Selective Solvent Interactions in a Fluorous Reaction System

Preferential solvation of glucose and talose in water-acetonitrile mixtures: a molecular dynamics simulation study

We have investigated the preferential solvation of four carbohydrates, namely alpha- and beta-glucose and alpha- and beta-talose, in mixtures of water and acetonitrile. The structure of the solvation shell, obtained by means of molecular dynamics simulation, has been analyzed using radial and spatial distribution functions. In agreement with available experimental data, water is found to preferentially solvate the sugars. The micro-heterogeneity of the mixture, with clusters of hydrogen-bonded water molecules and clusters of dipole-dipole interacting acetonitrile molecules, favours the solvation of the carbohydrates by the water clusters. This, in turn, causes a stronger intermolecular NOE of the alkyl sugar protons with water than with acetonitrile.

Interactions of 2,2,2-trifluoroethanol with melittin

Melittin dissolved in 42% trifluoroethanol-water at pH 2 has been shown to be alpha-helical between residues 6 and 12 and between residues 13 and 25, with the two helical regions separated by a bend at the Leu13 residue. The inter-helix angle was found to be 154 +/- 3 degrees at 0 degrees C and 135 +/- 3 degrees at 25 degrees C. The dominant conformation of the peptide is thus similar to those observed by previous workers for the peptide in a variety of media. At 25 degrees C, intermolecular nuclear Overhauser effects arising from nuclear spin dipole-dipole interactions between melittin hydrogens and fluorines of the solvent are essentially those expected for a system that is homogeneous as regards concentration and translational diffusion of the peptide and fluoroalcohol components. However, at 0 degrees C, peptide-trifluoroethanol cross-relaxation terms are negative, a result consistent with the conclusion that fluoroalcohol molecules associate with the peptide for times (approximately 1 ns) that are long compared to the time of a typical peptide-fluoroalcohol diffusive encounter (approximately 0.2 ns). Such interactions may be responsible for the reduction of the translational diffusion coefficient of trifluoroethanol produced by dissolved peptides.

Interactions of trifluroethanol with the Trp-cage peptide

It has been suggested that aggregation of fluorinated alcohols in water solutions is involved with the abilities of these alcohols to provoke conformational changes in peptides and proteins. The extent of fluoroalcohol aggregation depends on the degree of fluorination: hexafluoroisopropanol (HFIP) is more extensively aggregated than is TFE. We previously described a study of the interactions of HFIP with the peptide Trp-cage and provided evidence for the formation of long-lived complexes between this fluoroalcohol and the peptide. In the present work, we have examined the interactions of the less-fluorinated TFE with Trp-cage, in order to probe the role of fluoroalcohol aggregation in the phenomena observed. Intermolecular (1)H{(19)F} nuclear Overhauser effects arising from interactions of TFE with the hydrogens of the peptide in a solution containing 42% TFE were determined at sample temperatures from 5 to 45 degrees C. It is shown that the folded state of the peptide under these conditions is essentially the same as that observed in water and in 30% HFIP-water. The observed peptide-solvent NOEs indicate formation of complexes of Trp-cage with TFE that persist for times of the order of 1 ns. The interactions leading to complexes with TFE are somewhat weaker than those involved in complex formation with HFIP. There are no indications that the aggregation of fluoroalcohol is a necessary concomitant of the interactions of TFE or HFIP with Trp-cage. Rather, the stronger and more long-lived interactions of HFIP with Trp-cage appear to be primarily the result of the greater hydrogen-bonding ability and hydrophobicity of this fluoroalcohol.

Interactions of Trifluoroethanol with [val5]angiotensin II

Intermolecular 1H{19F} NOE experiments have been used to explore the interactions of trifluoroethanol (TFE) with the octapeptide hormone [val5]angiotensin II at temperatures from 5 to 25 degrees C. Circular dichroism spectra indicate that 40% trifluoroethanol has an influence on the conformations of the peptide, probably leading to beta-structures. Diffusion experiments show that the mean hydrodynamic radius of the peptide in 40% trifluoroethanol-water is about 8 A, consistent with significant folding of the peptide in this medium. Distance constraints derived from intramolecular NOESY data along with observed vicinal coupling constants (3JCalphaHNH) were used to develop conformations consistent with available data. Assuming that intermolecular 1H{19F} NOEs are the result of diffusive encounters of TFE and peptide molecules, it is shown that no single conformation is consistent with the experimental values of the sigmaHF cross-relaxation parameters. It is argued that the disagreements between observed and expected values of sigmaHF are the result of formation of long-lived (approximately 0.5 ns) fluoroalcohol-peptide complexes, a conclusion consonant with similar studies of other peptide-fluoroalcohol systems. Complex formation appears to be especially prevalent near the charged amino acid side chains of the hormone.

Interactions of Hexafluoro-2-propanol with the Trp-Cage Peptide†

Fluoro alcohols present in aqueous solutions can alter the dominant conformations of peptides and proteins. The origins of these effects likely are related to the details of solute-fluoro alcohol interactions. Preferential interaction of the fluoro alcohol component of a fluoro alcohol-water mixture with peptide solutes has been demonstrated by several experimental approaches. In the present work, we have used 1H{19F} intermolecular NOE experiments to examine interactions of hexafluoro-2-propanol in a 30% fluoro alcohol-50 mM phosphate buffer solvent mixture with the "Trp-cage" peptide (NLY IQW LKD GGP SSG RPP PS). The results show that the peptide is selectively solvated by hexafluoro-2-propanol to the extent that the fluoro alcohol concentration near the peptide may be 3 to 4 times higher than the nominal concentration of fluoro alcohol in the bulk sample. The observed NOEs indicate that peptide-fluoro alcohol interactions persist for times of the order of 1 ns at 5 degrees C. As the sample temperature is increased, the lifetimes of fluoro alcohol interactions with several exposed side chains decrease to the extent that the peptide hydrogen-solvent fluorine interactions appear to become diffusive in nature, with interaction lifetimes of approximately 0.03 ns. It is known that protein molecules can provide specific sites for binding small organic solvent molecules. Our work suggests that small peptides also have this ability and that the dynamics for such interactions can be site-specific.

Solute-solvent contact by intermolecular cross relaxation. I. The nature of the water-hydrophobic interface

Intermolecular cross-relaxation rates between solute and solvent were measured by {1H} 19F nuclear magnetic resonance experiments in aqueous molecular solutions of ammonium perfluoro-octanoate and sodium trifluoroacetate. The experiments performed at three different magnetic fields provide frequency-dependent cross-relaxation rates which demonstrate clearly the lack of extreme narrowing for nuclear spin relaxation by diffusionally modulated intermolecular interactions. Supplemented by suitable intramolecular cross-relaxation, longitudinal relaxation, and self-diffusion data, the obtained cross-relaxation rates are evaluated within the framework of recent relaxation models and provide information about the hydrophobic hydration. In particular, water dynamics around the trifluoromethyl group in ammonium perfluoro-octanoate are more retarded than that in the smaller trifluoroacetate.

Interactions of TrimethylamineN−Oxide and Water withcyclo-Alanylglycine

The osmolyte trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) is one of a family of compounds found in living systems that can stabilize biomolecular tertiary structures. As a step in exploring the interactions between this material and polyamino acids, we have determined intermolecular 1H{1H} nuclear Overhauser effects (NOEs) between the protons of cyclo-alanylglycine and protons of solvent components in TMAO-water solutions. Comparison of the results to effects predicted on the basis of the molecular shape of the dipeptide and experimental translational diffusion coefficients suggests that both water and TMAO molecules have properties in the vicinity of the dipeptide that are different from those in the bulk solution. Changes of local concentrations of water and TMAO and changes in the diffusive behavior of these components near the dipeptide are rejected as possible explanations of the discrepancies between observed and calculated Overhauser effects. Rather, it is concluded that TMAO molecules, and the water molecules associated with them, participate to some extent in the formation of long-lived solute-solvent complexes. The aliphatic alcohol tert-butyl alcohol is structurally similar to TMAO. Overhauser effect studies of its interaction with cyclo-alanylglycine in tert-butyl alcohol-water suggest similar kinds of interactions are present in this system but that they are significantly weaker, presumably because of the lower polarity of this alcohol compared to TMAO.