Vibrational circular dichroism (VCD) studies on disaccharides in the CH region: toward discrimination of the glycosidic linkage position

A Vibrational Circular Dichroism Microsampling Accessory: Mapping Enhanced Vibrational Circular Dichroism in Amyloid Fibril Films

We report the first vibrational circular dichroism (VCD) measurement of spatial heterogeneity in a sample using infrared (IR) microsampling. Vibrational circular dichroism spectra are typically measured using a standard IR cell with an IR beam diameter of 10 mm or greater making it impossible to investigate the spatial heterogeneity of a solid film sample. We have constructed a VCD sampling assembly with either 3 mm or 1 mm spatial resolution. An XY-translation stage was used to measure spectra at different spatial locations producing IR and VCD maps of the sample. In addition, a rotating sample stage was employed using a dual photoelastic modulator (PEM) setup to suppress artifacts due to linear birefringence in solid-phase or film samples. Infrared and VCD mapping of an insulin fibril film has been carried out at both 3 and 1 mm spatial resolution, and lysozyme films were mapped at 1 mm resolution. The IR spectra of different spots vary in intensity due primarily to sample thickness. The changes in the VCD intensity across the map largely correlate to corresponding changes in the IR map. Closer inspection of the insulin map revealed changes in the relative intensities of the VCD spectra not present in the parent IR spectra, which indicated differences in the degree of supramolecular chirality of the fibrils in the various spatial regions. For lysozyme films, in addition to different degrees of supramolecular chirality, reversal of the net fibril chirality was observed. The large signal-to-noise ratio observed at 1 mm resolution implies the feasibility of further increasing the spatial resolution by one or two orders of magnitude for protein fibril film samples.

FTIR, HATR and FT-Raman studies on the anhydrous and monohydrate species of maltose in aqueous solution

The structures of α- and β-maltose anhydrous and their corresponding monohydrated species were studied combining the FT-IR, FT-Raman and HATR spectra with DFT calculations. The four structures were optimized in gas and aqueous solution by using the hybrid B3LYP/6-31G* method. The self-consistent force field (SCRF) calculations together with the polarized continuum (PCM) model were used to study the systems in solution while the solvation energies were computed using the solvation model (SM). The calculated structural and vibrational properties could explain the anomerization of maltose in solution, as was reported in the literature while the natural bond orbital (NBO) analyses for those species support clearly the mutarotation equilibria between both forms in solution, evidencing the anhydrous forms the equilibrium: α (45%) ⇔ β (55%), similar to that experimentally reported at 20 °C. Bands of all the species observed in the vibrational spectra support the presence of the anomeric species of maltose in solution while the presence of dimeric species justify the intense IR bands observed in the higher wavenumbers region. The similar gap values for maltose and lactose probably justify that these sugars are reducing sugars while the high values in sucrose could explain that it is a non-reducing sugar. On the other hand, the sweeteners cyclamate and saccharine are most reactive in solution than the sugars maltose, lactose and sucrose, as expected due to their ionic characteristics. The predicted vibrational spectra for the four species of maltose show reasonable concordances with the corresponding experimental ones. The f(δC-O-C) force constants of the glycosidic bonds follow the tendency: maltose > lactose > sucrose.

Hydrogen bonding to carbonyl oxygen of nitrogen-pyramidalized amide – detection of pyramidalization direction preference by vibrational circular dichroism spectroscopy

Hydrogen-bonding to carbonyl of nitrogen-pyramidalized bicyclic β-proline amides can switch the preferred nitrogen-pyramidalization direction, as detected by VCD spectroscopy.

Recent advances in the use of vibrational chiroptical spectroscopic methods for stereochemical characterization of natural products

A comprehensive look into application of vibrational optical activity methods for conformational and configurational assignments in natural product molecules over the last 15 years is provided.

Conformational preference and chiroptical response of carbohydrates D-ribose and 2-deoxy-D-ribose in aqueous and solid phases

This work targets the structural preferences of D-ribose and 2-deoxy-D-ribose in water solution and solid phase. A theoretical DFT (B3LYP and M06-2X) and MP2 study has been undertaken considering the five possible configurations (open-chain, α-furanose, β-furanose, α-pyranose, and β-pyranose) of these two carbohydrates with a comparison of the solvent treatment using only a continuum solvation model (PCM) and the PCM plus one explicit water molecule. In addition, experimental vibrational studies using both nonchiroptical (IR-Raman) and chiroptical (VCD) techniques have been carried out. The theoretical and experimental results show that α- and β-pyranose forms are the dominant configurations for both compounds. Moreover, it has been found that 2-deoxy-D-ribose presents a non-negligible percentage of open-chain forms in aqueous solution, while in solid phase this configuration is absent.

Stereochemical studies of sialic acid derivatives by vibrational circular dichroism

Systematic VCD studies of N-acetylneuraminic acid (Neu5Ac), a recognition-related unique carbohydrate, were performed for the first time. Two pairs of anomeric isomers regarding a quaternary C2 asymmetric carbon of Neu5Ac derivatives were synthesized. VCD spectral patterns around the ester carbonyl region, as well as other Mid-IR regions, would be practical markers to distinguish the C2 stereochemistry.

Spectrum–Structure Relationship in Carbohydrate Vibrational Circular Dichroism and Its Application to Glycoconjugates

Preliminary reports of the nature of the vibrational circular dichroism (VCD) peak at around 1145 cm(-1), which is characteristic of axial glycosidic sugars and is called the glycoside band (J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2004, 126, 9496), have been thoroughly examined. Through systematic carbohydrate measurements, it was found that the sign of the glycoside band reflects not only the anomeric configuration but also the pyranose conformation. Isotope and theoretical studies characterized its vibrational mode as C1-H1 deformation coupled with C1-O1 stretching, which indicates its applicability to more-complicated glycoconjugates. In this study, for the first time, carbohydrate VCD spectra were reliably predicted by means of density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The VCD technique was applied to glycopeptides, and simultaneous analysis of both the carbohydrate and aglycan parts was carried out.

Observation and characterization of a specific vibrational circular dichroism band in phenyl glycosides

Application of vibrational circular dichroism (VCD) spectroscopy to structural analysis of carbohydrates has recently progressed. However, few studies on glycoconjugates VCD have thus far been reported, despite the fact that naturally occurring carbohydrates exist as various glycoconjugates. To further explore the application of the VCD technique, we have measured a series of aromatic glycosides and found that axial aromatic glycosides exhibited a negative band at around 1230 cm(-1) while equatorial ones showed flat features in this region. This is the first structure-spectra relationship on glycoconjugate VCD that distinguishes the stereochemistry of the sugar anomers. Several model compounds were prepared and their vibrational properties calculated by using the density functional theory (DFT) method, which assigned the vibrational mode of this band based on the stretching motion of the glycosidic oxygen and aromatic carbon. This concept that aglycan parts can reflect stereochemical information of sugar moieties may encourage further VCD studies on glycoconjugates to realize practical structural analysis of carbohydrates.