Conformational analysis of octopamine and synephrine in the gas phase

Tyramine Derivatives Catalyze the Aldol Dimerization of Butyraldehyde in the Presence of Escherichia coli

Biogenic amine organocatalysts have transformed the field of synthetic organic chemistry. Yet despite their use in synthesis and to label biomolecules in vitro, amine organocatalysis in vivo has received comparatively little attention - despite the potential of such reactions to be interfaced with living cells and to modify cellular metabolites. Herein we report that biogenic amines derived from L-tyrosine catalyze the self-aldol condensation of butanal to 2-ethylhexenal - a key intermediate in the production of the bulk chemical 2-ethylhexanol - in the presence of living Escherichia coli and outperform many amine organocatalysts currently used in synthetic organic chemistry. Furthermore, we demonstrate that cell lysate from E. coli and the prolific amine overproducer Corynebacterium glutamicum ATCC 13032 catalyze this reaction in vitro, demonstrating the potential for microbial metabolism to be used as a source of organocatalysts for biocompatible reactions in cells.

Conformational study of octopamine in gas phase and effect of hydrochloride

This work deals with the molecular modeling and vibrational spectra of all the twenty conformers of an important biomolecule octopamine which have been investigated using the DFT/B3LYP level of theory in combination with the 6-31++g(d,p) as a suitable basis set. The experimental FTIR and FTRaman spectra of octopamine neurotransmitter were recorded in the spectral region 400-4000 cm^-1 and 50-4000 cm^-1 respectively and correlated with the calculated spectra of the most stable conformer. The effect of hydrochloride on the important geometrical parameters of most stable conformer of octopamine was also studied. The normal coordinate analysis was performed to scale the theoretical frequencies and to calculate potential energy distributions for precise normal mode assignment. Most of the frequencies were in good agreement with experimental one. However, some have been modified. Natural bond orbital analysis was performed in order to confirm the stability of electronic structure of octopamine molecule. HOMO-LUMO analysis for all the twenty conformers was also performed to give the transition profile and to study the chemical reactivity of octopamine.