Marie Urbanová

Measurements of concentration dependence and enantiomeric purity of terpene solutions as a test of a new commercial VCD spectrometer

Vibrational circular dichroism (VCD) spectra of (+)-alpha-pinene solutions in carbon tetrachloride have been measured in the range of volume fractions 5-100% (v/v) in the mid-infrared region. The concentration dependence measured was statistically analyzed with the aim of obtaining a reliable correlation between the VCD band areas and the concentrations of individual enantiomers. The quality of the spectra was estimated by means of noise spectra which were defined as half the difference of the two following blocks of scans. In addition to this, the enantiomeric purity was studied. This study was carried out for both (+)- and (-)-alpha-pinene enantiomers in the range of the percent enantiomeric excess in the interval 10-100%. The relationship between VCD intensity and enantiomeric purity was determined by least-square regression and statistically evaluated. All measurements performed in this study were intended as a basic tool for testing of a new commercial VCD setup from Bruker. Copyright 2000 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Determining the Absolute Configuration of Two Marine Compounds Using Vibrational Chiroptical Spectroscopy

Chiroptical techniques are increasingly employed for assigning the absolute configuration of chiral molecules through comparison of experimental spectra with theoretical predictions. For assignment of natural products, electronic chiroptical spectroscopies such as electronic circular dichroism (ECD) are routinely applied. However, the sensitivity of electronic spectral parameters to experimental conditions and the theoretical methods employed can lead to incorrect assignments. Vibrational chiroptical methods (vibrational circular dichroism, VCD, and Raman optical activity, ROA) provide more reliable assignments, although they, in particular ROA, have been little explored for assignments of natural products. In this study, the ECD, VCD, and ROA chiroptical spectroscopies are evaluated for the assignment of the absolute configuration of a highly flexible natural compound with two stereocenters and an asymmetrically substituted double bond, the marine antibiotic Synoxazolidinone A (SynOxA), recently isolated from the sub-Arctic ascidian Synoicum pulmonaria. Conformationally averaged nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), ECD, Raman, ROA, infrared (IR) and VCD spectral parameters are computed for the eight possible stereoisomers of SynOxA and compared to experimental results. In contrast to previously reported results, the stereochemical assignment of SynOxA based on ECD spectral bands is found to be unreliable. On the other hand, ROA spectra allow for a reliable determination of the configuration at the double bond and the ring stereocenter. However, ROA is not able to resolve the chlorine-substituted stereogenic center on the guanidinium side chain of SynOxA. Application of the third chiroptical method, VCD, indicates unique spectral features for all eight SynOxA isomers in the theoretical spectra. Although the experimental VCD is weak and restricted by the limited amount of sample, it allows for a tentative assignment of the elusive chlorine-substituted stereocenter. VCD chiroptical analysis of a SynOxA derivative with three stereocenters, SynOxC, results in the same absolute configuration as for SynOxA. Despite the experimental challenges, the results convincingly prove that the assignment of absolute configuration based on vibrational chiroptical methods is more reliable than for ECD.

The location of the high- and low-affinity bilirubin-binding sites on serum albumin: ligand-competition analysis investigated by circular dichroism.

The locations of three bilirubin (BR)-binding sites with different affinities were identified as subdomains IB, IIA and IIIA for five mammalian serum albumins (SAs): human (HSA), bovine (BSA), rat, (RSA), rabbit (RbSA) and sheep (SSA). The stereoselectivity of a high-affinity BR-binding site was identified in the BR/SA=1/1 system by circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy, the sites with low affinity to BR were analyzed using difference CD. Site-specific ligand-competition experiments with ibuprofen (marker for subdomain IIIA) and hemin (marker for subdomain IB) did not reveal any changes for the BR/SA=1/1 system and showed a decrease of the bound BR at BR/SA=3/1. Both sites were identified as sites with low affinity to BR. The correlation between stereoselectivity and the arrangement of Arg-Lys residues indicated similarity between the BR-binding sites in subdomain IIIA for all of the SAs studied. Subdomain IB in HSA, BSA, SSA and RbSA has P-stereoselectivity while in RSA it has M-selectivity toward BR. A ligand-competition experiment with gossypol shows a decrease of the CD signal of bound BR for the BR/SA=1/1 system as well as for BR/SA=3/1. Subdomain IIA was assigned as a high-affinity BR-binding site. The P-stereoselectivity of this site in HSA (and RSA, RbSA) was caused by the right-hand localization of charged residues R257/R218-R222, whereas the left-hand orientation of R257/R218-R199 led to the M-stereoselectivity of the primary binding site in BSA (and SSA).

Determination of Absolute Configuration and Conformation of a Cyclic Dipeptide by NMR and Chiral Spectroscopic Methods

Increasing precision of contemporary computational methods makes spectroscopies such as vibrational (VCD) and electronic (ECD) circular dichroism attractive for determination of absolute configurations (AC) of organic compounds. This is, however, difficult for polar, flexible molecules with multiple chiral centers. Typically, a combination of several methods provides the best picture of molecular behavior. As a test case, all possible stereoisomers with known AC (RS, SR, SS, and RR) of the cyclic dipeptide cyclo(Arg-Trp) (CAT) were synthesized, and the performances of the ECD, infrared (IR), VCD, Raman, Raman optical activity (ROA), and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) techniques for AC determination were investigated. The spectra were interpreted with the aid of density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Folded geometries stabilized by van der Waals and electrostatic interactions between the diketopiperazine (DKP) ring and the indole group are predicted to be preferred for CAT, with more pronounced folding due to Arg-Trp stacking in the case of SS/RR-CAT. The RS/SR isomers prefer a twist-boat puckering of the DKP ring, which is relatively independent of the orientation of the side chains. Calculated conformer-averaged VCD and ECD spectra explain most of the experimentally observed bands and allow for AC determination of the tryptophan side-chain, whereas the stereochemical configuration of the arginine side-chain is visible only in VCD. NMR studies provide characteristic long-range (2)J(C,H) and (3)J(C,H) coupling constants, and nuclear Overhauser effect (NOE) correlations, which in combination with either ECD or VCD also allow for complete AC determination of CAT.

Empirical studies of protein secondary structure by vibrational circular dichroism and related techniques. α-Lactalbumin and lysozyme as examples

Vibrational circular dichroism (VCD) has been shown to be sensitive to secondary structure in proteins and peptides and has been used as the basis for quantitative secondary-structure-prediction algorithms. However, the accuracy of these algorithms is not matched by the apparent qualitative sensitivity of the VCD spectra. This report provides examples of the use of VCD to follow structural change spectrally and to clarify the qualitative nature of the structural changes underlying the spectral variation. The VCD spectra and the complementary UV electronic CD (ECD) and FTIR spectra of alpha-lactalbumin (LA) have been studied as a function of pH, denaturation, Ca2+ ion and solvent conditions for several species. Spectral data for lysozyme were compared with those of LA because of their very similar crystal structures. In fact, these proteins in D2O-based pH 7 solution have quite different spectra using these optical techniques. Even for the LA proteins, the human differs from the bovine and goat species. Furthermore, under low pH conditions, where the LAs are in a reversibly denatured, molten globule form, the spectra are more similar, species variation is minimal and the spectral differences from lysozyme are in fact smaller. Our data are consistent with native, pH 7, alpha-lactalbumin having a less well organized structure than lysozyme, possibly in a dynamic sense. Conversely, in the low-pH, molten globule form of LA, tertiary structure is lost which could relax constraints that might distort the helical segments in the native form. The differences between the interpretation of our results and those from X-ray and NMR data may be due to motional sampling of various geometries in LA which all contribute to the spectral signatures seen in optical spectra but whose contributions are washed out in NMR or frozen out in the crystal structure. Part of this flexibility may relate to the rather large 3(10)-helical content in the LA protein structure. Fluctionality may have specific functional effects, perhaps allowing LA to bind better to beta-galactosyl transferase and form the biologically active lactose synthetase complex.

Resolution of a configurationally stable [5]helquat: enantiocomposition analysis of a helicene congener by capillary electrophoresis

Racemic [5]helquat as a triflate salt has been synthesized using a robust, three-step procedure. Subsequent exchange of triflate anions for inexpensive (R,R)-dibenzoyltartrate anions via an ion exchange resin afforded two diastereoisomeric salts. Crystallization led to the resolution of the helquat (ee > 98%). This is the first time that a non-racemic helquat has been obtained; its helicity having been assigned and its racemization barrier determined. Capillary electrophoresis with a sulfated β-cyclodextrin chiral selector is introduced for the first time as a straightforward method to analyze the enantiocomposition of charged, helicene-like species.

[6]Saddlequat: a [6]helquat captured on its racemization pathway

A dicationic [6]helicene congener captured on the racemization pathway in its saddle-shaped geometry is introduced. Synthesis, structure, resolution, and dynamic properties of this chiral [6]saddlequat in-between and its highly stereocontrolled transformation into enantiopure [6]helquat are discussed and demonstrated. The dynamic aspects established by experiment and supported by detailed DFT-D calculations are presented visually in the form of a movie (electronic table-of-contents and electronic supplementary information). The title [6]saddlequat was found to be an isolable chiral species on the entirely chiral enantiomerization pathway of a [6]helquat that is discussed as an example of Mislows “rubber glove” molecule.

Sol-gel phase transition of brucine-appended porphyrin gelator: a study by vibrational circular dichroism spectroscopy

Abstract A novel approach to study the sol-gel phase transition of a brucine–porphyrin based gelator, which uses vibrational circular dichroism (VCD) spectroscopy, is described. The gelation process leading to highly ordered chiral supramolecular assemblies was investigated in various solvents at the different temperatures and concentrations. The VCD spectra sensitively reveal the specific parts of molecule whose configuration is influenced by a sol-gel phase transition and chiral supramolecular aggregation and therefore indicate the parts of the molecule responsible for the chiral self-assembly formation. Temperature stability of the organogel studied is discussed on the basis of the VCD and IR absorption spectra. The scanning electron microscopy was used to visualize the structure of brucine–porphyrin conjugate in the gel phase.

New insight into the role of a base in the mechanism of imine transfer hydrogenation on a Ru(II) half-sandwich complex

Asymmetric transfer hydrogenation (ATH) of cyclic imines using [RuCl(η(6)-p-cymene)TsDPEN] (TsDPEN = N-tosyl-1,2-diphenylethylenediamine) was tested with various aliphatic (secondary, tertiary) and aromatic amines employed in the HCOOH-base hydrogen donor mixture. Significant differences in reaction rates and stereoselectivity were observed, which pointed to the fact that the role of the base in the overall mechanism could be more significant than generally accepted. The hydrogenation mixture was studied by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR MS) and vibrational circular dichroism (VCD) with infrared spectroscopy. The results suggested that the protonated base formed an associate with the active ruthenium-hydride species, most probably via a hydrogen bond with the sulfonyl group of the complex. It is assumed that the steric and electronic differences among the bases were responsible for the results of the initial ATH experiments.

Absolute Configuration of a Cyclic Dipeptide Reflected in Vibrational Optical Activity: Ab Initio and Experimental Investigation

The ability of Raman optical activity (ROA) and vibrational circular dichroism (VCD) experiments to determine the absolute configuration of chiral molecules with multiple stereogenic centers was explored for four diastereoisomers of a conformationally flexible cyclic dipeptide, cyclo(Arg-Tyr(OMe)). The reliability of the interpretation depended on the correct description of the molecular conformation, which was found to be strongly affected by intramolecular interactions. In particular, when dispersion corrections were included in the density functional theory calculations, the simulated spectra matched the experimental observations well. Experimental and theoretical ROA and VCD spectra were well correlated for all the absolute configurations (RS, SR, SS, and RR) of protonated cyclo(Arg-Tyr(OMe)). These spectroscopies thus appear useful not only for reliable determination of the absolute configuration and conformation but also in revealing the role of hydrogen bonds and C-H···π interactions in the structure stabilization, which can potentially be used when designing enzyme inhibitors and supramolecular architectures.