Caterina Fraschetti

Gas‐phase enantioselective reactions in noncovalent ion‐molecule complexes

Noncovalent diastereomeric ion-molecule complexes are produced in the gas phase and are ideal for the study of chiral recognition in the absence of complicating solvent and counterion effects. This review article describes the state-of-art in this field with special emphasis on the most recent mass spectrometric studies of the structure, dynamics, and reactivity of diastereomeric ion/molecule aggregates.

Cyclochiral resorcin[4]arenes as effective enantioselectors in the gas phase.

The effect of cyclochirality of rccc-2,8,14,20-tetra-n-decyl-4,10,16,22-tetra-O-methylresorcin[4]arene (C) on the enantiodiscrimination of a number of chiral bidentate and tridentate aromatic and aliphatic biomolecules (G) has been investigated by nano-electrospray ionization (nano-ESI)-Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry. The experimental approach is based on the formation of diastereomeric proton-bound [C·H·G](+) complexes by nano-ESI of solutions containing an equimolar amount of quasi-enantiomers (C) together with the chiral guest (G) and the subsequent measurement of the rate of the G substitution by the attack of several achiral and chiral amines. In general, the heterochiral complexes react faster than the homochiral ones, except when G is an aminoalcoholic neurotransmitter whose complexes, beyond that, exhibit the highest enantioselectivity. The kinetic results were further supported by both collision-induced dissociation experiments on some of the relevant [C(2) ·H·G](+) three-body species and Density functional theory (DFT) calculations performed on the most selective systems.

Modelling amphetamine/receptor interactions: a gas-phase study of complexes formed between amphetamine and Some chiral amido[4]resorcinarenes.

Diastereomeric proton-bound complexes formed between (R)- and (S)-amphetamine and some chiral amido[4]resorcinarene receptors display significant enantioselectivities when reacting with the enantiomers of 2-aminobutane in the gas phase. The origins of the measured enantioselectivities are discussed in the light of molecular mechanics calculations and molecular dynamics simulations and are ascribed to a combination of structural and dynamic factors, including the lengths and the isomeric structures of the host asymmetric pendants and the frequencies and amplitudes of their motion, as well as those of the proton-bonded amphetamine guests. The emerging picture may represent a starting point for deeper comprehension of the factors determining the different affinities of (R)- and (S)-amphetamine towards various chiral receptors, their selective binding to the monoamine transporters, and their sensitivity to specific inorganic ions.

Enantioselective supramolecular devices in the gas phase. Resorcin[4]arene as a model system

Summary This review describes the state-of-art in the field of the gas-phase reactivity of diastereomeric complexes formed between a chiral artificial receptor and a biologically active molecule. The presented experimental approach is a ligand-displacement reaction carried out in a nano ESI-FT-ICR instrument, supported by a thermodynamic MS-study and molecular-mechanics and molecular-dynamics (MM/MD) computational techniques. The noncovalent ion–molecule complexes are ideal for the study of chiral recognition in the absence of complicating solvent and counterion effects.

Interactions of vinca alkaloid subunits with chiral amido[4]resorcinarenes: a dynamic, kinetic, and spectroscopic study.

The stereoselectivity of the reaction between (R)-(-)-2-butylamine and the diastereomeric proton-bound complexes of (+)-catharanthine (C) or (-)-vindoline (V) with some chiral amido[4]resorcinarenes has been investigated in the gas phase by ESI-FT-ICR-MS. The reaction stereoselectivity (0.56 < k(homo)/k(hetero) < 16.9) is found to depend critically on the functional groups present in the chiral pendants of the hosts. Rationalisation of the kinetic results is based on careful computational and spectroscopic studies of the most stable conformations of (+)-catharanthine and its protonated form in the isolated state and in water, as well as in a representative host structure. The emerging picture points to the relevant diastereomeric proton-bound complexes as quasi-degenerate, thus suggesting that their stereoselectivity in the guest exchange reaction is mostly due to kinetic factors. The results of this study may represent a starting point for a deeper comprehension of the intrinsic factors that endow these molecules, and their dimeric forms, with their biochemical properties.

Gas-Phase enantioselectivity of chiral N-Linked peptidoresorc[4]arene isomers toward dipeptides

The gas-phase enantioselectivity of cone N-linked peptidoresorc[4]arenes (generally symbolized as M) toward the homologue dipeptides (generally symbolized as A) has been evaluated by measuring the kinetics of the A release from the diastereomeric [M x H x A](+) complexes induced by (R)-(-)-2-butylamine (B). In most cases investigated, the heterochiral [M x H x A](+) complexes, namely those wherein the configuration of the A guest is opposite to that of the host M pendants, react faster (up to 5 times) than the homochiral analogues, wherein guest A guest has the same configuration of the host M pendants. The kinetic results, discussed in the light of previous MS and NMR evidence, indicate that both the efficiency and the enantioselectivity of the guest exchange reaction depend essentially on the structure and the relative stability of the diastereomeric [M x H x A](+) complexes. These, in turn, depend on the functional groups and the configuration of both the guest and the host pendants. The absence of any significant effects of the B configuration indicates that, in all systems investigated, the dipeptide guest A is predominantly located outside the host chiral cavity.

Towards enzyme-like enantioselectivity in the gas phase: conformational control of selectivity in chiral macrocyclic dimers

Conformational factors in self-assembled chiral tetraamide macrocycles control their gas-phase enantioselectivity towards the ethyl ester of naphthylalanine to levels typical of enzymes.

Spectroscopic evidence for a gas-phase librating G-quartet–Na+ complex

The IRMPD spectrum of the G-quartet-Na(+) complex, in combination with an ab initio molecular dynamic simulation, revealed the presence of two metastable populations of conformers separated by a free energy barrier easily accessible at room temperature.

Unexpected Behavior of Diastereomeric Ions in the GasPhase: A Stimulus for Pondering on ee Measurements by ESI-MS

AbstractThe most common protocols for the quantitative determination of the enantiomeric excess (ee) of raw mixtures by ESI-MS reveal inadequate in cases where the distribution of diastereomeric derivatives diverges from the ee of original solutions. This phenomenon is attributable to a matrix effect, i.e., to the stereospecific formation of high order noncovalent adducts in the ESI droplets, which alters the actual availability of the diastereomeric species under MS analysis. In this frame, the assumption of classic protocols that the ionization correction factor q is independent on the composition of the mixture submitted to analysis is questionable. An alternative methodology is presented in this paper, which is aimed at circumventing the problem by excluding any chemical derivatization of the original raw mixture. It is based on the measurement of the actual distribution of ESI-formed proton-bound diastereomeric complexes from the enantiomeric mixture through a careful analysis of their reaction kinetics with a suitable reactant.

Gas-phase facial diastereoselectivity of equatorial and axial 4-chloro-adamant-2-yl cations

The acid-catalyzed addition of CH3(18)OH to 2-methylene-adamantanes bearing a chlorine atom in the 4-equatorial (1e) or 4-axial (1a) position has been investigated in the gas phase, at 760 Torr, in the 40-120 degrees C temperature range. Two different experimental approaches were employed: (1) by adding neutral CH3(18)OH to the 2-methyl-4-Cl-adamant-2-yl cation, generated by protonation of the corresponding 2-methylene-4-Cl-adamantane (the extracomplex reaction) and (2) by reaction of 2-methylene-4-Cl-adamantane with CH3(18)OH2+, generated by methylation of H2(18)O (the intracomplex reaction). The crucial role of the nature of the noncovalent intermediates involved along the reaction coordinates emerges from the difference between the results obtained in the extracomplex and intracomplex reactions for both substrates investigated. The kinetic and stereochemical results indicate that the 4-Cl substituent plays a different role depending on its equatorial or axial orientation. Examination of the experimental results in the light of MP2/6-31G* theoretical calculations provides important information about the intrinsic factors governing the facial diastereoselectivity of trigonal carbocations. The effects due to differential face solvation phenomena emerge from the comparison of the present gas-phase results with those obtained from strictly related studies in solution.