Jianhua Ren

Gas-Phase Acid-Base Properties of Melamine and Cyanuric Acid

The thermochemical properties of melamine and cyanuric acid were characterized using mass spectrometry measurements along with computational studies. A triple-quadrupole mass spectrometer was employed with the application of the extended Cooks kinetic method. The proton affinity (PA), gas-phase basicity (GB), and protonation entropy (ΔpS) of melamine were determined to be 226.2 ± 2.0 kcal/mol, 218.4 ± 2.0 kcal/mol, and 26.2 ± 2.0 cal/mol K, respectively. The deprotonation enthalpy (ΔacidH), gas-phase acidity (ΔacidG), and deprotonation entropy (ΔacidS) of cyanuric acid were determined to be 330.7 ± 2.0 kcal/mol, 322.9 ± 2.0 kcal/mol, and 26.1 ± 2.0 cal/mol K, respectively. The geometries and energetics of melamine, cyanuric acid, and related ionic species were calculated at the B3LYP/6-31+G(d) level of theory. The computationally predicted proton affinity of melamine (225.9 kcal/mol) and gas-phase deprotonation enthalpy of cyanuric acid (328.4 kcal/mol) agree well with the experimental results. Melamine is best represented as the imide-like triazine-triamine form and the triazine nitrogen is more basic than the amino group nitrogen. Cyanuric acid is best represented as the keto-like tautomer and the N-H group is the most probable proton donor.

Electron capture dissociation studies of the fragmentation patterns of doubly protonated and mixed protonated-sodiated peptoids.

AbstractThe fragmentation patterns of a group of doubly protonated ([P + 2H]2+) and mixed protonated-sodiated ([P + H + Na]2+) peptide-mimicking oligomers, known as peptoids, have been studied using electron capturing dissociation (ECD) tandem mass spectrometry techniques. For all the peptoids studied, the primary backbone fragmentation occurred at the N-Cα bonds. The N-terminal fragment ions, the C-ions (protonated) and the C′-ions (sodiated) were observed universally for all the peptoids regardless of the types of charge carrier. The C-terminal ions varied depending on the type of charge carrier. The doubly protonated peptoids with at least one basic residue located at a position other than the N-terminus fragmented by producing the Z•-series of ions. In addition, most doubly protonated peptoids also produced the Y-series of ions with notable abundances. The mixed protonated-sodiated peptoids fragmented by yielding the Z•′-series of ions in addition to the C′-series. Chelation between the sodium cation and the amide groups of the peptoid chain might be an important factor that could stabilize both the N-terminal and the C-terminal fragment ions. Regardless of the types of the charge carrier, one notable fragmentation for all the peptoids was the elimination of a benzylic radical from the odd-electron positive ions of the protonated peptoids ([P + 2H]•+) and the sodiated peptoids ([P + H + Na]•+). The study showed potential utility of using the ECD technique for sequencing of peptoid libraries generated by combinatorial chemistry. Figureᅟ

Fragmentation Patterns and Mechanisms of Singly and Doubly Protonated Peptoids Studied by Collision Induced Dissociation

AbstractPeptoids are peptide-mimicking oligomers consisting of N-alkylated glycine units. The fragmentation patterns for six singly and doubly protonated model peptoids were studied via collision-induced dissociation tandem mass spectrometry. The experiments were carried out on a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer with an electrospray ionization source. Both singly and doubly protonated peptoids were found to fragment mainly at the backbone amide bonds to produce peptoid B-type N-terminal fragment ions and Y-type C-terminal fragment ions. However, the relative abundances of B- versus Y-ions were significantly different. The singly protonated peptoids fragmented by producing highly abundant Y-ions and lesser abundant B-ions. The Y-ion formation mechanism was studied through calculating the energetics of truncated peptoid fragment ions using density functional theory and by controlled experiments. The results indicated that Y-ions were likely formed by transferring a proton from the C–H bond of the N-terminal fragments to the secondary amine of the C-terminal fragments. This proton transfer is energetically favored, and is in accord with the observation of abundant Y-ions. The calculations also indicated that doubly protonated peptoids would fragment at an amide bond close to the N-terminus to yield a high abundance of low-mass B-ions and high-mass Y-ions. The results of this study provide further understanding of the mechanisms of peptoid fragmentation and, therefore, are a valuable guide for de novo sequencing of peptoid libraries synthesized via combinatorial chemistry. Graphical Abstractᅟ

Proton Affinity of Isomeric Dipeptides Containing Lysine and Non-Proteinogenic Lysine Homologues.

Conformational effects on the proton affinity of oligopeptides have been studied using six alanine (A)-based acetylated dipeptides containing a basic probe that is placed closest to either the C- or the N-terminus. The basic probe includes Lysine (Lys) and two nonproteinogenic Lys-homologues, ornithine (Orn) and 2,3-diaminopropionic acid (Dap). The proton affinities of the peptides have been determined using the extended Cooks kinetic method in a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer. Computational studies have been carried out to search for the lowest energy conformers and to calculate theoretical proton affinities as well as various molecular properties using the density functional theory. The dipeptides containing a C-terminal probe, ALys, AOrn, and ADap, were determined to have a higher proton affinity by 1-4 kcal/mol than the corresponding dipeptides containing an N-terminal probe, LysA, OrnA, and DapA. For either the C-probe peptides or the N-probe peptides, the proton affinity reduces systematically as the side-chain of the probe residue is shortened. The difference in the proton affinities between isomeric peptides is largely associated with the variation of the conformations. The peptides with higher values of the proton affinity adopt a relatively compact conformation such that the protonated peptides can be stabilized through more efficient internal solvation.

Programmed Assembly of Nanoscale Structures using Peptoids

Sequence-specific polymers are the basis of the most promising approaches to bottom-up programmed assembly of nanoscale materials. Examples include artificial peptides and nucleic acids. Another class is oligo(N-functional glycine)s, also known as peptoids, which permit greater sidegroup diversity and conformational control, and can be easier to synthesize and purify. We have developed a set of peptoids that can be used to make inorganic nanoparticles more compatible with biological sequence-specific polymers so that they can be incorporated into nucleic acid or other biologically based nanostructures. Peptoids offer degrees of modularity, versatility, and predictability that equal or exceed other sequence-specific polymers, allowing for rational design of oligomers for a specific purpose. This degree of control will be essential to the development of arbitrarily designed nanoscale structures.