6-巯基嘌呤互变异构体的密度泛函理论计算

在密度泛函B3LYP/6-311G水平下,对8种气相和水相中可能存在的6-巯基嘌呤异构体进行了几何构型的全自由度优化,并计算出它们的总能量、焓、熵、吉布斯自由能．Onsager反应场溶剂模型用于水相的计算．计算结果表明,6-巯基嘌呤在气相和水相中主要以硫酮形式存在．在气相中,硫酮．N(7)(H)要比硫酮-N(9)(H)更稳定,而在水相中,则硫酮-N(9)(H)要比硫酮-N(7)(H)更稳定．计算结果同已有实验结果一致．6-巯基嘌呤的熵效应小,对互变异构平衡几乎没有显著的影响,而焓变对互变异构产生了主要的影响．较详细地讨论了水溶剂化作用对异构体的能量、几何结构、电荷分布和偶极矩的影响,溶剂化吉布斯自由能与异构体的气相偶极矩存在相关性．     

2-Pyridinethiol/2-pyridinethione tautomeric equilibrium. A comparative experimental and computational study

The gas phase and solvent dependent preference of the tautomerization between 2-pyridinethiol (2SH) and 2-pyridinethione (2S) has been assessed using variable temperature Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) experiments, as well as ab initio and density functional theory computations. No spectroscopic evidence (nu(S)(-)(H) stretch) for 2SH was observed in toluene, C(6)D(6), heptane, or methylene chloride solutions. Although, C(s)() 2SH is 2.61 kcal/mol more stable than C(s)() 2S (CCSD(T)/cc-pVTZ//B3LYP/6-311+G(3df,2p)+ZPE), cyclohexane solvent-field relative energies (IPCM-MP2/6-311+G(3df,2p)) favor 2S by 1.96 kcal/mol. This is in accord with the FTIR observations and in quantitative agreement with the -2.6 kcal/mol solution (toluene or C(6)D(6)) calorimetric enthalpy for the 2S/2SH tautomerization favoring the thione. As the intramolecular transition state for the 2S, 2SH tautomerization (2TS) lies 25 (CBS-Q) to 30 kcal/mol (CCSD/cc-pVTZ) higher in energy than either tautomer, tautomerization probably occurs in the hydrogen bonded dimer. The B3LYP/6-311+G(3df,2p) optimized C(2) 2SH dimer is 10.23 kcal/mol + ZPE higher in energy than the C(2)(h)() 2S dimer and is only 2.95 kcal/mol + ZPE lower in energy than the C(2) 2TS dimer transition state. Dimerization equilibrium measurements (FTIR, C(6)D(6)) over the temperature range 22-63 degrees C agree: K(eq)(298) = 165 +/- 40 M(-)(1), DeltaH = -7.0 +/- 0.7 kcal/mol, and DeltaS = -13.4 +/- 3.0 cal/(mol deg). The difference between experimental and B3LYP/6-311+G(3df,2p) [-34.62 cal/(mol deg)] entropy changes is due to solvent effects. The B3LYP/6-311+G(3df,2p) nucleus independent chemical shifts (NICS) are -8.8 and -3.5 ppm 1 A above the 2SH and 2S ring centers, respectively, and the thiol is aromatic. Although the thione is not aromatic, it is stabilized by the thioamide resonance. In solvent, the large 2S dipole, 2-3 times greater than 2SH, favors the thione tautomer and, in conclusion, 2S is thermodynamically more stable than 2SH in solution.     

2-硫代黄嘌呤互变异构体的密度泛函理论计算

在密度泛函B3LYP/6-311G**水平上,对14种气相和水相中可能存在的2-硫代黄嘌呤互变异构体进行了几何构型全自由度优化,并计算出它们的总能量、焓、熵、吉布斯自由能.Onsager反应场溶剂模型用于水相的计算.计算结果表明,2-硫代黄嘌呤在气相和水相中主要以酮式结构形式存在,与已有实验结果一致.在气相和水相中,酮式结构—N(7)(H)均比酮式结构—N(9)(H)更稳定.2-硫代黄嘌呤互变异构的熵效应小,对互变异构平衡没有显著的影响,而焓变对互变异构却产生了主要的影响.水溶剂化自由能与异构体的气相偶极矩存在相关性.另外,较详细地考察了2-硫代黄嘌呤与6-硫代黄嘌呤的相对稳定性.     

7-硫代鸟嘌呤互变异构体的密度泛函理论计算

在密度泛函B3LYP/6-311G^**水平下,对14种气相和水相中可能存在的7-硫代鸟嘌呤异构体进行了几何构型全自由度优化,并计算出它们的总能量、焓、熵、吉布斯自由能.Onsager反应场溶剂模型用于水相的计算.计算结果表明,7-硫代鸟嘌呤在气相中和水相中主要以硫酮形式存在.在气相中,硫酮-N(6)(H)要比硫酮-N(4)(H)更稳定,而在水相中,则硫酮-N(4)(H)要比硫酮-N(6)(H)更稳定.计算结果同已有实验结果一致.7-硫代鸟嘌呤互变异构的熵效应小,对互变异构平衡没有显著的影响,而焓变对互变异构产生了主要的影响.较详细地讨论了水溶剂化作用对异构体的能量、几何结构、电荷分布和偶极矩的影响.溶剂化自由能与异构体的偶极矩存在相关性.     

6-硫代黄嘌呤互变异构体的密度泛函理论计算

在密度泛函B3LYP/6-311G**水平下,对14种气相和水相中可能存在的6-硫代黄嘌呤异构体进行了几何构型的全自由度优化,并计算出它们的总能量、焓、熵、吉布斯自由能。Onsager反应场溶剂模型用于水相的计算.计算结果表明,6-硫代黄嘌呤在气相中和水相中主要以硫酮的形式存在.在气相和水相中,硫酮-N7(H)均比硫酮-N9(H)更稳定.计算结果同已有实验结果一致.6-硫代黄嘌呤异构化的熵效应小,对互变异构平衡几乎没有显著的影响,而焓变对互变异构产生了主要的影响.较详细地讨论了水溶剂化作用对异构体的能量、几何结构、电荷分布和偶极矩的影响.     

Modeling H-bonding and solvent effects in the alkylation of pyrimidine bases by a prototype quinone methide: a DFT study

Nucleophilicity of NH(2), N3, and O(2) centers of cytosine toward a model quinone methide (o-QM) as alkylating agent has been studied using DFT computational analysis [at the B3LYP/6-311+G(d,p) level]. Specific and bulk effects of water (by C-PCM model) on the alkylation pathways have been evaluated by analyzing both unassisted and water-assisted reaction mechanisms. An ancillary water molecule, H-bonded to the alkylating agent, may interact monofunctionally with the o-QM oxygen atom (passive mechanisms) or may participate bifunctionally in cyclic hydrogen-bonded structures as a proton shuttle (active mechanisms). A comparison of the unassisted with the water-assisted reaction mechanisms has been made on the basis of activation Gibbs free energies (DeltaG(++)). The gas-phase alkylation reaction at N3 does proceed through a passive mechanism that is preferred over both the active (by -6.3 kcal mol(-1)) and the unassisted process. In contrast, in the gas phase, the active assisted processes at NH(2) and O(2) centers are both favored over their unassisted counterparts by -4.0 and -2.2 kcal mol(-1), respectively. The catalytic effect of a water molecule, in gas phase, reduces the gap between the TSs of the O(2) and NH(2) reaction pathways, but the former remains more stable. Water bulk effect significantly modifies the relative importance of the unassisted and water-assisted alkylation mechanisms, favoring the former, in comparison to the gas-phase reactions. In particular, the unassisted alkylation becomes the preferred mechanism for the reaction at both the exocyclic (NH(2)) and the heterocyclic (N3) nitrogen atoms. By contrast, alkylation at the cytosine oxygen atom is a water-catalyzed process, since in water the active water-assisted mechanism is still favored. As far as competition, among all the possible mechanisms, our calculations unambiguously suggest that the most nucleophilic site both in gas phase (naked reagents: N3 > O(2) >or= NH(2)) and in water solution (solvated reagents: N3 > NH(2) > O(2)) is the heterocyclic nitrogen atom (N3) (DeltaG(++)(gas) = +7.1 kcal mol(-1), and DeltaG(++)(solv) = +13.7 kcal mol(-1)). Our investigation explains the high reactivity and selectivity of the cytosine moiety toward o-QM-like structures both in deoxymononucleoside and in a single-stranded DNA, on the basis of strong H-bonding interactions between reactants and solvent bulk effect. It also offers two general reactivity models in water, uncatalyzed and active water-catalyzed mechanisms (for nitrogen and oxygen nucleophiles, respectively), which should provide a general tool for the planning of nucleic acid modification.     

Selectivity of purine alkylation by a quinone methide. Kinetic or thermodynamic control?

The alkylation reaction of 9-methyladenine and 9-methylguanine (as prototype substrates of deoxy-adenosine and -guanosine), by the parent o-quinone methide (o-QM), has been investigated in the gas phase and in aqueous solution, using density functional theory at the B3LYP/6-311+G(d,p) level. The effect of the medium on the reactivity, and on the stability of the resulting adducts, has been investigated by using the C-PCM solvation model to assess which adduct arises from the kinetically favorable path, or from an equilibrating process. The calculations indicate that the most nucleophilic site of the methyl-substituted nucleobases in the gas phase is the guanine oxygen atom (O(6)) (DeltaG()(gas) = 5.6 kcal mol(-)(1)), followed by the adenine N1 (DeltaG)(gas) = 10.3 kcal mol(-)(1)), while other centers exhibit a substantially lower nucleophilicity. The bulk effect of water as a solvent is the dramatic reduction of the nucleophilicity of both 9-methyladenine N1 (DeltaG)(solv) = 14.5 kcal mol(-)(1)) and 9-methylguanine O(6) (DeltaG)(solv) = 17.0 kcal mol(-)(1)). As a result there is a reversal of the nucleophilicity order of the purine bases. While O(6) and N7 nucleophilic centers of 9-methylguanine compete almost on the same footing, the reactivity gap between N1 and N7 of 9-methyladenine in solution is highly reduced. Regarding product stability, calculations predict that only two of the adducts of o-QM with 9-methyladenine, those at NH(2) and N1 positions, are lower in energy than reactants, both in the gas phase and in water. However, the adduct at N1 can easily dissociate in water. The adducts arising from the covalent modification of 9-methylguanine are largely more stable than reactants in the gas phase, but their stability is markedly reduced in water. In particular, the oxygen alkylation adduct becomes slightly unstable in water (DeltaG(solv) = +1.4 kcal mol(-)(1)), and the N7 alkylation product remains only moderately more stable than free reactants (DeltaG(solv) = -2.8 kcal mol(-)(1)). Our data show that site alkylations at the adenine N1 and the guanine O(6) and N7 in water are the result of kinetically controlled processes and that the selective modification of the exo-amino groups of guanine N2 and adenine N6 are generated by thermodynamic equilibrations. The ability of o-QM to form several metastable adducts with purine nucleobases (at guanine N7 and O(2), and adenine N1) in water suggests that the above adducts may act as o-QM carriers.     

Theoretical studies of the tautomeric equilibria for five-member N-heterocycles in the gas phase and in solution

Tautomeric equilibria have been studied for five-member N-heterocycles and their methyl derivatives in the gas phase and in different solvents with dielectric constants of epsilon = 4.7-78.4. The free energy changes differently for tautomers upon solvation as compared to the gas phase, resulting in a shift of the equilibrium constant in solution. Solvents with increasing dielectric constant produce more negative solute-solvent interaction energies and increasing internal energies. The methyl-substituted imidazole and pyrrazole form delicate equilibria between two tautomeric forms. Depending on the solvent, the methyl-substituted triazoles and tetrazole have one or two major tautomers in solution. When estimating the relative solvation free energies by means of an explicit solvent model and using the FEP/MC method, one observes that the preferred tautomers differ in several cases from those predicted by the continuum solvent model. The 1,2-prototropic shift, as an intramolecular tautomerization path, requires about 50 kcal/mol activation energy for imidazole in the gas phase, and this route is also disfavored in a solution. The calculated activation free energy along the intramolecular path is 48-50 kcal/mol in chloroform and water as compared to a literature value of 13.6 kcal/mol for pyrrazole in DMSO. A molecular dynamics computer experiment favors the formation of an imidazole chain in chloroform, making the 1,3-tautomerization feasible along an intermolecular path in nonprotic solvents. In aqueous solution, one strong N-H...Ow hydrogen bond is formed for each species, whereas all other nitrogens in the ring form weaker, N...HwOw type hydrogen bonds. The tetrahydrofuran solvent acts as a hydrogen bond acceptor and forms N-H...Oether bonds. Molecules of the dichloromethane solvent are in favorable dipole-dipole interactions with the solute. The results obtained are useful in the design of N-heterocyclic ligands forming specified hydrogen bonds with protein side chains.     

NH tautomerism in the natural chlorin derivatives

The NH tautomerism of five Mg-free chlorophyll a and b derivatives 2-6 was studied utilizing NMR spectroscopy and molecular modeling. The results from the dynamic NMR measurements of the chlorins revealed that substituent effects contribute crucially to the free energy of activation (DeltaG(double dagger)) in the NH tautomeric processes. An intermediate tautomer for the total tautomeric NH exchange in a chlorin was observed for the first time, when the (1)H NMR spectra of chlorin e(6) TME (3) and rhodin g(7) TME (4) (TME = trimethyl ester) were measured at lower temperatures. The lower energy barriers (DeltaG(1)(double dagger)) obtained for the formation of the intermediate tautomers of 3 and 4, assigned to the N(22)-H, N(24)-H trans-tautomer, were 10.8 and 10.6 kcal/mol, respectively. The energy barrier (DeltaG(2)(double dagger) value) for the total tautomeric NH exchange in the five chlorins was found to vary from 13.6 kcal/mol to values higher than 18 kcal/mol. The lowest DeltaG(2)(double dagger) value (13.6 kcal/mol) was obtained for rhodochlorin XV dimethyl ester (2), which was the only chlorophyll derivative lacking the C(15) substituent. In the case of chlorins 4 and 5, the steric crowding around the methoxycarbonylmethyl group at C(15) raised the DeltaG(2)(double dagger) activation free-energy to 17.1 kcal/mol. However, the highest energy barrier with DeltaG(2)(double dagger) > 18 kcal/mol was observed for the NH exchange of pyropheophorbide a methyl ester (6), possessing the macrocycle rigidifying isocyclic ring E. Our results demonstrate that the steric strain, arising either from the steric crowding around the bulky substituent at C(15) or the macrocycle rigidifying isocyclic ring E, slows down the NH tautomeric process. We suggest that deformations in the chlorin skeleton are closely connected to the NH tautomeric exchange and that the exchange occurs by a stepwise proton-transfer mechanism via a hydrogen bridge.     

Theoretical study of three predominant tautomers of 2-oxo-6-methylpurine and their two transition state structures

The three predominantly stable tautomers of 2-oxo-6-methylpurine were studied in gas phase and aqueous solution by means of quantum mechanical calculations. Two transition state structures connecting these three tautomeric forms on the free energy surface were determined. The activation free energy for the intramolecular proton transfer in gas phase was calculated to be considerably smaller than the bond energy of either N-H or O-H: 59.01 and 30.37 kcal/mol for N9→N3 and N1→O2, respectively, obtained at the QCISD(T)/6-31G+(d)//MP2(full)/6-31G(d) level of theory.     

2,6-二巯基吡啶互变异构平衡体系溶剂效应的理论研究

在气相及甲苯、氯仿、乙腈和水等溶剂中对2,6-二巯基吡啶及其硫酮式互变异构体进行了HF/6-31G^**水平上的优化,其中溶液中的计算采用Onsager自洽反应场(SCRF)模型.探讨了溶剂对体系几何结构和能量的影响.结果表明:溶剂的存在与极性的增加有利于平衡体系中硫酮式异构体的存在.     

Self-catalyzed keto-enol tautomerization of malonic acid

We demonstrate through quantum chemical calculations that the keto-enol tautomerization of malonic acid can be catalyzed by the two tautomers of malonic acid itself. This self-catalyzed process proceeds with a relatively low barrier (Gibbs energy ca. 13 kcal/mol in gas phase, 20 kcal/mol in aqueous phase), and involves the concerted transfer of two protons between the substrate and the carboxylic acid functionality of the malonic acid catalyst. This mechanism is expected to compete with the proton relay mechanism currently favored to explain the tautomerization of malonic acid in aqueous media. Malonic acid is an important constituent of secondary organic aerosol where the present chemistry may play a role in determining chemical composition.     

2-巯基苯并咪唑及其类似物互变异构的理论研究

采用B3LYP/6-311G**方法, 计算了2-巯基苯并咪唑及其类似物(2-巯基苯并噁唑、2-巯基苯并噻唑、2-羟基苯并咪唑、2-羟基苯并噁唑、2-羟基苯并噻唑以及2-巯基咪唑、2-巯基噁唑、2-巯基噻唑、2-羟基咪唑、2-羟基噁唑、2-羟基噻唑)的(硫)醇式与(硫)酮式结构进行质子迁移的3种可能途径: (a)分子内质子迁移; (b)水助质子迁移; (c)甲醇助质子迁移．结果表明, 途经b和c所需要的活化能较小, 氢键在降低反应活化能方面起重要作用．采用PCM方法研究了反应体系的溶剂化效应．结果表明孤立分子、一水合物和一甲醇合物的最稳定异构体相同, 都为(硫)酮式, 与气相结论一致．溶剂化效应对异构化能垒的影响较小.     

Mechanism of the hydration of carbon dioxide: direct participation of H2O versus microsolvation

Thermochemical parameters of carbonic acid and the stationary points on the neutral hydration pathways of carbon dioxide, CO 2 + nH 2O --> H 2CO 3 + ( n - 1)H 2O, with n = 1, 2, 3, and 4, were calculated using geometries optimized at the MP2/aug-cc-pVTZ level. Coupled-cluster theory (CCSD(T)) energies were extrapolated to the complete basis set limit in most cases and then used to evaluate heats of formation. A high energy barrier of approximately 50 kcal/mol was predicted for the addition of one water molecule to CO 2 ( n = 1). This barrier is lowered in cyclic H-bonded systems of CO 2 with water dimer and water trimer in which preassociation complexes are formed with binding energies of approximately 7 and 15 kcal/mol, respectively. For n = 2, a trimeric six-member cyclic transition state has an energy barrier of approximately 33 (gas phase) and a free energy barrier of approximately 31 (in a continuum solvent model of water at 298 K) kcal/mol, relative to the precomplex. For n = 3, two reactive pathways are possible with the first having all three water molecules involved in hydrogen transfer via an eight-member cycle, and in the second, the third water molecule is not directly involved in the hydrogen transfer but solvates the n = 2 transition state. In the gas phase, the two transition states have comparable energies of approximately 15 kcal/mol relative to separated reactants. The first path is favored over in aqueous solution by approximately 5 kcal/mol in free energy due to the formation of a structure resembling a (HCO 3 (-)/H 3OH 2O (+)) ion pair. Bulk solvation reduces the free energy barrier of the first path by approximately 10 kcal/mol for a free energy barrier of approximately 22 kcal/mol for the (CO 2 + 3H 2O) aq reaction. For n = 4, the transition state, in which a three-water chain takes part in the hydrogen transfer while the fourth water microsolvates the cluster, is energetically more favored than transition states incorporating two or four active water molecules. An energy barrier of approximately 20 (gas phase) and a free energy barrier of approximately 19 (in water) kcal/mol were derived for the CO 2 + 4H 2O reaction, and again formation of an ion pair is important. The calculated results confirm the crucial role of direct participation of three water molecules ( n = 3) in the eight-member cyclic TS for the CO 2 hydration reaction. Carbonic acid and its water complexes are consistently higher in energy (by approximately 6-7 kcal/mol) than the corresponding CO 2 complexes and can undergo more facile water-assisted dehydration processes.     

AM1 and PM3 Study of Tautomerism of Hypoxanthine in the Gas and Aqueous Phases

Heats of formation, entropies, Gibbs free energies, relative tautomerisation energies, tautomeric equilibrium constants, dipole moments, and ionization potentials for the eight possible tautomers of hypoxanthine have been studied using semiempirical AM1 and PM3 quantum-chemical calculations at the SCF level in the gas and aqueous phases, with full geometry optimization. The COSMO solvation model was employed for aqueous solution calculations. The calculations show that the two keto tautomers H17 and H19 are the predominant species at room temperature in the gas and aqueous phase. However, the tautomer H17 is the more dominant species in gas phase, while the H19 tautomer is the more dominant species in the aqueous phase. Comparison with available experimental data provides support for the results derived from theoretical computations. The entropy effect on the Gibbs free energy of hypoxanthine is very small and there is little significance for the tautomeric equilibria of the base. The enthalpic term is dominant in the determination of the equilibrium constant.     

DFT study and Monte Carlo simulation on proton transfers of 2-amino-2-oxazoline, 2-amino-2-thiazoline, and 2-amino-2-imidazoline in the gas phase and in water

Density functional theory (DFT) and Monte Carlo (MC) simulation with free energy perturbation (FEP) techniques have been used to study the tautomeric proton transfer reaction of 2-amino-2-oxazoline, 2-amino-2-thiazoline, and 2-amino-2-imidazoline in the gas phase and in water. Two reaction pathways were considered: the direct and water-assisted transfers. The optimized structures and thermodynamic properties of stationary points for the title reaction system in the gas phase were calculated at the B3LYP/6-311+G(d, p) level of theory. The potential energy profiles along the minimum energy path in the gas phase and in water were obtained. The study of the solvent effect of water on the proton transfer of 2-amino-2-oxozoline, 2-amino-2-thiazoline, and 2-amino-2-imidazoline indicates that water as a solvent is favorable for the water-assisted process and slows down the rate of the direct transfer pathway.     

Coordination mode of nitrate in uranyl(VI) complexes: a first-principles molecular dynamics study

According to Car-Parrinello molecular dynamics simulations for [UO(2)(NO(3))(3)](-), [UO(2)(NO(3))(4)](2-), and [UO(2)(OH(2))(4-)(NO(3))](+) complexes in the gas phase and in aqueous solution, the nitrate coordination mode to uranyl depends on the interplay between ligand-metal attractions, interligand repulsions, and solvation. In the trinitrate, the eta(2)-coordination is clearly favored in water and in the gas phase, leading to a coordination number (CN) of 6. According to pointwise thermodynamic integration involving constrained molecular dynamics simulations, a change in free energy of +6 kcal/mol is predicted for eta(2)- to eta(1)-transition of one of the three nitrate ligands in the gas phase. In the gas phase, the mononitrate-hydrate complex also prefers a eta(2)-binding mode but with a CN of 5, one H(2)O molecule being in the second shell. This contrasts with the aqueous solution where the nitrate binds in a eta(1)-fashion and uranyl coordinates to four H2O ligands. A driving force of ca. -3 kcal/mol is predicted for the eta(2)- to eta(1)- transition in water. This structural preference is interpreted in terms of steric arguments and differential solvation of terminal vs uranyl-coordinated O atoms of the nitrate ligands. The [UO(2)(NO(3))(4)](2-) complex with two eta(2)- and two eta(1)- coordinated nitrates, observed in the solid state, is stable for 1-2 ps in the gas phase and in solution. In the studied series, the modulation of uranyl-ligand distances upon immersion of the complex in water is found to depend on the nature of the ligand and the composition of the complex.     

黄嘌呤及其互变异构体的密度泛函理论研究

嘌呤碱及其衍生物在生物系统中起重要作用。对人具有兴奋和利尿作用的茶碱和咖啡碱就是黄嘌呤的甲基衍生物。黄嘌呤存在多种互变异构体,从理论计算的角度研究这些互变异构体的几何结构、电子结构及相对稳定性,进一步研究溶剂对其结构和性质的影响是有意义旧。密度泛函理论方法既考虑了电子相关,又较其它CI（组态相互作用）或MPn（n级微扰）方法节省机时。其计算结果较好,被广泛应用于研究各种化合物。本文采用密度泛函B3LYP／6—311G方法对14种黄嘌呤可能的互变异构体（见图1）,分别在气相和水相中进行几何构型全自由度优化和能量计算,讨论了异构体的相对稳定性,水的溶剂化作用对异构体的能量、几何构型、电荷分布和偶极矩的影响,探讨了溶剂极性对异构体的能量和偶极矩的影响。     

On the effect of low-energy electron induced DNA strand break in aqueous solution: a theoretical study indicating guanine as a weak link in DNA

In this theoretical study we have investigated the effect of low-energy electrons attached onto a 3'-guanine monophosphate, 3'-GMP, in the gas phase and in aqueous solution. DFT calculations with B3LYP/DZP++ were performed to study the C3'-O3' bond break of a 3'-GMP radical anion. Our results show that low-energy electrons, if attached to a 3'-GMP with a neutrally charged phosphate group, can easily induce a C3'-3' bond break in both the gas phase and aqueous solution. The activation energy was found here to be 10.3 kcal/mol in the gas phase and, even lower, 5.3 kcal/mol in aqueous solution. In comparison with calculated activation energies for other nucleotides the 3'-GMP has the lowest energy barrier in aqueous solution.     

Tautomeric equilibria of pyridoxal-5'-phosphate (vitamin B6) and 3-hydroxypyridine derivatives: a theoretical study of solvation effects

The tautomeric equilibria of a series of 3-hydroxypyridine derivatives including pyridoxal-5'-phosphate (PLP), the active form of vitamin B(6), have been studied using density functional calculations (B3LYP/6-311+G//B3LYP/6-31G) in the gas phase and in different solvents. Three different approaches, namely continuum, discrete, and hybrid (combined discrete/SCRF), were employed to investigate the effects of solvation on the tautomeric equilibria. In all cases, the neutral hydroxy form is significantly more stable than the zwitterionic oxo form (by 43-56 kJ mol(-)(1)) in the gas phase. The tautomeric energies reduce substantially in the presence of a polarizable dielectric medium. However, the neutral form is calculated to be the dominant form in nonpolar and aprotic polar solvents. On the other hand, a reversal of tautomeric equilibrium, in favor of the zwitterionic form, is predicted in an aqueous medium. This study highlights the role of both water molecules and bulk solvent effect in influencing the tautomeric equilibria of the PLP related compounds. A combination of explicit microsolvation and continuum reaction field is required to account fully for the energetic effect of aqueous solvation. The tautomeric free energy differences (deltaG(298)) of PLP in the gas phase and in aprotic polar (epsilon = 40) and aqueous media are predicted to be 47, 22, and -29 kJ mol(-)(1), respectively.