Ben-Li Zhang

Consistency of NMR and mass spectrometry determinations of natural-abundance site-specific carbon isotope ratios. The case of glycerol.

Quantitative determinations of natural-abundance carbon isotope ratios by nuclear magnetic resonance (SNIF-NMR) have been optimized by appropriate selection of the experimental conditions and by signal analysis based on a dedicated algorithm. To check the consistency of the isotopic values obtained by NMR and mass spectrometry (IRMS) the same glycerol samples have been investigated by both techniques. To have access to site-specific isotope ratios by IRMS, the products have been degraded and transformed into two derivatives, one of which contains carbons 1 and 3 and the other carbon 2 of glycerol. The sensitivity of the isotopic parameters determined by IRMS to fractionation effects possibly occurring in the course of the chemical transformations has been investigated, and the repeatability and reproducibility of both analytical chains have been estimated. The good agreement observed between the two series of isotopic results supports the reliability of the two different approaches. SNIF-NMR is therefore a very attractive tool for routine determination, in a single nondestructive experiment, of the carbon isotope distribution in glycerol, and the method can be applied to other compounds. Using this method, the isotopic distributions have been compared for glycerol samples, obtained from plant or animal oils, extracted from fermented media, or prepared by chemical synthesis. Typical behaviors are characterized.

Non-equivalence of Hydrogen Transfer from Glucose to the pro-R and pro-S Methylene Positions of Ethanol during Fermentation by Leuconostoc mesenteroides Quantified by 2H NMR at Natural Abundance

The anaerobic fermentation of glucose by Leuconostoc mesenteroides via the reductive pentose phosphate pathway leads to the accumulation of lactic acid and ethanol. The isotope redistribution coefficients (aij) that characterize the specific derivation of each hydrogen atom in ethanol in relation to the non-exchangeable hydrogen atoms in glucose and the medium water have been determined using quantitative 2H NMR. First, it is confirmed that the hydrogens of the methylene group are related only to the 1 and 3 positions of glucose via the NAD(P)H pool and not to the 4 position, in contrast to ethanol produced by Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Second, it is found that the conversion factors (Cf) for the transfer of hydrogen to the pro-S and pro-R positions of the methylene group are not equivalent: the Cf-1-R:Cf-1-S ratio is 2.1, whereas the Cf-3-R:Cf-3-S ratio is 0.8. It is shown that this non-equivalence is not determined by the stereochemistry of the terminal NADH- and NADPH-dependent alcohol dehydrogenases, but is dependent on the cofactor selectivities of the reductive and oxidative steps of the reduced nucleotide cycle.

Natural chirality of methylene sites applied to the recognition of origin and to the study of biochemical mechanisms

Naturel abundance deuterium NMR has been applied to the quantitative determination of natural methylene chirality in amino acids of different configurations and in ethanols of different origins. An enantiomeric enrichment is detected for aspartic acid of the L series obtained from fermentation and the technique therefore provides an absolute method for identifying the natural origin of a given substance. In ethanols of different origins the pro‐R and pro‐S positions appear as naturally equally populated at the present level of precision of the experiments. These results provide a new source of information about reaction mechanisms in the natural conditions.

Probing stereoselectivity and pro-chirality of hydride transfer during short-chain alcohol dehydrogenase activity: a combined quantitative 2H NMR and computational approach.

Different members of the alcohol oxidoreductase family can transfer the hydride of NAD(P)H to either the re- or the si-face of the substrate. The enantioselectivity of transfer is very variable, even for a range of substrates reduced by the same enzyme. Exploiting quantitative isotopic (2)H NMR to measure the transfer of (2)H from NAD(P)(2)H to ethanol, a range of enantiomeric excess between 0.38 and 0.98, depending on the origin of the enzyme and the nature of the cofactor, has been determined. Critically, in no case was only (R)-[1-(2)H]ethanol or (S)-[1-(2)H]ethanol obtained. By calculating the relative energies of the active site models for hydride transfer to the re- or si-face of short-chain aldehydes by alcohol dehydrogenase from Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Lactobacillus brevis, it is shown that the differences in the energy of the systems when the substrate is positioned with the alkyl group in one or the other pocket of the active site could play a role in determining stereoselectivity. These experiments help to provide insight into structural features that influence the potential catalytic flexibility of different alcohol dehydrogenase activities.

The search for d-glucose derivatives suitable for the study of natural hydrogen isotope fractionation

Abstract In order to apply Site-specific Natural Isotope Fractionation (SNIF) to chemical, biochemical, and environmental studies of d -glucose, there is a need for readily prepared compounds which give 2 H NMR spectra with all or most signals resolved. Changing substituents of C-1 and/or C-6 of α- d -glucopyranose pentaacetate improved the dispersion of deuterium signals, the best results being achieved with 1,2,3,4-tetra- O -acetyl-6-deoxy-6-thiocyanato-α- d -glucopyranose, for which only the 2 H-2 and 2 H-4 signals were not resolved, and with 2,3,4-tri- O -acetyl-6-bromo-6-deoxy-α- d -glucopyranosyl bromide, for which only the 2 H-6a and 2 H-6b signals were not resolved. Periodate oxidation of methyl 4,6- O -benzylidene-α- d -glucopyranoside and 4,6-dichloro-4,6-dideoxy- d -galactose was also examined as a possible source of useful compounds. Products obtained from the benzylideneglucoside gave inadequate resolution and broad deuterium signals. The oxidation of 4,6-dichloro-4,6-dideoxy- d -galactose was not straightforward. The α anomer was oxidised more rapidly than the β anomer. The oxidation product, 2,4-dichloro-2,4-dideoxy-3- O -formyl- d -threose, was too labile to be isolated pure and its hydrolysis to 2,4-dichloro-2,4-dideoxy- d -threose was accompanied by a slow elimination to form 2,4-dichlorobut-2-enal.

Comparison of isotopic fractionation in lactic acid and ethanol fermentations.

Pure D(-) and L(+) enantiomers of lactic acid were prepared by fermentation reactions with specific bacteria. In addition, naturally deuterated ethanol was prepared and converted into diastereoisomers using mandelic acid. Various sugars and nutrients were fermented into lactic acid in water having different deuterium contents and ethanol samples were obtained from yeast fermentation of sugars from different botanical origins. The methine and methylene groups in lactic acid and ethanol respectively show similar deuterium contents which are related to that found in the fermentation water. However, the methyl groups of both molecules are significantly different whatever the botanical origin of the carbon source in the fermentation medium.