The Use of MM/QM Calculations of 13C Chemical Shifts in the Analysis of Edaravone Tautomers

The 13C NMR chemical shifts of the three Edaravone tautomers (keto, enol, and amine) were calculated using a combined molecular mechanics (Pcmod 9.1/MMFF94) and ab initio (GIAO (B3LYP/DFT, 6–31 + G(d)) model. This method gave such good agreement with experiment that the assignment of the complex spectrum of Edaravone in solution, which is a mixture of the three tautomers could be made. This has been attempted previously by various methods with diverse results. In CDCl3 solution, the observed spectra show only one form, the keto tautomer, and this is also the case with acetonitrile solvent. Acetone solvent reacts with Edavarone in the NMR tube. In the other solvents studied, methanol, pyridine, DMSO, trifluoroethanol (TFE), there is a mixture of the tautomers with populations which vary with the solvent. The application of the shift predictions allows the assignment of the 13C spectra to the three tautomers and from this the proportions of the tautomers in the solution. The results at times differ significantly from previous studies, and this is discussed.

The use of MM/QM calculations of 13C chemical shifts in the conformational analysis of some monosaccharides and sucrose

The ¹³C NMR chemical shifts of some common pyranose monosaccharides in D₂O solution were predicted using a combined molecular mechanics (Pcmod 9.1/MMFF94) and ab initio (GIAO (B3LYP/DFT, 6-31G(d))) model.

The use of MM/QM calculations of 13 C and 15 N chemical shifts in the conformational analysis of alkyl substituted anilines

The calculation of the ¹³ C and ¹⁵ N NMR chemical shifts by a combined molecular mechanics (Pcmodel 9.1/MMFF94) and ab initio (GIAO (B3LYP/DFT, 6-31 + G(d)) procedure is used to investigate the conformations of a variety of alkyl substituted anilines. The ¹³ C shifts are obtained from the GIAO isotropic shielding (Ciso) with separate references for sp³ and sp² carbons (δc = δref - Ciso). The ¹⁵ N shifts are obtained similarly from the GIAO isotropic shielding (Niso) with reference to the ¹⁵ N chemical shift of aniline. Comparison of the observed and calculated shifts provides information on the molecular conformations. Aniline and the 2,6-dialkylanilines exist with a rapidly inverting symmetric pyramidal nitrogen atom. The 2-alkylanilines have similar conformations with the NH₂ group tilted away from the 2-alkyl substituent. The N,N-dialkylanilines show more varied conformations. N,N-dimethylaniline has a similar structure to aniline, but N-ethyl, N-methylaniline, N,N-diethylaniline, and N,N-diisopropylaniline are conformationally mobile with two rapidly interconverting conformers. In contrast, the anilines substituted at C₂ and the nitrogen atom exist as one conformer where the steric interaction between the C₂ substituent and the N substituent determines the conformation. In 2-methyl-N-methylaniline, the nitrogen atom is pyramidal as usual with the N-methyl opposite to the 2-methyl, but in 2-methyl-N,N-dimethyl aniline, the NMe₂ group is now almost orthogonal to the phenyl plane. This is also the case with 2-methyl-N,N-diethylaniline and 2,6-diisopropyl-N,N-dimethylaniline. The comparison of the observed and calculated ¹⁵ N chemical shifts confirms the above findings, in particular the pyramidal conformation of aniline and the above observations with respect to the conformations of the N,N-dialkylanilines.