Máté Erdélyi

Symmetric Halogen Bonding Is Preferred in Solution

Halogen bonding is a recently rediscovered secondary interaction that shows potential to become a complementary molecular tool to hydrogen bonding in rational drug design and in material sciences. Whereas hydrogen bond symmetry has been the subject of systematic studies for decades, the understanding of the analogous three-center halogen bonds is yet in its infancy. The isotopic perturbation of equilibrium (IPE) technique with (13)C NMR detection was applied to regioselectively deuterated pyridine complexes to investigate the symmetry of [N-I-N](+) and [N-Br-N](+) halogen bonding in solution. Preference for a symmetric arrangement was observed for both a freely adjustable and for a conformationally restricted [N-X-N](+) model system, as also confirmed by computation on the DFT level. A closely attached counterion is shown to be compatible with the preferred symmetric arrangement. The experimental observations and computational predictions reveal a high energetic gain upon formation of symmetric, three-center four-electron halogen bonding. Whereas hydrogen bonds are generally asymmetric in solution and symmetric in the crystalline state, the analogous bromine and iodine centered halogen bonds prefer symmetric arrangement in solution.

Dynamics of the glycosidic bond: conformational space of lactose.

The dynamics of the glycosidic bond of lactose was studied by a paramagnetic tagging-based NMR technique, which allowed the collection of an unusually large series of NMR data for a single compound. By the use of distance- and orientation-dependent residual dipolar couplings and pseudocontact shifts, the simultaneous fitting of the probabilities of computed conformations and the orientation of the magnetic susceptibility tensor of a series of lanthanide complexes of lactose show that its glycosidic bond samples syn/syn, anti/syn and syn/anti ϕ/ψ regions of the conformational space in water. The analysis indicates a higher reliability of pseudocontact shift data as compared to residual dipolar couplings with the presently available weakly orienting paramagnetic tagging technique. The method presented herein allows for an improved understanding of the dynamic behaviour of oligosaccharides.

Disulfide cyclized tripeptide analogues of angiotensin IV as potent and selective inhibitors of insulin-regulated aminopeptidase (IRAP)

The insulin-regulated aminopeptidase (IRAP) localized in areas of the brain associated with memory and learning is emerging as a new promising therapeutic target for the treatment of memory dysfunctions. The angiotensin II metabolite angiotensin IV (Ang IV, Val(1)-Tyr(2)-Ile(3)-His(4)-Pro(5)-Phe(6)) binds with high affinity to IRAP and inhibits this aminopeptidase (K(i) = 62.4 nM). Furthermore, Ang IV has been demonstrated to enhance cognition in animal models and is believed to play an important role in cognitive processes. It is herein reported that displacement of the C-terminal tripeptide His(4)-Pro(5)-Phe(6) with a phenylacetic acid functionality combined with a constrained macrocyclic system in the N-terminal affords potent IRAP inhibitors that are less peptidic in character than the hexapeptide Ang IV. Configurational analysis of three pairs of diastereomeric Ang IV analogues was performed using a combination of solution NMR spectroscopic methods, Monte Carlo conformational searches, and NAMFIS calculations. The compounds encompassing l-amino acids only (4, 8, and 12) showed significantly higher bioactivity compared to their lld-epimers (5, 9, and 13). The best inhibitors in the series, compounds 8 and 12, incorporating a 13- and 14-membered disulfide ring system, respectively, and both with a β(3)-homotyrosine residue (β(3)hTyr) replacing Tyr(2), exhibit K(i) values of 3.3 and 5.2 nM, respectively.

Potent macrocyclic inhibitors of insulin-regulated aminopeptidase (IRAP) by olefin ring-closing metathesis.

Macrocyclic analogues of angiotensin IV (Ang IV, Val(1)-Tyr(2)-Ile(3)-His(4)-Pro(5)-Phe(6)) targeting the insulin-regulated aminopeptidase (IRAP) have been designed, synthesized, and evaluated biologically. Replacement of His(4)-Pro(5)-Phe(6) by a 2-(aminomethyl)phenylacetic acid (AMPAA) moiety and of Val(1) and Ile(3) by amino acids bearing olefinic side chains followed by macrocyclization provided potent IRAP inhibitors. The impact of the ring size and the type (saturated versus unsaturated), configuration, and position of the carbon-carbon bridge was assessed. The ring size generally affects the potency more than the carbon-carbon bond characteristics. Replacing Tyr(2) by β(3)hTyr or Phe is accepted, while N-methylation of Tyr(2) is deleterious for activity. Removal of the carboxyl group in the C-terminal slightly reduced the potency. Inhibitors 7 (K(i) = 4.1 nM) and 19 (K(i) = 1.8 nM), both encompassing 14-membered ring systems connected to AMPAA, are 10-fold more potent than Ang IV and are also more selective over aminopeptidase N (AP-N). Both compounds displayed high stability against proteolysis by metallopeptidases.

Conformational Preferences of Natural and C3-Modified Epothilones in Aqueous Solution

The conformational properties of the microtubule-stabilizing agent epothilone A ( 1a) and its 3-deoxy and 3-deoxy-2,3-didehydro derivatives 2 and 3 have been investigated in aqueous solution by a combination of NMR spectroscopic methods, Monte Carlo conformational searches, and NAMFIS calculations. The tubulin-bound conformation of epothilone A ( 1a), as previously proposed on the basis of solution NMR data, was found to represent a significant fraction of the ensemble of conformations present for the free ligands in aqueous solution.

Solvent effects on halogen bond symmetry

The symmetric arrangement of the iodine and bromine centred 3-center–4-electron halogen bond is revealed to remain preferred in a polar, aprotic solvent environment. Acetonitrile is unable to compete with pyridine for halogen bonding; however, its polarity weakly modulates the energy of the interaction and influences IPE-NMR experiments.

Paramagnetic lanthanide tagging for NMR conformational analyses of N-linked oligosaccharides.

Sweet measurement: Paramagnetic tags are proposed as new tools for NMR analyses of carbohydrate conformations. A newly designed, lanthanide‐chelating tag can be attached to the common disaccharide ...

Halogen bonding in solution.

Because of its expected applicability for modulation of molecular recognition phenomena in chemistry and biology, halogen bonding has lately attracted rapidly increasing interest. As most of these processes proceed in solution, the understanding of the influence of solvents on the interaction is of utmost importance. In addition, solution studies provide fundamental insights into the nature of halogen bonding, including, for example, the relative importance of charge transfer, dispersion, and electrostatics forces. Herein, a selection of halogen bonding literature is reviewed with the discussion focusing on the solvent effect and the electronic characteristics of halogen bonded complexes. Hence, charged and neutral systems together with two- and three-center bonds are presented in separate sub-sections. Solvent polarity is shown to have a slight stabilizing effect on neutral, two-center halogen bonds while strongly destabilizes charged, two-center complexes. It does not greatly influence the geometry of three-center halogen bonds, even though polar solvents facilitate dissociation of the counter-ion of charged three-center bonds. The charged three-center bonds are strengthened by increased environment polarity. Solvents possessing hydrogen bond donor functionalities efficiently destabilize all types of halogen bonds, primarily because of halogen vs hydrogen bond competition. A purely electrostatic model is insufficient for the description of halogen bonds in polar systems whereas it may give reasonable correlation to experimental data obtained in noninteracting, apolar solvents. Whereas dispersion plays a significant role for neutral, two-center halogen bonds, charged halogen bond complexes possess a significant charge transfer characteristic.

Scientific conferences: A big hello to halogen bonding

Halogen bonding connects a wide range of subjects — from materials science to structural biology, from computation to crystal engineering, and from synthesis to spectroscopy. The 1st International Symposium on Halogen Bonding explored the state of the art in this fast-growing field of research.

Insight into β-hairpin stability: a structural and thermodynamic study of diastereomeric β-hairpin mimeticsElectronic supplementary information (ESI) available: temperature and concentration-dependent chemical shifts and melting curves of the investigated molecules in different solvents and details of the X-ray analysis. See http://www.rsc.org/suppdata/nj/b1/b111241d/

Two diastereomers of a model β-hairpin peptide mimetic were synthesized and studied with a combination of experimental (NMR, X-ray, CD, MS, IR) and computational methods (Monte Carlo/molecular mechanics calculations). The secondary structure-stabilizing effects of hydrophobic interactions and hydrogen bonding were investigated. Comparison of the extent of folded hairpin population in non-competitive, polar aprotic, and polar protic solvents illustrates the critical role of intramolecular hydrogen bonding on hairpin stability. Investigation of 1H NMR melting curves of the diastereomeric compounds in a variety of solvents allowed an evaluation of the role of hydrophobic effects on secondary structure stabilization to be made.