Structural assignment of monothiocarbonohydrazones by 1H NMR spectroscopy

Analysis of the ¹H NMR spectra of several monothiocarbonohydrazones, some of them synthesized for the first time, shows that they exist as two structural isomers. Whereas, in general, the derivatives of aromatic aldehydes conform to a linear structure, the aliphatic carbonyl derivatives conform to heterocyclic or linear structures, depending on the size of the substituent groups. This dual behaviour is explained in terms of extended conjugation and steric hindrance.     

Probing paeonol-pluronic polymer interactions by 1H NMR spectroscopy

By using a combination of 1H NMR spectroscopy, two-dimensional heteronuclear single-quantum coherence-resolved (1)H{(13)C} and homonuclear rotating-frame Overhauser enhancement NMR correlation experiments with diffusion ordered spectroscopy (DOSY), the location and distribution of a hydrophobic drug, paeonol, have been established with respect to the methyl groups of the poly(ethylene oxide)-poly(propylene oxide) -poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO-PPO-PEO) triblock copolymer. The interaction between them is adjustable according to the different temperature-dependent hydrophilicities or hydrophobicities of the triblock copolymer components. On the other hand, such interactions influence the self-assembly properties of the block copolymer amphiphiles in solution. The amount of anhydrous methyl groups of PPO segments shows an increase with increasing paeonol concentration. It was also demonstrated that the shell-crosslinking of the Pluronic polymer has an effect in increasing the amount of anhydrous methyl groups and thus increasing the hydrophobicity of Pluronic micelles. This might be the deeper reason underlying the increase in drug-loading capacity and prolongation in release time of Pluronic micelles for drug delivery after the shell-crosslinking. Changes in self-diffusion coefficients of paeonol with varying copolymer concentrations and types were also determined by the diffusion-based NMR DOSY technique, and values of K(a), DeltaG, and n were calculated.     

Protonation of pyrimidotriazinediones by1H and13C NMR spectroscopy

On the basis of an analysis of the changes in the chemical shifts of the signals in the¹H and¹³C NMR spectra on the pyrimidotriazinedione and trifluoric acid concentrations in CDCl₃ it was established that the protonation of rheumycin and fervenulin takes place at the N(₂) atom, whereas the protonation of isofervenulin takes place competitively at the N(₁), N(₂), and O(₆) atoms. The equilibrium constants of the investigated protonation processes were measured.A study of the chemical peculiarities of the behavior of Ia, b in aqueous acidic media (H₂O-HCl, D₂O-DCl) was described in [6].Translated from Khimiya Geterotsiklicheskikh Soedinenii, No. 11, pp. 1532–1538, November, 1988.     

Conformational analysis of XA and AX dipeptides in water by electronic circular dichroism and 1H NMR spectroscopy

We measured the temperature-dependent electronic circular dichroism (ECD) spectra of AX, XA, and XG dipeptides in D2O. The spectra of all XA and AX peptides indicate a substantial population of the polyproline II (PPII) conformation, while the ECD spectra of LG, KG, PG, and AG were found to be quantitatively different from the alanine-based dipeptides. Additional UV absorption data indicate that the ECD spectra of the XG peptides stem from electronic coupling between the peptide and the C-terminal group, and that spectral differences reflect different orientations of the latter. We also measured the 1H NMR spectra of the investigated dipeptides to determine the 3JHalphaNH coupling constants for the C-terminal residue. The observed temperature dependence of the ECD spectra and the respective room-temperature 3JHalphaNH coupling constants were analyzed by a two-state model encompassing PPII and a beta-like conformation. The PPII propensity of alanine in the XA series is only slightly modulated by the N-terminal side chain, and is larger than 50%. As compared to AA, XA peptides containing L, P, S, K V, E, T, and I all cause a relative stabilization of the extended beta-strand conformation. The PPII fractions of XA peptides varied between 0.64 for AA and 0.58 for DA, whereas the PPII fractions of AX peptides were much lower. From the investigated AX peptides, only AL and AQ showed the expected PPII propensity. We found that AT, AI, and AV clearly prefer an extended beta-strand conformation. A quantitative comparison of AA, AAA, and AAAA revealed a hierarchy AAAA > AAA approximately AA for the PPII population, in agreement with predictions from MD calculations and results from Raman optical activity studies (McColl et al. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2004, 126, 5076).     

Assignment of stereochemistry to cyclohexenylidenecyanoacetates by 1H NMR spectroscopy

The stereochemistry of various pairs of isomeric 2-cyclohexen-1-ylidenecyanoacetates was assigned using ¹H NMR spectroscopy. The isomers with the γ-methylene or the γ-vinyl protons cis to the carbalkoxy group were found to have the signals of these protons at approximately 0.3 ppm and 1 ppm, respectively, downfield relative to their geometrical isomers or the corresponding 2-cyclohexen-1-ylidenemalononitriles. The observation regarding the γ-vinyl proton proved useful for the assignment of configuration to cyclohex-enylidenecyanoacetates derived form cholest-4-en-3-one. The large and constant downfield shift (c. 1 ppm) of the γ-vinyl proton when cis to the ester group results from the rigid cyclohexenylidenecyanoacetate system, in which the vinylic proton can approach more closely to the magnetically anisotropic ester carbonyl group.     

The mobility of water molecules through gas hydrates

Crystal growth simulations of gas hydrates have suggested that hydrate cages may occasionally be occupied by H(2)O rather than guest molecules, leaving interstitial defects within the hydrate crystal. Further inspection of the behavior of these interstitial H(2)O molecules has revealed that they are relatively highly mobile entities within a gas hydrate. In this paper, we report these observations and examine the molecular mechanisms responsible for the transport of these interstitial molecules through hydrate crystals. Four distinct pathways for the H(2)O molecule transport between cages are found, each facilitated by the presence of empty cages. The relative richness of the observed behavior of interstitial defects suggests that interstitial diffusion could be an important mechanism for the mass transport of H(2)O molecules through gas hydrates.     

Structural analysis of 1-vinylbenzazoles by 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopy

Analysis of ¹H and ¹³C NMR spectral parameters for 1-vinylbenzazoles has shown that the vinyl group has a predominantly trans orientation with respect to the condensed benzene ring. Additional evidence is given for a long range effect of the nitrogen lone pair electrons on the one bond ¹³C-¹H and ¹H-¹H spin-spin couplings and on the ¹H chemical shifts.Translated from Khimiya Geterotsiklicheskikh Soedinenii, No. 4, pp. 499–501, April, 1988.     

Quantitative determination of glyphosate in human serum by 1H NMR spectroscopy

The determination and quantification of glyphosate in serum using (1)H NMR spectroscopy is reported. This method permitted serum samples to be analysed without derivatization or any other sample pre-treatment, using 3-trimethylsilyl 2,2',3,3'-tetradeuteropropionic acid (TSP-d(4)) as a qualitative and quantitative standard. Characterization of the herbicide N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine was performed by analysing chemical shifts and coupling constant patterns. Quantification was performed by relative integration of CH(2)-P protons to the TSP-d(4) resonance peak. The method was tested for repeatability (n=5) and yielded coefficients of variation of 1% and 3%, respectively: detection and quantification limits were also determined and were 0.03 and 0.1mmol/L, respectively. The method was applied to the quantification of glyphosate in a case of acute poisoning.     

Reorientation mobility of NH3-group in glycine crystals by means of H NMR spectroscopy

We report results of ¹H NMR measurements of proton mobility in α-, β-, and γ-polymorphs of glycine, including the energy barriers and specific correlation times for the amino group reorientation process. We discuss relations between second-order phase transition in β-glycine observed at 252 K and proton mobility in β-glycine crystals.     

Dynamic behavior of water in hydro-swollen crosslinked polymer gel as studied by PGSE 1H NMR and pulse 1H NMR

¹H NMR measurements on spin-lattice relaxation time (T₁) and spin-spin relaxation time (T₂) were carried out on hydro-swollen crosslinked poly(methacrylic acid) (PMAA) gel to elucidate molecular motion of water molecules contained in the gel as a function of the degree of crosslinking. From these experimental results, it was found that ¹H T₁ and T₂ decrease with an increase of the degree of crosslinking. This shows that molecular motion of water molecules is strongly restrained owing to crosslinking. Further, pulsed-field-gradient spin-echo ¹H NMR measurements were carried out to determine the self-diffusion coefficient of water molecules (D_H2O contained in the PMAA gel at 300 K as a function of the degree of crosslinking. From these experimental results, it was found that the D_H2O value decreases with an increase of the degree of crosslinking. This shows that translational molecular motion of water molecules is restrained by crosslinking.     

Ripening and geographical characterization of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese by 1H NMR spectroscopy

Samples of Italian Parmigiano Reggiano cheese of different ripening stages (14, 24 and 30 months) were analyzed by (1)H NMR spectroscopy and the water-soluble metabolites content compared with samples of "Grana type" cheese from east Europe countries. Different multivariate statistical protocols were examined to build up a stable model for both ripening and geographical discrimination among the samples. The discriminant approach revealed a larger metabolite content increasing with ripening process; in particular younger samples were characterized by a higher content in leucine and isoleucine, while 30 months samples by a larger extent of threonine. The use of a classification approach resulted in a better discrimination of geographical samples. Foreign "Grana type" samples resulted well differentiated with respect to all Italian samples of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese. Foreign samples were characterized by a large amount of leucine and isoleucine, compounds that typified young Italian samples (14 months), and also by lactate, butanoate and acetate, thus suggesting short ripening for foreign samples. Parmigiano Reggiano samples were instead characterized by a large amount of all other compounds, in particular by threonine, which typified old samples (30 months), and other amino acids.     

Study of water dynamics and distances in paramagnetic solids by variable-temperature two-dimensional 2H NMR spectroscopy

A recently proposed two-dimensional (2)H NMR experiment is used to measure the (2)H (spin I=1) quadrupolar and paramagnetic shift anisotropy interactions in powdered CuCl(2).2D(2)O as a function of temperature. The principal components of the quadrupolar and paramagnetic shift anisotropy tensors and the Euler angles describing the orientations of the tensors in the molecular frame are determined at each temperature. For this purpose an analytical approach is introduced to extract desired parameters from motionally averaged two-dimensional line shapes where the averaging is introduced by rapid 180 degrees flips around C(2) axes of D(2)O molecules. This approach can be readily applied to study various materials containing water of crystallization. It is also clearly shown that the rapid continuous rotation of D(2)O molecules around their C(2) axes is not taking place in the studied solid in the range of temperatures between 209 and 344 K. Once the paramagnetic shift anisotropy of a deuterium atom is measured accurately it is used to estimate the distance between deuterium and the nearest copper atom bearing an unpaired electron. Excellent agreement is found between structural parameters obtained in this study and those provided by neutron and x-ray diffraction, showing that the paramagnetic shift anisotropy is a sensitive probe of distances in paramagnetic solids.     

Interaction of urea with pluronic block copolymers by 1H NMR spectroscopy

Solution 1H NMR techniques were used to characterize the interaction of urea with poly(ethylene oxide)-poly(propylene oxide)-poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO-PPO-PEO) triblock copolymers. The urea was established to interact selectively with the PEO blocks of the block copolymer, and the interaction sites were found not to change with increasing temperature. Such interactions influence the self-assembly properties of the block copolymer in solution by increasing the hydration of the block copolymers and stabilizing the gauche conformation of the PPO chain. Therefore, urea increases the critical micellization temperature (CMT) values of PEO-PPO-PEO copolymers, and the effect of urea on the CMT is more pronounced for copolymers with higher PEO contents and lower for those with increased contents of PPO segments.     

Rapid screening of binding constants by calibrated competitive 1H NMR spectroscopy

A calibrated competitive NMR method has been developed that is appropriate for the rapid screening of binding constants. This method involves the initial characterisation of a receptor-substrate binding event for which the (1)H NMR spectrum of a given receptor (calibrant) is modified by the substrate of interest at a range of concentrations. For all subsequent "unknown" receptors, K(a) values are then determined by using a competition assay (in the presence of the calibrant receptor) by measuring a single standard (1)H NMR spectrum. This enables a rapid assessment of the recognition properties of a library of potential receptors. Only the calibrant receptor needs to be NMR active, while the library of putative receptors, as well as the substrate, can be NMR silent. This method assumes the formation of complexes of 1:1 stoichiometry. To demonstrate this methodology, the binding of a number of crown ether type compounds with K+ ions has been studied. Comparison of the binding strengths obtained by using this approach with those in the literature shows excellent agreement. A range of new compounds that have recently been synthesised within our group has also been screened in order to illustrate how this approach can rapidly assess binding ability. This method has significance for chemists working in the fields of combinatorial receptor/substrate design and supramolecular chemistry as a means of rapid optimisation of binding strength.     

Determination of the stereochemistry of 1-substituted 3-aryltetrahydroisoquinolines by1H NMR spectroscopy

The cis-1,3-disubstituted tetrahydroisoquinolines 2 can be obtained in a highly diastereoselective fashion through Pictet-Spengler cyclization of the 1,2-bis(3,4-dimethoxyphenyl)-ethylamine with aliphatic and aromatic aldehydes under acidic conditions. However, the epimeric trans-1,3-disubstituted tetrahydroisoquinolines 3 are also isolated as minor products. The stereochemistry of the tetrahydroisoquinolines was unambiguously assigned on the basis of the¹H NMR data, and are supported by difference NOE measurements.     

Complex formation in rare-earth metal-propionic acid-diamagnetic salt systems by 1H NMR spectroscopy

Complex formation of propionic acid with ions of rare-earth metals of the yttrium subgroup (D₂O, 5.0 M NaNO₃) in the absence and presence of diamagnetic Mg²⁺ cations was studied by ¹H NMR spectroscopy in combination with mathematic simulation of complicated equilibria. Stability constants for monopropionate complexes of rare-earth ions decrease when the rare-earth cation and Mg²⁺ are present in the system together.     

Pristine single-walled carbon nanotube purity evaluation by using 1H NMR spectroscopy

Proper purity characterization of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) is an increasingly hot topic in the area of carbon nanotechnology. There are inconsistencies in purity characterization of SWCNT from manufacturers and in the literature. Purity of “as received,” oven dried, and NaHCO₃-washed SWCNTs of three commercially available brands (NanoLab, SWeNT, and HiPco) is explored by using a consistent methodology via proton nuclear magnetic resonance (¹H NMR) spectroscopy comparison, across three NMR solvents: DMSO-d ₆, CDCl₃, and D₂O. Important insights into the purity of commercially available SWCNT and the importance of washing (cleaning) samples before use are offered.