Reinvestigation of the Reaction of Ethylene and Singlet Oxygen by the Approximate Spin Projection Method. Comparison with Multireference Coupled-Cluster Calculations

Nitrosation mechanisms, kinetics, and dynamics of the guanine and 9-methylguanine radical cations by nitric oxide-Radical-radical combination at different electron configurations

As a precursor to various reactive nitrogen species formed in biological systems, nitric oxide (•NO) participates in numerous processes, including enhancing DNA radiosensitivity in ionizing radiation-based radiotherapy. Forming guanine radical cations is another common DNA lesion resulting from ionization and oxidation damage. As such, the interaction of •NO with guanine radical cations (G•+) may contribute to the radiosensitization of •NO. An intriguing aspect of this process is the participation of multiple spin configurations in the reaction, including open-shell singlet 1,OS[G•+(↑)⋯(↓)•NO], closed-shell singlet 1,CS[G(↑↓)⋯NO+], and triplet 3[G•+(↑)⋯(↑)•NO]. In this study, the reactions of •NO with both unsubstituted guanine radical cations (in the 9HG•+ conformation) and 9-methylguanine radical cations (9MG•+, a guanosine-mimicking model compound) were investigated in the absence and presence of monohydration of radical cations. Kinetic-energy dependent reaction product ions and cross sections were measured using an electrospray ionization guided-ion beam tandem mass spectrometer. The reaction mechanisms, kinetics, and dynamics were comprehended by interpreting the reaction potential energy surface using spin-projected density functional theory, coupled cluster theory, and multiconfiguration complete active space second-order perturbation theory, followed by RRKM kinetics modeling. The combined experimental and computational findings revealed closed-shell singlet 1,CS[7-NO-9MG]+ as the major, exothermic product and triplet 3[8-NO-9MG]+ as the minor, endothermic product. Singlet biradical products were not detected due to high reaction endothermicities, activation barriers, and inherent instability.

Bimolecular versus Trimolecular Reaction Pathways for H2O2 with Hypochlorous Species and Implications for Wastewater Reclamation

The benchmark advanced oxidation technology (AOT) that uses UV/H2O2 integrated with hypochlorous species exhibits great potential in removing micropollutants and enhancing wastewater treatability for reclamation purposes. Although efforts have been made to study the reactions of H2O2 with hypochlorous species, there exist great discrepancies in the order of reaction kinetics, the rate constants, and the molecule-level mechanisms. This results in an excessive use of hypochlorous reagents and system underperformance during treatment processes. Herein, the titled reaction was investigated systematically through complementary experimental and theoretical approaches. Stopped-flow spectroscopic measurements revealed a combination of bi- and trimolecular reaction kinetics. The bimolecular pathway dominates at low H2O2 concentrations, while the trimolecular pathway dominates at high H2O2 concentrations. Both reactions were simulated using direct dynamics trajectories, and the pathways identified in the trajectories were further validated by high-level quantum chemistry calculations. The theoretical results not only supported the spectroscopic data but also elucidated the molecule-level mechanisms and helped to address the origin of the discrepancies. In addition, the impact of the environmental matrix was evaluated by using two waters with discrete characteristics, namely municipal wastewater and ammonium-rich wastewater. Municipal wastewater had a negligible matrix effect on the reaction kinetics of H2O2 and the hypochlorous species, making it a highly suitable candidate for this integration technique. The obtained in-depth reaction mechanistic insights will enable the development of a viable and economical technology for safe water reuse.

Model calculations for the prediction of the diradical character of physisorbed molecules: p-benzyne/MgO and p-benzyne/SrO

The analysis of the diradical state of functional open-shell molecules is important for understanding their physical properties and chemical reactivity. The diradical character is an important factor in the functional elucidation and design of open-shell molecules. In recent years, attempts have been made to immobilise functional open-shell molecules on surfaces to form devices. However, the influence of surface interactions on the diradical state remains unclear. In this study, the physisorption structures of p-benzyne, which is a typical diradical molecule, on MgO(001) and SrO(001) surfaces are used as models to investigate how the diradical character is affected by physisorption. This is done using approximate spin-projected density functional theory calculations with dispersion correction and plane-wave basis (AP-DFT-D3/plane-wave calculations). The diradical character change (Δy) due to adsorption can be categorised into three factors, namely the change due to the distortion of the diradical molecule (Δydis), the interaction between neighbouring diradical molecules (Δycoh), and molecule-surface interactions (Δysurf). In all the calculated models, physisorption reduced the diradical character (Δy < 0), and the contribution of Δysurf was the largest among the three factors. The calculated results show that adsorption induces electron delocalisation to π-conjugated orbitals and intramolecular charge polarisation, both of which contribute to reducing the occupancy of singly occupied molecular orbitals. This indicates that the diradical character of p-benzyne is reduced by the stabilisation of the resonance structures. Furthermore, geometry optimisation of the surfaces shows that the chemical-soft surface (SrO) varies the diradical character more significantly than the chemical-hard surface (MgO). This study shows that the open-shell electronic state and stack structure of diradical molecules can be controlled through the analysis of the surface diradical state.

Spin-orbit charge transfer from guanine and 9-methylguanine radical cations to nitric oxide radicals and the induced triplet-to-singlet intersystem crossing

Nitric oxide (●NO) participates in many biological activities, including enhancing DNA radiosensitivity in ionizing radiation-based radiotherapy. To help understand the radiosensitization of ●NO, we report reaction dynamics between ●NO and the radical cations of guanine (a 9HG●+ conformer) and 9-methylguanine (9MG●+). On the basis of the formation of 9HG●+ and 9MG●+ in the gas phase and the collisions of the radical cations with ●NO in a guided-ion beam mass spectrometer, the charge transfer reactions of 9HG●+ and 9MG●+ with ●NO were examined. For both reactions, the kinetic energy-dependent product ion cross sections revealed a threshold energy that is 0.24 (or 0.37) eV above the 0 K product 9HG (or 9MG) + NO+ asymptote. To interrogate this abnormal threshold behavior, the reaction potential energy surface for [9MG + NO]+ was mapped out at closed-shell singlet, open-shell singlet, and triplet states using density functional and coupled cluster theories. The results showed that the charge transfer reaction requires the interaction of a triplet-state surface originating from a reactant-like precursor complex 3[9MG●+(↑)⋅(↑)●NO] with a closed-shell singlet-state surface evolving from a charge-transferred complex 1[9MG⋅NO+]. During the reaction, an electron is transferred from π∗(NO) to perpendicular π∗(9MG), which introduces a change in orbital angular momentum. The latter offsets the change in electron spin angular momentum and facilitates intersystem crossing. The reaction threshold in excess of the 0 K thermochemistry and the low charge-transfer efficiency are rationalized by the vibrational excitation in the product ion NO+ and the kinetic shift arising from a long-lived triplet intermediate.

Spin-Forbidden Addition of Molecular Oxygen to Stable Enol Intermediates-Decarboxylation of 2-Methyl-1-tetralone-2-carboxylic Acid

The deprotonation of an organic substrate is a common preactivation step for the enzymatic cofactorless addition of O2 to this substrate, as it promotes charge-transfer between the two partners, inducing intersystem crossing between the triplet and singlet states involved in the process. Nevertheless, the spin-forbidden addition of O2 to uncharged ligands has also been observed in the laboratory, and the detailed mechanism of how the system circumvents the spin-forbiddenness of the reaction is still unknown. One of these examples is the cofactorless peroxidation of 2-methyl-3,4-dihydro-1-naphthol, which will be studied computationally using single and multi-reference electronic structure calculations. Our results show that the preferred mechanism is that in which O2 picks a proton from the substrate in the triplet state, and subsequently hops to the singlet state in which the product is stable. For this reaction, the formation of the radical pair is associated with a higher barrier than that associated with the intersystem crossing, even though the absence of the negative charge leads to relatively small values of the spin-orbit coupling.

Singlet O2 Oxidation of the Radical Cation versus the Dehydrogenated Neutral Radical of 9-Methylguanine in a Watson-Crick Base Pair. Consequences of Structural Context

In DNA, guanine is the most susceptible to oxidative damage by exogenously and endogenously produced electronically excited singlet oxygen (¹O₂). The reaction mechanism and the product outcome strongly depend on the nucleobase ionization state and structural context. Previously, exposure of a monomeric 9-methylguanine radical cation (9MG^•+, a model guanosine compound) to ¹O₂ was found to result in the formation of an 8-peroxide as the initial product. The present work explores the ¹O₂ oxidation of 9MG^•+ and its dehydrogenated neutral form [9MG - H]^• within a Watson-Crick base pair consisting of one-electron-oxidized 9-methylguanine-1-methylcytosine [9MG·1MC]^•+. Emphasis is placed on entangling the base pair structural context and intra-base pair proton transfer with and consequences thereof on the singlet oxygenation of guanine radical species. Electrospray ionization coupled with guided-ion beam tandem mass spectrometry was used to study the formation and reaction of guanine radical species in the gas phase. The ¹O₂ oxidation of both 9MG^•+ and [9MG - H]^• is exothermic and proceeds barrierlessly either in an isolated monomer or within a base pair. Single- and multi-referential theories were tested for treating spin contaminations and multi-configurations occurring in radical-¹O₂ interactions, and reaction potential energy surfaces were mapped out to support experimental findings. The work provides a comprehensive profile for the singlet oxygenation of guanine radicals in different charge states and in the absence and the presence of base pairing. All results point to an 8-peroxide as the major oxidation product in the experiment, and the oxidation becomes slightly more favorable in a neutral radical form. On the basis of a variety of reaction pathways and product profiles observed in the present and previous studies, the interplay between guanine structure, base pairing, and singlet oxygenation and its biological implications are discussed.

Singlet O2 Reactions with Radical Cations of 8-Bromoguanine and 8-Bromoguanosine: Guided-Ion Beam Mass Spectrometric Measurements and Theoretical Treatments

8-Bromoguanosine is generated in vivo as a biomarker for early inflammation. Its formation and secondary reactions lead to a variety of biological sequelae at inflammation sites, most of which are mutagenic and linked to cancer. Herein, we report the formation of radical cations of 8-bromoguanine (8BrG^•+) and 8-bromoguanosine (8BrGuo^•+) and their reactions toward the lowest excited singlet molecular oxygen (¹O₂)─a common reactive oxygen species generated in biological systems. This work aims to investigate synergistic, oxidatively generated damage of 8-brominated guanine and guanosine that may occur upon ionizing radiation, one-electron oxidation, and ¹O₂ oxidation. Capitalizing on measurements of reaction product ions and cross sections of 8BrG^•+ and 8BrGuo^•+ with ¹O₂ using guided-ion beam tandem mass spectrometry and augmented by computational modeling of the prototype reaction system, 8BrG^•+ + ¹O₂, using the approximately spin-projected ωB97XD/6-31+G(d,p) density functional theory, the coupled cluster DLPNO-CCSD(T)/aug-cc-pVTZ and the multireference CASPT2(21,15)/6-31G**, probable reaction products, and potential energy surfaces (PESs) were mapped out. 8BrG^•+ and 8BrGuo^•+ present similar exothermic oxidation products, and their reaction efficiencies with ¹O₂ increase with decreasing collision energy. Both single- and multireference theories predicted that the two most energetically favorable reaction pathways correspond to ¹O₂-addition to the C8 and C5-positions of 8BrG^•+, respectively. The CASPT2-calculated PES represents the best quantitative agreement with the experimental benchmark, in that the oxidation exothermicity is close to the water hydration energy of product ions and, thus, is able to eliminate a water ligand in the product ions.

Mechanistic Insight into the Reactivities of Aqueous-Phase Singlet Oxygen with Organic Compounds

Singlet oxygen (¹O₂) is a selective reactive oxygen species that plays a key role for the fate of various organic compounds in the aquatic environment under sunlight irradiation, engineered water oxidation systems, atmospheric water droplets, and biomedical systems. While the initial rate-determining charge-transfer reaction mechanisms and kinetics of ¹O₂ have been studied extensively, no comprehensive studies have been performed to elucidate the reaction mechanisms with organic compounds that have various functional groups. In this study, we use density functional theory calculations to determine elementary reaction mechanisms with a wide variety of organic compounds. The theoretically calculated aqueous-phase free energies of activation of single electron transfer and ¹O₂ addition reactions are compared to the experimentally determined rate constants in the literature to determine linear free-energy relationships. The theoretically calculated free energies of activation for the groups of phenolates and phenols show excellent correlations with the Hammett constants that accept electron densities by through-resonance. The dominant elementary reaction mechanism is discussed for each group of compounds. As a practical implication, we demonstrate the fate of environmentally relevant organic compounds induced by photochemically produced intermediate species at different pH and evaluate the impact of predicting rate constants to the half-life.

Spin-projected QM/MM Free Energy Simulations for Oxidation Reaction of Guanine in B-DNA by Singlet Oxygen

Guanine is the most susceptible base to oxidation damage induced by reactive oxygen species including singlet oxygen (1 O2 , 1 Δg ). We clarify whether the first step of guanine oxidation in B-DNA proceeds via either a zwitterionic or a diradical intermediate. The free energy profiles are calculated by means of a combined quantum mechanical and molecular mechanical (QM/MM) method coupled with the adaptive biasing force (ABF) method. To describe the open-shell electronic structure of 1 O2 correctly, the broken-symmetry spin-unrestricted density functional theory (BS-UDFT) with an approximate spin projection (AP) correction is applied to the QM region. We find that the effect of spin contamination on the activation and reaction free energies is up to ∼8 kcal mol-1 , which is too large to be neglected. The QM(AP-ULC-BLYP)/MM-based free energy calculations also reveal that the reaction proceeds through a diradical transition state, followed by a conversion to a zwitterionic intermediate. Our computed activation energy of 5.2 kcal mol-1 matches experimentally observed range (0∼6 kcal mol-1 ).

The reaction of O(3P) with alkynes: a dynamic and computational study focusing on formyl radical production

Production of formyl radical, HCO, from reactions of O(³P) with alkynes (acetylene, propyne, 1-butyne, and 1-pentyne) has been investigated using cavity ringdown laser absorption spectroscopy (CRDLAS) and computational methods. No HCO was detected from reaction with acetylene, while the amount of HCO increased for propyne and 1-butyne, dropping off somewhat for 1-pentyne. These results differ from trends previously observed for reactions of O(³P) with alkenes, which exhibit the largest HCO production for the smallest alkene and drop off as the alkene size increases. Computational studies employing density functional and coupled cluster methods have been employed to investigate the triplet and singlet state pathways for HCO production. Because intersystem crossing (ISC) has been shown to be important in these processes, the minimum energy crossing point (MECP) between the triplet and singlet surfaces has been studied. We find the MECP for propyne to possess C₁ symmetry and to lie lower in energy than previous studies have found. Natural Bond Orbital and Natural Resonance Theory analyses have been performed to investigate the changes in spin density and bond order along the reaction pathways for formation of HCO. Explanations are suggested for the trend in HCO formation observed for the alkynes. The trend in alkyne HCO yield also is compared and contrasted with the trend previously observed for the alkenes.

Reaction Kinetics, Product Branching, and Potential Energy Surfaces of 1O2-Induced 9-Methylguanine-Lysine Cross-Linking: A Combined Mass Spectrometry, Spectroscopy, and Computational Study

We report a kinetics and mechanistic study on the ¹O₂ oxidation of 9-methylguanine (9MG) and the cross-linking of the oxidized intermediate 2-amino-9-methyl-9H-purine-6,8-dione (9MOG^OX) with N^α-acetyl-lysine-methyl ester (abbreviated as LysNH₂) in aqueous solutions of different pH. Experimental measurements include the determination of product branching ratios and reaction kinetics using mass spectrometry and absorption spectroscopy, and the characterization of product structures by employing collision-induced dissociation. Strong pH dependence was revealed for both 9MG oxidation and the addition of nucleophiles (water and LysNH₂) at the C5 position of 9MOG^OX. The ¹O₂ oxidation rate constant of 9MG was determined to be 3.6 × 10⁷ M^-1·s^-1 at pH 10.0 and 0.3 × 10⁷ M^-1·s^-1 at pH 7.0, both of which were measured in the presence of 15 mM LysNH₂. The ωB97XD density functional theory coupled with various basis sets and the SMD implicit solvation model was used to explore the reaction potential energy surfaces for the ¹O₂ oxidation of 9MG and the formation of C5-water and C5-LysNH₂ adducts of 9MOG^OX. Computational results have shed light on reaction pathways and product structures for the different ionization states of the reactants. The present work has confirmed that the initial ¹O₂ addition represents the rate-limiting step for the oxidative transformations of 9MG. All of the downstream steps are exothermic with respect to the starting reactants. The C5-cross-linking of 9MOG^OX with LysNH₂ significantly suppressed the formation of spiroiminodihydantoin (9MSp) resulting from the C5-water addition. The latter became dominant only at the low concentration (∼1 mM) of LysNH₂.

Extent of Spin Contamination Errors in DFT/Plane-wave Calculation of Surfaces: A Case of Au Atom Aggregation on a MgO Surface

The aggregation of Au atoms onto a Au dimer (Au₂) on a MgO (001) surface was calculated by restricted (spin-un-polarized) and unrestricted (spin-polarized) density functional theory calculations with a plane-wave basis and the approximate spin projection (AP) method. The unrestricted calculations included spin contamination errors of 0.0⁻0.1 eV, and the errors were removed using the AP method. The potential energy curves for the aggregation reaction estimated by the restricted and unrestricted calculations were different owing to the estimation of the open-shell structure by the unrestricted calculations. These results show the importance of the open-shell structure and correction of the spin contamination error for the calculation of small-cluster-aggregations and molecule dimerization on surfaces.

Quantitative Assessment of rPM6 for Fluorine- and Chlorine-Containing Metal Complexes: Comparison with Experimental, First-Principles, and Other Semiempirical Results

We report a reparameterization of PM6 parameters for fluorine and chlorine using our training set containing transition metal complexes. Spin unrestricted calculations with the resulting rPM6 (UrPM6) were examined quantitatively using two test sets: (i) the description of magnetic interactions in 25 dinuclear metal complexes and (ii) the prediction of barrier heights and reaction energies for epoxidation and fluorination reactions catalyzed by high-valent manganese-oxo species. The conventional UPM6 and UPM7 methods were also evaluated for comparison on the basis of either experimental or computational (the UB3LYP/SVP level) outcomes. The merits of UrPM6 are highlighted by both the test sets. As regards magnetic exchange coupling constants, the UrPM6 method had the smallest mean absolute errors from the experimental data (19 cm-1), followed by UPM7 (119 cm-1) and UPM6 (373 cm-1). For the epoxidation and fluorination reactions, all of the transition state searches were successful using UrPM6, while the success rates obtained by UPM6 and UPM7 were only 50%. The UrPM6-optimized stationary points also agreed well with the reference UB3LYP-optimized geometries. The accuracy for estimating reaction energies was also greatly remedied.

Singlet O2 Oxidation of a Deprotonated Guanine-Cytosine Base Pair and Its Entangling with Intra-Base-Pair Proton Transfer

We report an experimental and computational study on the ¹ O₂ oxidation of gas-phase deprotonated guanine-cytosine base pair [G ⋅ C-H]^- that is composed of 9HG ⋅ [C-H]^- and 7HG ⋅ [C-H]^- (pairing 9H- or 7H-guanine with N1-deprotonated cytosine), and 9HG ⋅ [C-H]^- _PT and 7HG ⋅ [C-H]^- _PT (formed by intra-base-pair proton transfer from the N1 of guanine to the N3 of [C-H]^- ). The conformer-averaged reaction product ions and cross section were measured over a center-of-mass collision energy range from 0.1 to 0.5 eV using a guided-ion-beam tandem mass spectrometer. To explore conformation-specific reactivity, collision dynamics of ¹ O₂ with each of the four [G ⋅ C-H]^- conformers was simulated at B3LYP/6-31G(d). Trajectories showed that the ¹ O₂ oxidation of the base pair entangles with intra-base-pair proton transfer, and prefers to occur in a collision when the base pair adopts a proton-transferred structure; trajectories also indicate that the 9HG-containing base pair favors stepwise formation of 4,8-endoperoxide of guanine, whereas the 7HG-containing base pair prefers concerted formation of guanine 5,8-endoperoxide. Using trajectory results as a guide, potential energy surfaces (PESs) along all possible reaction pathways were established using the approximately spin-projected ωB97XD/6-311++G(d,p)//B3LYP/6-311++G(d,p) method. PESs have not only rationalized trajectory findings but provided more accurate energetics and indicated that the proton-transferred base-pair conformers have lower activation barriers for oxidation than their non-proton-transferred counterparts.

Computational Study of Oxidation of Guanine by Singlet Oxygen (1 Δg ) and Formation of Guanine:Lysine Cross-Links

Oxidation of guanine in the presence of lysine can lead to guanine-lysine cross-links. The ratio of the C4, C5 and C8 crosslinks depends on the manner of oxidation. Type II photosensitizers such as Rose Bengal and methylene blue can generate singlet oxygen, which leads to a different ratio of products than oxidation by type I photosensitizers or by one electron oxidants. Modeling reactions of singlet oxygen can be quite challenging. Reactions have been explored using CASSCF, NEVPT2, DFT, CCSD(T), and BD(T) calculations with SMD implicit solvation. The spin contamination in open-shell calculations were corrected by Yamaguchi's approximate spin projection method. The addition of singlet oxygen to guanine to form guanine endo- peroxide proceeds step-wise via a zwitterionic peroxyl intermediate. The subsequent barrier for ring closure is smaller than the initial barrier for singlet oxygen addition. Ring opening of the endoperoxide by protonation at C4-O is followed by loss of a proton from C8 and dehydration to produce 8-oxoG^ox . The addition of lysine (modelled by methylamine) or water across the C5=N7 double bond of 8-oxoG^ox is followed by acyl migration to form the final spiro products. The barrier for methylamine addition is significantly lower than for water addition and should be the dominant reaction channel. These results are in good agreement with the experimental results for the formation of guanine-lysine cross-links by oxidation by type II photosensitizers.

New Mechanistic Insights: Why Do Plants Produce Isoprene?

In this article, we argue that the primary role of isoprene is to remove the singlet delta oxygen (O2 1Δg) that forms inside plants by ultraviolet excitation rather than to provide heat protection or scavenge ozone, OH, or other reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the gas phase. By deploying a quantum chemical framework, we address for the first time the exact mode of isoprene reactions with O2 1Δg, the most prominent ROS that causes damage to leaves. Initial reactions of isoprene with O2 1Δg comprise its addition at the two terminal carbon atoms. The two primary open-shell adducts that appear in these reactions undergo 1,2-cycloaddition to generate methyl vinyl ketone and methacrolein, the sole products detected from in-house (i.e., inside of plants) oxidation of isoprene. Formation of other products, comprising the peroxy O-O bonds, is kinetically insignificant. Furthermore, these adducts are thermodynamically too unstable to diffuse outside of plants. Oxidation of isoprene with O2 1Δg does not produce new ROS (such as OH or HO2), supporting the well-documented role of isoprene as an effective ROS scavenger. Deploying a solvation model reduces the energy requirements for the primary pathways in the range of 10-56 kJ/mol. The present results indicate that plants attach significant value to the in-home protection against O2 1Δg by investing carbon and energy into the formation of isoprene, in spite of the appearance of the cytotoxic methyl vinyl ketone as one of the reaction products. (The same chemical species also form in unrelated gas-phase reactions involving isoprene and other ROS.) This finding explains the primary reason for the appearance of the dynamic biosphere-atmosphere exchange of methyl vinyl ketone.

An exploration of the reactivity of singlet oxygen with biomolecular constituents

The thermal reaction between biomolecules and singlet oxygen ((1)O2) is important for rendering the genetic material within toxic cells inactive. Here we present results obtained from state-of-the-art multi-reference computational methods that reveal the mechanistic details of the reaction between (1)O2 and two exemplary biomolecular systems: guanine (Gua) and histidine (His). The results highlight the splitting of the doubly degenerate (1)Δg state of O2 upon complexation and the essentially barrierless potential energy profile of the thermally allowed cycloaddition reaction when the O2 molecule is in its lower energy (1)Δg state.

Probing the reactivity of singlet oxygen with purines

The reaction of singlet molecular oxygen with purine DNA bases is investigated by computational means. We support the formation of a transient endoperoxide for guanine and by classical molecular dynamics simulations we demonstrate that the formation of this adduct does not affect the B-helicity. We thus identify the guanine endoperoxide as a key intermediate, confirming a low-temperature nuclear magnetic resonance proof of its existence, and we delineate its degradation pathway, tracing back the preferential formation of 8-oxoguanine versus spiro-derivates in B-DNA. Finally, the latter oxidized 8-oxodGuo product exhibits an almost barrierless reaction profile, and hence is found, coherently with experience, to be much more reactive than guanine itself. On the contrary, in agreement with experimental observations, singlet-oxygen reactivity onto adenine is kinetically blocked by a higher energy transition state.

Mechanism of Photochemical O-Atom Exchange in Nitrosamines with Molecular Oxygen

The detection of an oxygen-atom photoexchange process of N-nitrosamines is reported. The photolysis of four nitrosamines (N-nitrosodiphenylamine 1, N-nitroso-N-methylaniline 2, N-butyl-N-(4-hydroxybutyl)nitrosamine 3, and N-nitrosodiethylamine 4) with ultraviolet light was examined in an (18)O2-enriched atmosphere in solution. HPLC/MS and HPLC-MS/MS data show that (18)O-labeled nitrosamines were generated for 1 and 2. In contrast, nitrosamines 3 and 4 do not exchange the (18)O label and instead decomposed to amines and/or imines under the conditions. For 1 and 2, the (18)O atom was found not to be introduced by moisture or by singlet oxygen [(18)((1)O2 (1)Δg)] produced thermally by (18)O-(18)O labeled endoperoxide of N,N'-di(2,3-hydroxypropyl)-1,4-naphthalene dipropanamide (DHPN(18)O2) or by visible-light sensitization. A density functional theory study of the structures and energetics of peroxy intermediates arising from reaction of nitrosamines with O2 is also presented. A reversible head-to-tail dimerization of the O-nitrooxide to the 1,2,3,5,6,7-hexaoxadiazocane (30 kcal/mol barrier) with extrusion of O═(18)O accounts for exchange of the oxygen atom label. The unimolecular cyclization of O-nitrooxide to 1,2,3,4-trioxazetidine (46 kcal/mol barrier) followed by a retro [2 + 2] reaction is an alternative, but higher energy process. Both pathways would require the photoexcitation of the nitrooxide.

Quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics study of oxygen binding in hemocyanin

We report a combined quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) study on the mechanism of reversible dioxygen binding in the active site of hemocyanin (Hc). The QM region is treated by broken-symmetry density functional theory (DFT) with spin projection corrections. The X-ray structures of deoxygenated (deoxyHc) and oxygenated (oxyHc) hemocyanin are well reproduced by QM/MM geometry optimizations. The computed relative energies strongly depend on the chosen density functional. They are consistent with the available thermodynamic data for oxygen binding in hemocyanin and in synthetic model complexes when the BH&HLYP hybrid functional with 50% Hartree-Fock exchange is used. According to the QM(BH&HLYP)/MM results, the reaction proceeds stepwise with two sequential electron transfer (ET) processes in the triplet state followed by an intersystem crossing to the singlet product. The first ET step leads to a nonbridged superoxo CuB(II)-O2(•-) intermediate via a low-barrier transition state. The second ET step is even more facile and yields a side-on oxyHc complex with the characteristic Cu2O2 butterfly core, accompanied by triplet-singlet intersystem crossing. The computed barriers are very small so that the two ET processes are expected to very rapid and nearly simultaneous.

Theoretical study of the reaction formalhydrazone with singlet oxygen. Fragmentation of the C=N bond, ene reaction and other processes

Photobiologic and synthetic versatility of hydrazones has not yet been established with (1)O2 as a route to commonly encountered nitrosamines. Thus, to determine whether the "parent" reaction of formalhydrazone and (1)O2 leads to facile C=N bond cleavage and resulting nitrosamine formation, we have carried out CCSD(T)//DFT calculations and analyzed the energetics of the oxidation pathways. A [2 + 2] pathway occurs via diradicals and formation of 3-amino-1,2,3-dioxazetidine in a 16 kcal/mol(-1) process. Reversible addition or physical quenching of (1)O2 occurs either on the formalhydrazone carbon for triplet diradicals at 2-3 kcal mol(-1), or on the nitrogen (N(3)) atom forming zwitterions at ~15 kcal/mol(-1), although the quenching channel by charge-transfer interaction was not computed. The computations also predict a facile conversion of formalhydrazone and (1)O2 to hydroperoxymethyl diazene in a low-barrier 'ene' process, but no 2-amino-oxaziridine-O-oxide (perepoxide-like) intermediate was found. A Benson-like analysis (group increment calculations) on the closed-shell species are in accord with the quantum chemical results.

On the origin of regio- and stereoselectivity in singlet oxygen addition to enecarbamates

The reactions of excited state singlet molecular oxygen ((1)Δ(g),(1)O(2)) continue to witness interesting new developments. In the most recent manifestation, (1)O(2) is tamed to react with enecarbamates in a stereoselective manner, which is remarkable, in view of its inherently high reactivity (Acc. Chem. Res. 2008, 41, 387). Herein, we employed the CAS-MP2(8,7)/6-31G* as well as the CAS-MP2(10,8)/6-31G* computations to unravel the origin of (i) diastereoselectivities in dioxetane or hydroperoxide formation and (ii) regioselectivity leading to a [2 + 2] cycloadduct or an ene product when (1)O(2) reacts with an oxazolidinone tethered 2-phenyl-1-propenyl system. The computed Gibbs free energy profiles for E- and Z-isomers when (1)O(2) approaches through the hindered and nonhindered diastereotopic faces (by virtue of chiral oxazolidinone) of the enecarbamates exhibit distinct differences. In the case of E-isomer, the relative energies of the transition structures responsible for hydroperoxide (ene product) are lower than that for dioxetane formation. On the other hand, the ene pathway is predicted to involve higher barriers as compared to the corresponding dioxetane pathway for Z-isomer. The energy difference between the rate-determining diastereomeric transition structures involved in the most favored ene reaction for E-enecarbamate suggests high diastereoselectivity. In contrast, the corresponding energy difference for Z-enecarbamate in the ene pathway is found to be diminishingly close, implying low diastereoselectivity. However, the dioxetane formation from Z-enecarbamate is predicted to exhibit high diastereoselectivity. The application of activation strain model as well as the differences in stereoelectronic effects in the stereocontrolling transition structures is found to be effective toward rationalizing the origin of selectivities reported herein. These predictions are found to be in excellent agreement with the experimental observations.