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.     

Development of ratiometric fluorescent pH sensors based on chromenoquinoline derivatives with tunable pKa values for bioimaging

In this work, we first studied the pH-dependent characteristic of chromenoquinoline. Based on this, we then designed and synthesized two novel chromenoquinoline derivatives that can act as fluorescent pH sensors. The pK_a values of two novel chromenoquinoline derivatives can be modulated from 2.32 to 4.38 and 6.27 by introducing EDG on the backbone of chromenoquinoline. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the sensor 4 can be used as a ratiometric fluorescent pH sensor for fluorescence imaging in living cells.     

Determination of pKa values of fluoroalkanesulfonamides and investigation of their nucleophilicity

The pK_a values of a series of fluoroalkanesulfonylamides were measured by potentiometric titration. Different kinds of alkyl halides and tosylates were employed to investigate the nucleophilicity of fluoroalkanesulfonylamides. Fluoroalkanesulfonylamides with longer fluoroalkyl chain have weaker nucleophilicity.     

Determination of pKa values of some antihypertensive drugs by liquid chromatography and simultaneous assay of lercanidipine and enalapril in their binary mixtures

In this study, pK_a values were determined using the dependence of the retention factor on the pH of the mobile phase for three ionizable substances, namely, enalapril, lercanidipine and ramipril (IS). The effect of the mobile phase composition on the ionization constant was studied by measuring the pK_a at different methanol-water mixtures, ranging between 50 and 65% (v/v), using LC-DAD method. Two simple, accurate, precise and fully validated analytical methods for the simultaneous determination of enalapril and lercanidipine in combined dosage forms have been developed. Separation was performed on an X-Terra RP-18 column (250 mm × 4.60 mm ID × 5 μm) at 40 °C with the mobile phase of methanol-water 55:45 (v/v) adjusted to pH 2.7 with 15 mM orthophosphoric acid. Isocratic elution was performed in less than 12 min with a flow rate of 1.2 mL min⁻¹. Good sensitivity for the analytes was observed with DAD detection. The LC method allowed quantitation over the 0.50-20.00 μg mL⁻¹ range for enalapril and lercanidipine. The second method depends on first derivative of the ratio-spectra by measurements of the amplitudes at 219.7 nm for enalapril and 233.0 nm for lercanidipine. Calibration graphs were established for 1-20 μg mL⁻¹ for enalapril and 1-16 μg mL⁻¹ lercanidipine, using first derivative of the ratio spectrophotometric method. Both methods have been extensively validated. These methods allow a number of cost and time saving benefits. The described methods can be readily utilized for analysis of pharmaceutical formulations. The methods have been applied, without any interference from excipients, for the simultaneous determination of these compounds in tablets. There was no significant difference between the performance of the proposed methods regarding the mean values and standard deviations.     

Uncertainty estimation in measurement of pKa values in nonaqueous media: A case study on basicity scale in acetonitrile medium

The difficulties in estimating uncertainty of pK_a values determined in nonaqueous media are reviewed and two different uncertainty estimation approaches are presented and applied to the pK_a values of the compounds on a previously established self-consistent spectrophotometric basicity scale in acetonitrile. One approach is based on the ISO GUM methodology (the “ISO GUM” approach) and involves careful analysis of the uncertainty sources and quantifying the respective uncertainty components. The second approach is based on the standard-deviation-like statistical parameter that has been used for characterization of the consistency of the scale (the “statistical” approach). It is demonstrated that the ISO GUM approach somewhat overestimates the uncertainty. The statistical approach is based on long-term within-laboratory statistical data and it is demonstrated that it underestimates the uncertainty. In particular it neglects the laboratory bias effects that are taken into account at least to some extent by the ISO GUM approach. Thus, together these two approaches allow to “bracket” the uncertainties of the pK_a values on the scale. The uncertainties of the pK_a values are defined in two different ways. Definition (a) includes the uncertainty of the pK_a of the reference base (anchor base of the scale) pyridine. Definition (b) excludes it. It is demonstrated that both definitions have their virtues. Definition (a) leads to the uncertainty ranges of 0.12-0.22 and 0.12-0.14 pK_a units at standard uncertainty level for different bases using the ISO GUM and statistical approach, respectively. Definition (b) leads to the uncertainty ranges of 0.04-0.19 and 0.02-0.08 pK_a units, respectively. The uncertainty of the pK_a of a given base is dependent on the quality of the measurements involved and on the distance from the reference base on the scale. The importance of the correlation between the pK_a values of bases belonging to the same scale is stressed.     

A coumarin-based fluorescent PET sensor utilizing supramolecular pKa shifts

A new coumarin derivative containing benzothiazole and piperazine substituents was synthesized. Preferential inclusion of the benzothiazole group, over the coumarin and piperazine groups, inside the cavity of the molecular container cucurbit[7]uril (CB7) was evidenced by using optical and NMR techniques. The binding constant of the new complex with CB7 is higher in its protonated forms (e.g., K = 2.8 × 10⁶ M⁻¹) than in its neutral forms, which led to an increase in the pK_a value associated with protonation of the aza nitrogen on the benzothiazole ring of ca. 2.5 units. Such CB7-induced protonation disabled the photoinduced electron transfer (PET) in the included molecule, enhancing its coumarin fluorescence up to ca. 45-fold (pH 3.5, 410 nm). The results are discussed in the context of designing sensitive analytical tools for reversible monitoring of optically inactive analytes by competitive displacement experiments.     

Determination of pKa values of tenoxicam from H NMR chemical shifts and of oxicams from electrophoretic mobilities (CZE) with the aid of programs SQUAD and HYPNMR

In this work it is explained, by the first time, the application of programs SQUAD and HYPNMR to refine equilibrium constant values through the fit of electrophoretic mobilities determined by capillary zone electrophoresis experiments, due to the mathematical isomorphism of UV-vis absorptivity coefficients, NMR chemical shifts and electrophoretic mobilities as a function of pH. Then, the pK_a values of tenoxicam in H₂O/DMSO 1:4 (v/v) have been obtained from ¹H NMR chemical shifts, as well as of oxicams in aqueous solution from electrophoretic mobilities determined by CZE, at 25 °C. These values are in very good agreement with those reported by spectrophotometric and potentiometric measurements.     

Charge equilibria and pK values of 5-carboxypyranomalvidin-3-glucoside (vitisin A) by electrophoresis and absorption spectroscopy

Apparent pK values of the wine pigment, 5-carboxypyranomalvidin-3-glucoside (vitisin A), were determined using UV-vis spectroscopy, viz. pK_a1=0.98 (±0.10), pK_H1=4.51 (±0.03) and pK_H2=7.57 (±0.02). An additional ionisation constant at high pH (pK_a4=8.84±0.06) was established by high-voltage paper electrophoresis. These data in conjunction with previously published pK_a values determined by high-voltage electrophoresis suggest that in wine (pH 3.2-3.8), 5-carboxypyranomalvidin-3-glucoside exists as a complex mixture of hydrated and non-hydrated, partially ionised species with the predominant species being the quinonoidal base (λ_max 498 nm).     

Thermodynamic cycle for the calculation of ab initio pKa values for hydroxamic acids

A thermodynamic cycle to calculate pK_a values (Minus log of acid dissociation constants) of hydroxamic acids is presented. Hydroxamic acids exist mainly as amide isomers in the aqueous medium. The amide form of hydroxamic acids has two deprotonation sites and may yield either an N-ion or an O-ion upon deprotonation. The thermodynamic cycle proposed includes the gas-phase N–H deprotonation of the hydroxamic acid, the solvent phase transformation of the N-ion to the O-ion and the solvation of the hydroxamic acid molecule and the O-ion in water. The CBS-QB3 method was employed to obtain gas-phase free energy differences between 12 hydroxamic acids and their respective anions. The aqueous solvation Gibbs free energy changes were calculated at the HF/6-31G(d)/CPCM and HF/6-31+G(d)/CPCM levels of theory using HF/6-31+G(d)/CPCM geometries. For the proton, literature values of the gas-phase free energy of formation and the solvation free energy change were used. The free energy change for the transformation of the N-ion to O-ion in the aqueous medium was calculated by employing CBS-QB3/CPCM in the aqueous medium. For this, the hydroxamic acids were divided in two classes according to the substituent at the carbonyl carbon. A common transformation free energy difference for aliphatic substituted hydroxamic acids and a separate common transformation free energy difference for aromatic substituted hydroxamic acids were obtained. The pK_a calculation yielded a root mean square error of 0.32 pK_a units.     

Prediction of aqueous solubilities of solid carboxylic acids with COSMO-RS

The methodology for the prediction of aqueous solubilities of solid organic compounds, and their temperature dependence, based on the Conductor-like Screening Model for Real Solvents (COSMO-RS/COSMOtherm) procedure, is presented and evaluated. The predictive capability of the quantum chemistry based program and the applied methodology was tested on the most common solid carboxylic acids. From the temperature dependence of the solubilities, the mean apparent enthalpies of solution were derived. The results obtained for a set of 27 carboxylic acids, consisting of aromatic carboxylic acids, dicarboxylic acids, as well as hydroxycarboxylic acids, are in good agreement with the experimental solubility data and their dependence with the temperature. The mean apparent enthalpies of solution, although of the same order of magnitude of the experimentally values, seem to be systematically underestimated.     

Calculations of pKa values of carboxylic acids in aqueous solution using Möller-Plesset perturbation theory

The acidity constants of some carboxylic acids in aqueous solution have been calculated. The calculations were carried out using Möller-Plesset (MP) perturbation theory. The Polarizable Continuum Model (PCM) is used to describe the solvent. This model furnishes pK_a values that agree more closely with experimental data than those obtained at the level of Hartree-Fock (HF) and Density Functional Theory (DFT-B3LYP). The root-mean-square of errors of the calculated pK_a values are less than 1.0 for the studied acids. The molecules analyzed consist of acids with pK_a values in the range of 1.30 to 5.05, and have been partitioned into three classes. Class I includes acids with pK_a values higher than 4.00. Class II includes strong acids with pK_a values between 3.00 to 4.00. Class III includes very strong acids with pK_a values less than 3.00. The calculated pK_a values for the acids in Class I and Class II agree more closely with experimental values. The root-mean-square of errors for the Class I and Class II compounds are 0.70 and 0.78 pK_a units, respectively.     

Iodomethane oxidative addition and CO migratory insertion in monocarbonylphosphine complexes of the type [Rh((C6H5)COCHCO((CH2)nCH3))(CO)(PPh3)]: Steric and electronic effects

The chemical kinetics, studied by UV/Vis, IR and NMR, of the oxidative addition of iodomethane to [Rh((C₆H₅)COCHCOR)(CO)(PPh₃)], with R = (CH₂)_nCH₃, n = 1-3, consists of three consecutive reaction steps that involves isomers of two distinctly different classes of Rh^III-alkyl and two distinctly different classes of Rh^III-acyl species. Kinetic studies on the first oxidative addition step of [Rh((C₆H₅)COCHCOR)(CO)(PPh₃)] + CH₃I to form [Rh((C₆H₅)COCHCOR)(CH₃)(CO)(PPh₃)(I)] revealed a second order oxidative addition rate constant approximately 500-600 times faster than that observed for the Monsanto catalyst [Rh(CO)₂I₂]⁻. The reaction rate of the first oxidative addition step in chloroform was not influenced by the increasing alkyl chain length of the R group on the β-diketonato ligand: k₁ = 0.0333 ([Rh((C₆H₅)COCHCO(CH₂CH₃))(CO)(PPh₃)]), 0.0437 ([Rh((C₆H₅)COCHCO(CH₂CH₂CH₃))(CO)(PPh₃)]) and 0.0354 dm³ mol⁻¹ s⁻¹ ([Rh((C₆H₅)COCHCO(CH₂CH₂CH₂CH₃))(CO)(PPh₃)]). The pK_a^′ and keto-enol equilibrium constant, K_c, of the β-diketones (C₆H₅)COCH₂COR, along with apparent group electronegativities, χ_R of the R group of the β-diketones (C₆H₅)COCH₂COR, give a measurement of the electron donating character of the coordinating β-diketonato ligand: (R, pK_a^′, K_c, χ_R) = (CH₃, 8.70, 12.1, 2.34), (CH₂CH₃, 9.33, 8.2, 2.31), (CH₂CH₂CH₃, 9.23, 11.5, 2.41) and (CH₂CH₂CH₂CH₃, 9.33, 11.6, 2.22).     

Environmentally benign oxidation reaction of aldehydes to their corresponding carboxylic acids using Pd/C with NaBH4 and KOH

Pd/C catalyst in aqueous methanol with sodium borohydride and potassium hydroxide under the air efficiently oxidized aldehydes to their corresponding carboxylic acids at room temperature. The utilization of room temperature reaction, aqueous methanol solvent, and the open-air conditions make this manipulation very interesting for economic and environmental perspectives.     

Spectrophotometric, potentiometric and chromatographic pKa values of polyphenolic acids in water and acetonitrile-water media

The pK_a values of nine polyphenolic acid substances in water and acetonitrile-water mixtures using potentiometric, spectrophotometric, and liquid chromatographic (LC) measurements, have been determined. Also, a new method based on the absorbance spectra at the maximum of chromatographic peaks previously obtained has been applied. This method can be applied to data obtained from LC-UV (diode array detection (DAD)) instruments and retains all the advantages of LC and spectrophotometric methods, such as the possibility of working with impure samples. Finally, the advantages of the different methods to the determination of pK_a values of nine polyphenolic acids have been described in order to verify the applicability of the proposed methods in aqueous and acetonitrile-water media.     

Acidity of several polyprotic acids, amiodarone and quetiapine hemifumarate in pure methanol

Methanol is the organic solvent closest to water and able to dissolve a huge amount of organic compounds. Therefore, it is a good candidate for pK_a determination of drugs sparingly soluble in water or a basic drug presented as a salt which pK_a is close to that of its counter-acid. In this work, the acidic dissociation constants in pure methanol of the most common acids used in pharmaceutical preparations (lactic, tartaric, fumaric, maleic and citric) were determined. In addition, the pK_a values of the antipsychotic quetiapine presented as hemifumarate (Seroquel) and the very insoluble antiarrhythmic amiodarone were also determined by potentiometry. From these values, the aqueous pK_a of these drugs were estimated by means of previously established equations. Estimated values are consistent with those from literature and show the interest of methanol for drug discovery pK_a measurements.     

Friedel-Crafts acylation of aromatic compounds with carboxylic acids in the presence of P2O5/SiO2 under heterogeneous conditions

A convenient and efficient procedure for the Friedel-Crafts acylation of aromatic compounds with carboxylic acids in the presence of P₂O₅/SiO₂ is described. Both aromatic and aliphatic carboxylic acids reacted easily to afford the corresponding aromatic ketones. The use of non-toxic and inexpensive materials, simple and clean work-up, short reaction times and good yields of the products are the advantages of this method.     

Ab initio calculations of pKa values of some organic acids in aqueous solution

The acidity of different classes of organic compounds in aqueous solution has been calculated. The calculations are carried out at the SCF level with inclusion of entropic and thermochemical correction to yield free energies of dissociations.

The polarized continuum model is used to describe the solvent. The model furnishes pK_a values in relatively good agreement with experimental data. Scaling different parts of solvation energies provides a significant improvement in results and signifies the importance of balance of individual contributions from electrostatic, cavity, dispersion and repulsion interactions.     

Reactivity of chlorinating agents/PPh3 for the chlorination of alcohols and carboxylic acids: a comparative study

The reactivity of chlorinating agents was examined with the aid of ¹H NMR using competitive reactions between selected chlorinating agents and CBr₄ towards alcohols and carboxylic acids. The reactivity was greatly dependent on the type of substituent on the chlorinating agents. COCCl₃ and CN substituted trichloromethyl groups enhanced the reactivity of the chlorinating agent with PPh₃ for the chlorination of alcohols and carboxylic acids.     

Synthesis of carboxylic acids based on the closo-decaborate anion

A series of new boron-containing carboxylic acids was prepared by the ring-opening reaction of cyclic oxonium derivatives of the closo-decaborate anion [B₁₀H₁₀]²⁻ with methyl esters of hydroxybenzoic acids or the cyanide anion followed by hydrolysis of the obtained nitrile and esters. Acid hydrolysis of the esters results in protonation of the oxygen atom connected to the boron cage, with the formation of the corresponding O-protonated acids, isolated in the solid state. The compounds synthesized can be used in radionuclide diagnostics and boron neutron capture therapy of cancer.