Determination of pK a of benzoic acid- and p-aminobenzoic acid-modified platinum surfaces by electrochemical and contact angle measurements

Acidity constant values of benzoic acid (BA)-modified platinum electrode (Pt-BA) and p-aminobenzoic acid (pABA)-modified platinum electrode (Pt-NHBA) surfaces were determined using cyclic voltammetry (CV), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and contact angle measurements (CAM). Diazonium tetrafluoroborate salt reduction and pABA oxidation reactions were used to prepare (Pt-BA) and (Pt-NHBA) surfaces, respectively. Both surfaces exhibited pH dependence with [Fe(CN)₆]^3?/4? redox probe solutions at different pH; this allowed us to estimate the surface pK _a values. Acidity constants for Pt-BA surface were found to be pK _a (3.09 ± 0.25), (4.89 ± 0.11), and (3.91 ± 0.54) by CV, EIS, and CAM techniques, respectively, while the values for Pt-NHBA surface were pK _a (3.16 ± 0.45), (4.24 ± 0.40), and (5.64 ± 0.12). The Pt-BA surface pK _a values were lower in CV and CAM measurements relative to the bulk solution of BA, while a higher value was observed in EIS for Pt-BA surface. The pK _a values determined for Pt-NHBA surface via both CV and EIS were lower than the bulk value; however, the result obtained from CAM was one unit higher than pK _a of bulk pABA.     

Mechanism of the hydrolysis of the sulfamate EMATE—an irreversible steroid sulfatase inhibitor

The kinetics of hydrolysis of the medicinally important sulfamate ester EMATE have been probed over a wide pH range and into moderately strong base (H_ region). Analysis of the pH/H_-rate profile, measurements of pK_as, solvent-reactivity, kinetic isotope effects and determination of activation data reveal that in the pH range from ∼1 to ∼8 an S_N2 (S) solvolytic mechanism is followed and after the pK_a of EMATE (pK_a ∼9) is passed, a second pathway showing a first-order dependence on base operates and an E1cB mechanism is supported.     

Acid-base chemistry of omeprazole in aqueous solutions

Omeprazole is a potent anti-acid drug. Its absorption and mode of action are closely related to its prototropic behavior. In the present study, omeprazole samples from different sources and in different forms were studied spectrophotometrically to obtain pK_a values. In the neutral to alkaline pH region, two consistent pK_a values of 7.1 and 14.7 were obtained from various samples. The assignment of these pK_a values was realized by comparison with the prototropic properties of N(1)-methylated omeprazole substituted on the nitrogen at the 1-position of the benzimidazole ring, which was found to have a pK_a of 7.5. The omeprazole pK_a of 14.7 is assigned to the dissociation of the hydrogen from the 1-position of the benzimidazole ring and the pK_a of 7.1 is assigned to the dissociation from the protonated pyridine nitrogen of omeprazole. The results presented are at variance with those of earlier work.     

Determination of the ionization constants of natural cyclodextrins by high-resolution 1H-NMR and photon correlation spectroscopy

The purpose of this investigation has been to establish reference pK _a values in D₂O for the three natural CDs by high-resolution ¹H-NMR, according to the recent guidelines provided by the IUPAC for the determination of extreme pK _a values. The most alkaline conditions achieved in this study than in previous pH potentiometric assays have made possible to deduce the pK _a for the three acidic groups of each CD. In addition, we have studied the effects of the ionization of ??-CD on the aggregation properties of this macrocycle in H₂O by dynamic light scattering (DLS) as a function of pH. This procedure provides an indirect way of measuring the pK _a of ??-CD either by tracking the percentage of scattered light or the hydrodynamic radii of the species involved and reveals that the aggregates of ??-CD break and reduce their size progressively upon ionization of the OH^? groups in positions 2 and 3.     

Study on various fluorescein derivatives as pH sensors

Various fluorescein derivatives were examined as fluorescent pH sensors. Fluorescein derivatives bearing benzylic amine moieties displayed opposite fluorescent changes compared to those of simple fluorescein derivatives upon pH changes. Photo-induced electron transfer (PET) mechanism controls the fluorescent changes of these derivatives. In this Letter, modulations of pK_a values were successfully demonstrated through variations of substituent groups.     

The mechanism of the sonochemical degradation of benzoic acid in aqueous solutions

The sonolytic degradation of benzoic acid in aqueous solution was investigated at an ultrasonic frequency of 355 kHz. The degradation rate was found to be dependent upon the solution pH and the surface activity of the solute. The degradation rate was favoured at a solution pH lower than the pK _a of benzoic acid. At pH < pK _a, HPLC, GC and ESMS analysis showed that benzoic acid could be degraded both inside the bubble by pyrolysis and at the bubble/solution interface by the reaction with OH radicals. At higher pH (> pK _a) benzoic acid could only react with OH radicals in the bulk solution. During the sonolytic degradation of benzoic acid, mono-hydroxy substituted intermediates were observed as initial products. Further OH radical attack on the mono-hydroxy intermediates led to the formation of di-hydroxy derivatives. Continuous hydroxylation of the intermediates led to ring opening followed by complete mineralization. Mineralization of benzoic acid occurred at a rate of < 40μM/h.     

pH- and temperature-responsive redox behavior of hydroxyanthracenediones

The redox response of three anthracenediones; 4,8-dihydroxy-9,10-dioxo-9,10-dihydroanthracen-1-yl acetate (HACAD), 1,4,5-trihydroxyanthracene-9,10-dione (HAD) and 1,4,5-trihydroxy-2-methyl-3-(3-oxobutyl)anthracene-9,10-dione (HOAD) was probed at the surface of a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) over a wide pH range from pH 3 to pH 12 using voltammetric techniques. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) allowed us to evaluate the redox processes in general. Temperature-dependent sweep rate experiments allowed us to obtain kinetic parameters like the diffusion coefficient and the electron transfer rate constant, which were further used to evaluate the thermodynamics of the processes. Differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) allowed the determination of the number of electrons and protons involved in the Faradaic processes. In addition, square-wave voltammetry (SWV) allowed us to assess the reversible/irreversible nature of the electrode processes and allowed the determination of analytical parameters, such as the limit of detection and the limit of quantification. A thorough UV–vis spectroscopy, in a wide pH range, allowed the determination of the acid-base dissociation constant, pK_a, and of the molar extinction coefficient. The pK_a values determined by different methods were found to be in very good agreement.     

Antioxidative properties of hydroxycinnamic acid derivatives and a phenylpropanoid glycoside. A pulse radiolysis study

Spectral and redox properties of the phenoxyl radicals from hydroxycinnamic acid derivatives and one selected component of phenylpropanoid glycosides, verbascoside, were studied using pulse radiolysis techniques. On the basis of the pH dependence of phenoxyl radical absorptions, the pK_a values for deprotonation of sinapic acid radical and ferulic acid radical are 4.9 and 5.2. The rate constants of one electron oxidation of those antioxidants by azide radical and bromide radical ion were determined at pH 7. The redox potentials of those antioxidants were determined as 0.59–0.71 V vs NHE at pH 7 with reference standard 4-methoxyphenol and resorcinol.     

Capillary electrophoresis in mixed aqueous-organic media: Effect of tetrahydrofuran on mobilities, dissociation constants and separation of a series of quinolones

Summary The influence of the composition of aqueous-tetrahydrofuran mixtures on the electrophoretic behaviour of nine quinolones was studied in order to predict the optimum conditions for their separation. The effect of pH, pK _a and activity coefficients on electrophoretic behaviour was established. Standard pH values for buffer solutions of the NIST scale as previously determined in THF-water were used in accordance with IUPAC rules. pH was therefore measured for these media as for water. The pK _a values of quinolones were determined from the electrophoretic mobilities-pH data pairs in different THF-water mixtures. The electrophoretic resolution between pairs of substances was then predicted in order to obtain the optimal experimental conditions for separation methodologies.     

SAMPL6: calculation of macroscopic p<Emphasis Type="Italic">K</Emphasis><Subscript>a</Subscript> values from ab initio quantum mechanical free energies

Macroscopic pK_a values were calculated for all compounds in the SAMPL6 blind prediction challenge, based on quantum chemical calculations with a continuum solvation model and a linear correction derived from a small training set. Microscopic pK_a values were derived from the gas-phase free energy difference between protonated and deprotonated forms together with the Conductor-like Polarizable Continuum Solvation Model and the experimental solvation free energy of the proton. pH-dependent microstate free energies were obtained from the microscopic pK_as with a maximum likelihood estimator and appropriately summed to yield macroscopic pK_a values or microstate populations as function of pH. We assessed the accuracy of three approaches to calculate the microscopic pK_as: direct use of the quantum mechanical free energy differences and correction of the direct values for short-comings in the QM solvation model with two different linear models that we independently derived from a small training set of 38 compounds with known pK_a. The predictions that were corrected with the linear models had much better accuracy [root-mean-square error (RMSE) 2.04 and 1.95 pK_a units] than the direct calculation (RMSE 3.74). Statistical measures indicate that some systematic errors remain, likely due to differences in the SAMPL6 data set and the small training set with respect to their interactions with water. Overall, the current approach provides a viable physics-based route to estimate macroscopic pK_a values for novel compounds with reasonable accuracy.     

Single-point titrations: Part-I. The determination of bases

Equations are derived for the calculation of acid mixtures, which upon titration with base show a linear relation between pH and the amount of base. Three to five weak acids were used and a linearity of better than ±0.02 pH units was obtained. The use of such mixtures for analysis of the base content of samples by means of a single pH measurement is described. A procedure for obtaining conditional pK_a values of the components of the acid mixture is also described. The single-point titration method is advocated for use when better accuracy than that of direct potentiometry is desired but less than that of an ordinary titration can be accepted. It is not necessary to know the pK_b or the number of weak bases.     

Prediction of the separation of phenols by capillary zone electrophoresis

The effect of pH and ionic strength on the migration of neutral acids in capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) has been studied for several phenols. The mobilities of the phenols and the efficiency of the capillary have been related to the studied factors. The mobility can be related to the pH of the running buffer through the mobility of the phenolate ion, and the conditional acidity pK value of the phenol at the working ionic strength. This allows prediction of the migration of the phenol, solely from its pK_a^′ value (literature pK_a corrected for the ionic strength of the solution) and mobility of the anion, which can be easily calculated from the mobility at a basic pH value and the pK_a^′ value. Combination of the predicted mobility with the efficiency allows estimation of the resolution of the consecutive peaks obtained for a mixture of phenols. This method has been tested for two groups of phenols of environmental interest.     

Determination of dissociation constants of sparingly soluble phenothiazine derivatives by second-derivative spectrophotometry

The dissociation constants (pK_a) for sparingly soluble phenothiazines (promazine, chlorpromazine, trifluoropromazine) in water were measured by second-derivative spectrophotometry. The intense background signals in the absorption spectra due to the turbidity caused by the precipitation of insoluble free base of the phenothiazine derivatives were eliminated in the second-derivative spectra, and the solubilities of the phenothiazine derivatives could be easily determined from the peak-to-trough lengths (D values) of the second-derivative signals. The pK_a values were calculated from the pH dependence of the D values. The pK_a values obtained agreed well with reported values and the standard deviations for 6–10 determinations were ? 0.02. The solubilities of the free bases of the phenothiazines were also determined.     

What are the pKa values of organophosphorus compounds?

A first-principle theoretical protocol was developed, which could successfully predict the pK_a values of a number of amines and thiols in DMSO with a precision of about 1.1 pK_a unit. Using this protocol we calculated the pK_a values of diverse types of organophosphorus compounds in DMSO. The accuracy of these predicted values was estimated to be about 1.1 pK_a because phosphorus is in the same group as nitrogen and in the same period as sulfur. The theoretical predictions were also consistent with all the available experimental data. Thus, a scale of reliable pK_a values was constructed for the first time for organophosphorus. These pK_a values would be helpful to synthetic chemists who need to design the experimental conditions for handling deprotonated organophosphorus. On the basis of these pK_a values we also studied, for the first time, some interesting topics such as the substituent effects on the pK_a values of various types of organophosphorus, and the differences between the pK_a values of organophosphorus and organic amines.     

A proton sponge-based fluorescent switch

A proton-triggered fluorescent switch was developed through direct connection of a proton sponge, 1,8-bis(dimethylamino)naphthalene to a fluorophore, 4-aminonaphthalimide. The molecular fluorescent switch was based on a photoinduced electron transfer (PET) mechanism. The fluorescent switch exhibited significant fluorescence enhancement upon binding the low-concentration protons in high pH aqueous solution. The high pK_a value (around 11) of the fluorescent switch could be ascribed to the nature of the proton sponge.     

p<Emphasis Type="Italic">K</Emphasis><Subscript>a</Subscript> measurements for the SAMPL6 prediction challenge for a set of kinase inhibitor-like fragments

Determining the net charge and protonation states populated by a small molecule in an environment of interest or the cost of altering those protonation states upon transfer to another environment is a prerequisite for predicting its physicochemical and pharmaceutical properties. The environment of interest can be aqueous, an organic solvent, a protein binding site, or a lipid bilayer. Predicting the protonation state of a small molecule is essential to predicting its interactions with biological macromolecules using computational models. Incorrectly modeling the dominant protonation state, shifts in dominant protonation state, or the population of significant mixtures of protonation states can lead to large modeling errors that degrade the accuracy of physical modeling. Low accuracy hinders the use of physical modeling approaches for molecular design. For small molecules, the acid dissociation constant (pK_a) is the primary quantity needed to determine the ionic states populated by a molecule in an aqueous solution at a given pH. As a part of SAMPL6 community challenge, we organized a blind pK_a prediction component to assess the accuracy with which contemporary pK_a prediction methods can predict this quantity, with the ultimate aim of assessing the expected impact on modeling errors this would induce. While a multitude of approaches for predicting pK_a values currently exist, predicting the pK_as of drug-like molecules can be difficult due to challenging properties such as multiple titratable sites, heterocycles, and tautomerization. For this challenge, we focused on set of 24 small molecules selected to resemble selective kinase inhibitors—an important class of therapeutics replete with titratable moieties. Using a Sirius T3 instrument that performs automated acid–base titrations, we used UV absorbance-based pK_a measurements to construct a high-quality experimental reference dataset of macroscopic pK_as for the evaluation of computational pK_a prediction methodologies that was utilized in the SAMPL6 pK_a challenge. For several compounds in which the microscopic protonation states associated with macroscopic pK_as were ambiguous, we performed follow-up NMR experiments to disambiguate the microstates involved in the transition. This dataset provides a useful standard benchmark dataset for the evaluation of pK_a prediction methodologies on kinase inhibitor-like compounds.     

Ionization of some derivatives of benzamide, oxamide and malonamide in DMF-water mixture

The ionization of six compounds of bis-phenolic amides was studied spectrophotochemically in DMF-water mixture. The compounds showed two pK_a values in the range of 5.97-7.32 for pK_a1 and 7.61-8.44 for pK_a2. The obtained values of K_a were normalized using the distribution diagrams of the different species and found to be in the range of 5.81-7.42 for pK_a1 and 7.48-8.27 for pK_a2.     

Dynamic method as a simple approach for wide range pH measurements using optodes

In this paper, a flow system equipped with an optode has been suggested for wide range pH measurements. Triacetyl cellulose was used as the optode membrane in which different pH indicators were immobilized. For extending the pH range, the dynamic response rather than the steady-state response of the optode was measured. Since diffusion is the main process governing the system response, different parameters having influence on diffusion of the analyte into the membrane were optimized. Under the optimum conditions, wide range pH determination (up to 11 pH units) is simply achieved regardless of the pK_a of the pH indicator immobilized in the membrane. To validate the application of the method different indicators with different structures and pK_a values were tested and the results were all confirming the precision and accuracy of the method. The suggested method also has combined advantages of flow systems together with inherent advantages of kinetic systems.     

Determination of thermodynamic pKa values of pharmaceuticals from five different groups using capillary electrophoresis

A determination of the thermodynamic acid dissociation constants (pK_a) of 22 frequently used pharmaceuticals using capillary electrophoresis in aqueous media is presented in this work. The investigated pharmaceuticals belong to different pharmacological groups: macrolides, fluoroquinolones, sulfonamides, β‐lactams, tetracyclines, and other miscellaneous pharmaceuticals. The electrophoretic mobilities of the investigated analytes were monitored in a pH range from 2.00 to 10.82. The data were fitted with an appropriate mathematical model using a nonlinear regression analysis to obtain pK_a values. Experimentally obtained data were well described by the mathematical model chosen for each analyte that was confirmed by r² values higher than 0.99 for most of the investigated analytes. Extrapolations to zero ionic strength were used to determine the thermodynamic pK_a values. Experimentally obtained acid dissociation constants were interpreted using structural formulae of investigated analytes and the moieties corresponding to specific pK_a were identified.     

Determination of thermodynamic pKa values of benzimidazole and benzimidazole derivatives by capillary electrophoresis

Thermodynamic pK_a values for benzimidazole and several substituted benzimidazoles were determined by CE. Electrophoretic mobilities of benzimidazoles were determined by CE at different pH levels and ionic strengths. The dependence of electrophoretic mobilities on pH was used to obtain pK_a values at different ionic strengths. Extrapolations to zero ionic strength were used to determine the thermodynamic pK_a values. Using this method the thermodynamic pK_a values of 15 benzimidazoles were determined and found to range from 4.48 to 7.38. Results from the CE measurements were compared with spectrophotometric measurements which were evaluated at wavelengths where the highest absorbance difference for varying pH was recorded. The two analytical techniques were in good agreement.