DFT study on the isomerization in vitamin B6

Isomerization and tautomerism reactions of the active form of vitamin B6, pyridoxal phosphate, are studied at B3LYP level of theory using 6-311++G(2df,p) basis set in gas and aqueous phases. Twenty-three transition state (TS) structures for vitamin B6 isomerization are optimized, including 13 TS structures for O–H and C–C rotations, 8 TS structures for imine–enamine tautomerism, and 2 TS structures for keto–enol tautomerism. Activation energy (E _a), imaginary frequency (υ), and Gibbs free energy of activation (ΔG ^#) for the isomerization reactions are calculated. The activation energies of the imine–enamine tautomerism are in the range of 190–280 kJ/mol and of O–H and C–C rotations are mainly less than 60 kJ/mol. Also, our calculation shows that the imine forms of B6 are mainly more stable than the enamine forms. Effect of microhydration on the TS structures and activation energies is also investigated. It is found that the presence of water molecules catalyzes only the imine–enamine tautomerism.