Photochemical properties of 9-azidoacridine in neutral and protonated forms

It was found that the quantum yield of 9-azidoacridine photodissociation was equal to 0.95 (in acetonitrile) and remained unchanged upon protonation. Quantum-chemical calculations on the structures of the azide and its cation in the ground (S ₀) and the lower single excited (S ₁) state were performed using semiempirical (PM3) and ab initio (HF, B3LYP) methods. The σ _NN ^* antibonding orbital at the N-N₂ bond was occupied in both of the azides in the S ₁ state; this fact is consistent with the photochemical activity of these compounds. Because of the presence of absorption bands in the visible region of the spectrum, 9-azidoacridinium hydrochloride is sensitive to visible light, and, among all of the currently known arylazides, it is sensitive to light with the longest wavelength: the quantum yield of its photodissociation is 0.65 on irradiation with 470-nm light.     

Photoisomerization of naphthylquinolylethylenes in neutral and protonated forms

The quantum yield of the trans-cis photoisomerization of 1-(1-naphthyl)-2-(2-quinolyl)ethylene and 1-(2-naphthyl)-2-(2-quinolyl)ethylene is close to the theoretical limit (0.5) for diabatic photoisomerization and does not change on passing from the neutral to the protonated form. The data obtained indicate the absence of the α-effect for the test compounds, which consists in an increase in the trans-cis photoisomerization quantum yield to values of >0.5 upon protonation of some azadiarylethylenes with the nitrogen atom in the α-position to the ethylene group.     

Photoisomerization of 2-styrylquinoline in neutral and protonated forms

The quantum yields of the trans-cis and cis-trans photoisomerization of 2-styrylquinoline (2SQ) and its several derivatives were measured in neutral, protonated, and quaternized forms. It was shown that electron-donor substituents in the styryl moiety increase the quantum yield of trans-cis photoisometization ?_tc in the neutral form as a result of stabilization of the intermediate zwitterionic perpendicular conformer. On passing from the neutral to the positively charged forms (protonated or quaternized), an increase in the quantum yields to ?_tc > 0.5 was observed, thus suggesting in terms of the classical diabatic mechanism of photoisomerization via the perpendicular conformer the shift of the minimum on the potential energy surface (PES) of the S ₁ state relative to the maximum of the S ₀ state PES to the cis-isomer or a possible contribution of the adiabatic route to the photoisomerization of the 2SQ cations.     

Low-energy tautomers and conformers of neutral and protonated arginine.

The relative stabilities of zwitterionic and canonical forms of neutral arginine and of its protonated derivative were studied by using ab initio electronic structure methods. Trial structures were first identified at the PM3 level of theory with use of a genetic algorithm to systematically vary geometrical parameters. Further geometry optimizations of these structures were performed at the MP2 and B3LYP levels of theory with basis sets of the 6-31++G** quality. The final energies were determined at the CCSD/6-31++G** level and corrected for thermal effects determined at the B3LYP level. Two new nonzwitterionic structures of the neutral were identified, and one of them is the lowest energy structure found so far. The five lowest energy structures of neutral arginine are all nonzwitterionic in nature and are clustered within a narrow energy range of 2.3 kcal/mol. The lowest energy zwitterion structure is less stable than the lowest nonzwitterion structure by 4.0 kcal/mol. For no level of theory is a zwitterion structure suggested to be the global minimum. The calculated proton affinity of 256.3 kcal/mol and gas-phase basicity of 247.8 kcal/mol of arginine are in reasonable agreement with the measured values of 251.2 and 240.6 kcal/mol, respectively. The calculated vibrational characteristics of the low-energy structures of neutral arginine provide an alternative interpretation of the IR-CRLAS spectrum (Chapo et al. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1998, 120, 12956-12957).     

Conformational study of protonated,neutral, and deprotonated formamide

Neutral, protonated, and deprotonated formamide isomers were studied at the 3-21G SCF level with complete geometry optimization. Ten stable structures, ten first-order saddle points, and three second-order saddle points (conformational maxima) are reported. [Total energies are reported in hartrees (1 hartree = 627.51 kcal/mol = 2625.5 kJ/mol) and energy differences are reported in kJ/mol (1 kJ/mol = 0.239 kcal/mol).] Rotational barriers and proton affinities are discussed and compared to isoelectronic amidine species.     

The NMR spectra of porphyrins-25: Meso-substituent effects in neutral and protonated porphyrins

The meso (methine) substituent chemical shifts (SCS) of a range of common functional groups have been obtained both for the neutral porphyrin molecule, and for the corresponding dications, in substituted octaethylporphyrin (OEP), etioporphyrin-I, and pyrroetioporphyrin-XV derivatives. The SCS are discussed in terms of both ring current variations and specific effects at the neighboring betasubstituents and the meso-proton opposite the perturbing substituent, using a ring current model to quantify the former. In the neutral molecules, meso substitution in OEP (Me, NO₂, CN, CHO) causes a 10% decrease in the macrocyclic ring current, and marked anisotropic shifts at the beta-positions flanking the meso function. The meso-NH₂ group introduces a much larger decrease (ca 35%) in the main ring current, due to conjugation of the amino group with the porphyrin π-system. In the porphyrin dications, SCS are much larger and there is some evidence of a concomitant decrease in the ring current of the adjacent pyrrole subunits. The meso-NMe₂; substituent at the γ-meso-position in pyrroetioporphyrin-XV has only small SCS in the neutral molecule, but a large shift (similar to that of NH₂) in the dication, due to the different orientation of the substituent with respect to the porphyrin plane in each case. The meso-OH substituent in the oxophlorin from etioporphyrin-I behaves as a conjugated OH group in the dication. The anomalous position of the meso-proton opposite to the perturbing substituent is noteworthy, and this could be due to electronic (resonance) effects, or to some protonation at this position.     

Compression elastic modulus of neutral and protonated poly(N-vinylimidazole) hydrogels

The compression modulus of poly(N-vinylimidazole) (PVI) hydrogels synthesized by cross-linking polymerization in aqueous solution, was measured at room temperature in several related systems: i) just after polymerization, ii) swollen at equilibrium in deionized water, iii) swollen in HCl (aq) (pH=2.5), iv) swollen in HCl (pH=2.5) and 1 M NaCl (aq) solution and v) swollen in H₂SO₄ (pH=2.5) (aq) solution. Samples of the first and second groups are neutral whereas hydrogels of the other three groups are ionic because of protonation of basic imidazole groups. The experimental results were fitted with the Erman-Monnerie theory, applied to compression measurements for the first time, to determine the phantom modulus, [f_ph*], and the parameter κ_G which measures the constraining role of entanglements on the fluctuations of chains between knots.     

Characterization of neutral fragments issued from the photodissociation of protonated tryptophane

New information on the photo-fragmentation of biomolecules is obtained from the detection of neutral and ionic fragments using a time and position resolved coincidence technique that reveals whether an ionic photofragment is associated with one or more neutral fragments. In the case of a sequential dissociation, both fragmentation channels are identified as well as their time ordering.     

Substitution effects on neutral and protonated pyridine derivatives along the periodic table

A theoretical study of the monosubstitution effects of all atoms of the second and third rows of the periodic table on the α, β and γ positions of neutral and protonated pyridine has been carried out by means of B3LYP/6-31 + G(d,p) DFT calculations. The geometric and electronic properties, calculated using the Atoms in Molecules methodology, and the electrostatic potential have been analysed. Concurrently, three separate aromaticity indexes (NICS(0), NICS(1) and HOMA) have been evaluated and compared to the above results. Furthermore, the effect of protonation on these parameters has been investigated. A comparison with analogous results for benzene derivatives has also been carried out.     

Decomposition of neutral, singly and doubly protonated benzoquinone in the gas phase

The unimolecular fragmentations of singly and doubly protonated ortho-, meta-, and para-benzoquinones (BQH(+) and BQH(2)(2+), respectively) are studied by tandem mass spectrometry. The dominant fragmentation pathways lead to the elimination of a neutral CO molecule from BQH(+) and, by charge separation, to the expulsion of protonated CO from BQH(2)(2+). Reaction mechanisms are elucidated based on labeling experiments and UB3 LYP calculations. These results reveal that the respective reactions proceed in an analogous fashion to the decarbonylation of neutral benzoquinones, which decompose into carbon monoxide and cyclopentadienone. Single protonation facilitates all steps on the reaction pathway with neutral CO and O-protonated cyclopentadienone as final products. In contrast, double protonation leads to an increase of the barriers for the decomposition yielding CO.H(+) and O-protonated cyclopentadienone. This major process of BQH(2)(2+) is accompanied by two minor channels, which lead to the elimination of neutral carbon monoxide and water, respectively. The proton affinity of the para-BQH(+) monocation is estimated as 3.6+/-0.3 eV.     

Network properties of mixtures of protonated and deuterated polyethylene

Mixtures of protonated and deuterated polyethylene were irradiated in the melt. The degree of crystallinity, the degree of crosslinking, as well as the enthalpyH and the melting pointT _M were determined. No significant differences in the degree of crosslinking between protonated and deuterated chains were found. The mass specific entropyS of the uncrosslinked samples remained constant and independent of the deuterium concentration. For the crosslinked samples, a netpoint entropy was postulated. A weaker Van der Waals interaction could explain the decrease in melting temperature by deuteration (for weakly crosslinked samples).     

Fluorescence properties of organic dyes: quantum chemical studies on the green/blue neutral and protonated DMA-DPH emitters in polymer matrices

The absorption and fluorescence spectra of the green emitter DMA-DPH {1-[4-(dimethylamino)phenyl]-6-phenylhexa-1,3,5-triene} and its protonated blue-emitter form have been studied theoretically through time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) and resolution-of-identity 2nd order perturbative coupled cluster (RI-CC2) calculations with basis sets up to augmented triple-ζ quality, in the gas phase and in solvents of different polarity. These systems dispersed in a polymer matrix are of interest for applications in organic light emitting diode devices (OLEDs). Calculations show that the observed absorption and emission spectra correspond to transitions between the S(0) and S(1) states, in both systems. The nature and characteristics of these transitions are discussed. Excellent agreement with experimental data is obtained, both for absorption and emission, provided that the state-specific polarized continuum model (SS-PCM) method is employed for the inclusion of the solvent.     

The properties of ion-water clusters. I. The protonated 21-water cluster

The ab initio atom-centered density-matrix propagation approach and the multistate empirical valence bond method have been employed to study the structure, dynamics, and rovibrational spectrum of a hydrated proton in the "magic" 21 water cluster. In addition to the conclusion that the hydrated proton tends to reside on the surface of the cluster, with the lone pair on the protonated oxygen pointing "outwards," it is also found that dynamical effects play an important role in determining the vibrational properties of such clusters. This result is used to analyze and complement recent experimental and theoretical studies.     

Evaluating hydrogen-bond propensity,hydrogen-bond coordination and hydrogen-bond energy as tools for predicting the outcome of attempted co-crystallisations

ABSTRACT

Two different structure-informatics based methods and one approach based on hydrogen-bond interaction energies were evaluated for their abilities to predict the experimental outcomes of attempted co-crystallisations between two known drug molecules, Nevirapine and Diclofenac, and a series of potential co-formers. The hydrogen-bond propensity (HBP) tool gave the correct result in 26 out of 30 cases, whereas a hydrogen-bond coordination (HBC) method predicted the correct outcome in 22 out of 30 cases. Finally, calculated hydrogen-bond energies (HBE) using a simple electrostatic model, gave the correct result in 23 out of 30 experiments. In those cases, where the crystal structure of a co-crystal of either Nevirapine or Diclofenac was known, we also examined how well the three methods predicted which primary hydrogen-bond interactions were present in the crystal structure. HBP correctly predicted 6 out of 6 cases, HBC could not predict any of the synthon formations correctly, and HBE successfully predicted 1 out of 6 cases.     

Internal reactions of ion–neutral complexes from some disubstituted protonated benzaldehydes and acetophenones

Protonated benzaldehydes ‘a’ and protonated acetophenones ‘b’, substituted by a methoxymethyl group, a hydroxy-methyl group and a mercaptomethyl group, respectively, in position 3, in addition to a methoxymethyl side chain at position 5, have been prepared by electron impact induced dissociation from the corresponding benzylic alcohols. The spontaneous fragmentations of metastable ions of ‘a’ and ‘b’ have been investigated with the aid of specifically deuterated derivatives. Large signals arc observed for the loss of methanol induced by a proton migration across the aromatic ring. The competing loss of H₂O and H₂S, respectively, from the second side chain is less abundant, in agreement with the smaller PA's of HO? and HS? groups. The elimination of HCOX and CH₃COX (X = OCH₃, OH, SH), respectively, from ‘a’ and ‘b’ is also observed. The label distributions for these reactions are in agreement with a mechanism corresponding to an internal reaction of [CHO] ⁺ and [CH₃CO] ⁺, respectively, with the functional group of the side chains in an intermediary ion–neutral complex. In addition, fragmentations are observed arising from reactions between the two side chains at positions 3 and 5. The D labelling proves specific reactions without any H/D exchange and thus reaction channels separated from the methanol loss. The results are explained by internal ion-molecule reactions in an intermediary ion-neutral complex of a methoxymethyl cation, a hydroxymethyl cation and a mercaptomethyl cation, respectively, formed by a protolytic bond cleavage of the side chains.     

An Ab initio study on the conformations of protonated,neutral, and deprotonated amidine

Ab initio SCF molecular orbital calculations have been performed to ascertain the conformational preferences of protonated, neutral, and deprotonated amidine [HC(?NH)NH₂], using the 3-21G split valence basis set. The states of eight stable species, eight transition states, and four higher-order saddle points have been determined by complete geometry optimization utilizing analytic energy gradient techniques. Protonation at the amidine ?NH is preferred over the –NH₂ site by 37.1 kcal/mol. Neutral amidine has rotational barriers of 9.6 and 11.7 kcal/mol for the HN?CN cis and trans isomers, respectively, while all the stable HC(NH₂)₂⁺ and HC(NH)₂^? species possess torsional barriers larger than 23 kcal/mol. There is, however, essentially free C—N single-bond rotation in HC(?NH)NH₃⁺, the calculated barriers being 0.7 and 1.8 kcal/mol for the cis and trans HN?CN isomers, respectively.