two cis and trans isomers of TCAB. The harmonic vibrational wavenumbers for the optimized geometries were calculated at the same theory levels. A complete assignment of all the observed bands in the vibrational spectra of TCAB was performed combining the DFT calculations with the scaled quantum mechanical force field (SQMFF) methodology. The molecular electrostatic potentials, atomic charges, bond orders and frontier orbitals for the two isomers of TCAB were compared and analyzed. The comparison of the theoretical ultraviolet-visible spectrum with the corresponding experimental demonstrates a good concordance while the calculated (1)H and (13)C chemicals shifts are in good conformity with the corresponding experimental NMR spectra of TCAB in solution. The npp(*) transitions for both forms were studied by natural bond orbital (NBO) while the topological properties were calculated by employing Bader's Atoms in the Molecules (AIM) theory. This study shows that the cis and trans isomers exhibit different structural and vibrational properties and absorption bands.

Synthesis, crystal structure, conformational and vibrational properties of 6-acetyl-2,2-dimethyl-chromane

The 6-acetyl-2,2-dimethyl-chromane compound was synthesized and characterized by IR, Raman, UV-Visible and (1)H NMR spectroscopies. Its solid state structure was determined by X-ray diffraction methods. The substance crystallizes in the triclinic P-1 space group with a=5.9622(5) Å, b=10.342(1) Å, c=10.464(1) Å, α=63.81(1)°, β=81.923(9)°, γ=82.645(9)°, and Z=2 molecules per unit cell. Due to extended π-bonding delocalization a substantial skeletal fragment of the molecule is planar. The vibrational modes were calculated at B3LYP/6-31G(d,p) level and all of them assigned in the IR and Raman spectra. The DFT calculated (1)H NMR spectrum (chemical shifts) were in good agreement with the experimental data. The electronic (UV-Visible) spectrum was calculated using TD-DFT method in gas phase and it was correlated with the experimental data. The assignment and analysis of the frontier HOMO and LUMO orbitals indicate that the absorption bands are mainly originated from π→π(*) transitions. According to DSC measurements the substance presents a melting point of 93°C and decomposes at temperatures higher than 196°C.

Molecular structure of 4-hidroxy-3-(3-methyl-2-butenyl) acetophenone, a plant antifungal, by X-ray diffraction, DFT calculation, and NMR and FTIR spectroscopy

The molecular structure of two mixed and closely related conformers of the title compound, C13H16O2, found in the solid with unequal occupancies has been determined by X-ray diffraction methods. The substance crystallizes in the monoclinic Pca2(1) space group with a=17.279(2), b=5.1716(7), c=12.549(2)Å, and Z=4 molecules per unit cell. The structure was solved from 1314 reflections with I>2σI and refined to an agreement R1-factor of 0.049. The minor conformer (34.7%) is nearly mirror-related to and extensively overlapped with the major one. The skeleton of the 4-hydroxyacetophenone molecular fragment and the prenyl group, (CH2)(CH)C(CH3)2, pendant arm attached to it are both planar and perpendicular to each other. A strong intermolecular O-H⋯O bond links neighboring molecules in the lattice to produce a polymeric structure. The conformational structures of the compound in the gas phase have been calculated by the DFT method and the geometrical results have been compared with the X-ray data. These data allow a complete assignment of vibration modes in the solid state FTIR and Raman spectra. The calculated 1H and 13C chemicals shifts are in good agreement with the corresponding experimental NMR spectra of the compound in solution.

Structural study, coordinated normal analysis and vibrational spectra of 4-hydroxy-3-(3-methyl-2-butenyl)acetophenone

Structural and vibrational properties of 4-hydroxy-3-(3-methyl-2-butenyl)acetophenone, isolated from Senecio nutans Sch. Bip. (Asteraceae) were studied by infrared and Raman spectroscopies in solid phase. The Density Functional Theory (DFT) method together with Pople's basis set show seven stable conformers for the compound in the gas phase and that only two conformations are probably present in the solid phase. The harmonic vibrational wavenumbers for the optimized geometry were calculated at B3LYP/6-31G and B3LYP/6-311++G levels. For a complete assignment of the vibrational spectra, DFT calculations were combined with Pulay´s Scaled Quantum Mechanics Force Field (SQMFF) methodology in order to fit the theoretical wavenumber values to the experimental ones. Then, a complete assignment of all the observed bands in the vibrational spectra was performed. The natural bond orbital (NBO) study reveals the characteristics of the electronic delocalization of the two stable structures, while the corresponding topological properties of electronic charge density were analyzed by employing Bader's Atoms in the Molecules theory (AIM).

An experimental and theoretical study of L-Tryptophan in an aqueous solution, combining two-layered ONIOM and SCRF calculations

ONIOM and SCRF calculations were performed to study the most stable theoretical structure of L-tryptophan in an aqueous solution phase and to observe the changes occurring in the structural and vibrational properties of L-tryptophan in the aqueous media. L-Tryptophan was characterized by infrared and Raman spectroscopies in the solid state and as an aqueous solution. Optimized geometries and relative stabilities for the L-tryptophan zwitterion were calculated while taking into account solvent effects using the self-consistent reaction field (SCRF) theory. The obtained results in the aqueous solution were compared with those calculated for the zwitterion in the gas phase by means of two-layered ONIOM calculations. For the complete assignments of the IR and Raman spectra of L-tryptophan in the aqueous solution phase, density functional theory (DFT) calculations were combined with Pulay's scaled quantum mechanical force field (SQMFF) methodology in order to fit the theoretical wavenumber values to the experimental values. Additionally, the roles of specific and bulk contributions from solvent effects on the properties of l-tryptophan were analyzed. Furthermore, bands corresponding to the normal modes of vibration were localized and assigned, and they served as the bases for the calculations of the corresponding force constants. Significant effects on the geometrical and vibrational frequencies were found for the studied zwitterion.

Structural analysis, vibrational spectra and coordinated normal of 2R-(-)-6-hydroxytremetone

We have studied and characterized the structural and vibrational properties of 2R-(-)-6-hydroxytremetone, isolated from Xenophyllum poposum (Phil.) by infrared and Raman spectroscopy in the solid phase. The density functional theory (DFT) method together with Pople's basis set show that two stable molecules for the compound have been theoretically determined in the gas phase and that both conformations are present in the solid phase, as was experimentally observed. The harmonic vibrational wavenumbers for the optimized geometry were calculated at B3LYP/6-31G*and B3LYP/6-311++G** levels. For a complete assignment of the vibrational spectra, DFT calculations were combined with Pulay's Scaled Quantum Mechanics Force Field (SQMFF) methodology in order to fit the theoretical wavenumber values to the experimental ones. Then, a complete assignment of all the observed bands in the infrared spectrum for the compound was performed. The natural bond orbital (NBO) study reveals the characteristics of the electronic delocalization of the two structures, while the corresponding topological properties of electronic charge density are analyzed by employing Bader's Atoms in the Molecules theory (AIM).

DNA binding by pixantrone

The binding of the anticancer drug pixantrone (6,9-bis[(2-aminoethyl)amino]benzo[g]isoquinoline-5,10-dione dimaleate) to the octanucleotide duplexes d(ACGATCGT)(2) and the corresponding C-5 methylated cytosine ((5Me)C) analogue d(A(5Me)CGAT(5Me)CGT)(2) has been studied by NMR spectroscopy and molecular modelling. The large upfield shifts observed for the resonances from the aromatic protons of pixantrone upon addition to either d(ACGATCGT)(2) or the corresponding (5Me)C analogue is consistent with the drug binding the octanucleotides by intercalation. The selective reduction in the sequential NOEs between the C(2)-G(3) and C(6)-G(7) nucleotides in NOESY spectra of either octanucleotide with added pixantrone confirms the intercalative binding mechanism. Strong NOEs from the side-chain ethylene protons of pixantrone to the H5 protons and the 5-CH(3) protons of the C(2) and C(6) residues of d(ACGATCGT)(2) and d(A(5Me)CGAT(5Me)CGT)(2), respectively, indicate that pixantrone predominantly intercalates from the DNA major groove at the 5'-CG and 5'-(5Me)CG sites. Simple molecular models based on the conclusions from the NMR experiments indicated that the (5Me)C groups do not represent a steric barrier to intercalation from the major groove. However, the observation of weak NOEs from the ethylene protons of pixantrone to a variety of minor groove protons from either octanucleotide suggests that the drug can also associate in the minor groove.

The sodium ion affinities of cytosine and its methylated derivatives

The sodium ion affinities of cytosine (Cyt), 5-methylcytosine (5MeCyt) and 1-methylcytosine (1MeCyt) have been determined by experimental and quantum chemical methods. Na(+)-bound heterodimers were produced carrying one cytosine or methylated cytosine ligand (designated as C) and one peptide or amino acid reference base (designated as Pep); the Pep molecules included the peptides GlyLeu, GlyPhe, SerGly, and PheGly, and the amino acid His. The dissociation kinetics of these C--Na(+)--Pep ions were determined by collisionally activated dissociation (CAD) and converted to relative and absolute Na(+) affinities via kinetic method approaches. Relative Na(+) affinities increase in the order (kJ/mol): GlyLeu (0) < Cyt (3) < GlyPhe (4) < SerGly (6) < 5MeCyt (8) < PheGly (11) < 1MeCyt (13) < His (17). Anchoring the relative values of the nucleobases to the absolute affinities of the reference bases leads to absolute Na(+) affinities of 214 +/- 8, 219 +/- 8, and 224 +/- 8 kJ/mol for Cyt, 5MeCyt, and 1MeCyt, respectively. Ab initio calculations were used to confirm these results. The computed affinities of Cyt (213 kJ/mol) and 1MeCyt (217 kJ/mol) are in very good agreement with the experiments. These values unambiguously correspond to Na(+) complexes with the keto form of cytosine and its methyl derivatives. Ab initio calculations on tautomerization mechanisms in the gas versus condensed phase are used to discuss why the sodiated keto isomers were formed in the present electrospray ionization (ESI) experiments, but the enol isomers in previous fast atom bombardment (FAB) experiments.

Comprehensive study of the effects of methylation on tautomeric equilibria of nucleic acid bases

Minor tautomers of nucleic acid bases can result by intramolecular proton transfer. These rare tautomers could be stabilized through the addition of methyl groups to DNA bases. A comprehensive theoretical study of tautomers of methylated derivatives of guanine, adenine, cytosine, thymine, and uracil was performed. Molecular geometries of all tautomers were obtained at the density functional theory and MP2 levels with the 6-31G(d,p) basis set, and single-point calculations were performed at the CCSD(T)/6-311G(d,p) level. Tautomers obtained by protonation at the preferred protonation site for methylated isolated bases were compared to their nonmethylated counterparts. The effects of methylation on the relative stabilities of nucleic acid base tautomers are also studied and discussed in this work. The results suggest that some sites on the bases may not be mutagenic and may even stabilize the canonical Watson-Crick form. The results also indicate that a number of methylation sites can stabilize the tautomers, suggesting possible mechanisms for mutagenic changes.