Chiral recognition of dipeptides in a biomembrane model

Chiral recognition of the enantiomeric couples of ditryptophan and diphenylalanine was observed by (1)H NMR spectroscopy in micelles formed by sodium N-dodecanoyl-L-prolinate. Ditryptophan showed a selective association with the Z domains of the amidic aggregates, whereas diphenylalanine did not show any selectivity in the association. Partition coefficients between water and aggregates were evaluated by diffusion NMR experiments. Intramolecular distances of ditryptophan isomers associated with chiral aggregates were obtained by ROESY experiments and were used as constraints in molecular mechanics calculations. From these calculations, information on the conformation of the peptides in the chiral aggregates was obtained.     

Discrimination of the enantiomers of biphenylic derivatives in micellar aggregates formed by chiral amidic surfactants

The chirality of micellar aggregates formed by surfactants derived from l-proline was investigated by using two chiral biphenylic derivatives as probes of chirality. The investigation carried out by ¹H NMR, circular dichroism, and HPLC on chiral phase demonstrates that chiral recognition may occur in sites of the aggregates far from the head-group stereogenic centers and it is due to interaction with a whole region of the aggregate rather than with a single monomer in the aggregate. Subtle changes of the structure of the monomer influence the aggregation properties of the surfactants and its expression of chirality.     

A new simple procedure for discriminating between deracemization and an induced CD Effect in chiral recognition experiments on atropoisomers

A CD band in chiral recognition experiments on racemic stereolabile compounds can be ascribed either to deracemization or to a solely induced CD effect. A procedure is presented that allows one to discriminate positively between the two phenomena. The procedure, based on CD spectroscopy, was used in experiments on racemic biphenylic derivatives in aggregates formed by enantiopure surfactants. In addition to demonstrating a deracemization event, the procedure allowed us to measure the enantiomeric excess.     

Cholesterol-armed cyclens for helical metal complexes offering chiral self-aggregation and sensing of amino acid anions in aqueous solutions

Cholesterol-armed cyclens worked as octadentate receptors for Na+, Ca2+, and Y3+ complexes in which four chiral cholesterol-functionalized sidearms were bundled and asymmetrically twisted above cyclen-metal complex platforms. Since the resulting helical metal complexes included chiral, hydrophobic cholesterol residues and charged, hydrophilic metal sites as well as asymmetric coordination geometries, they exhibited unique amphiphilic properties and provided chiral self-aggregates in aqueous solutions. Light scattering, fluorescence, and TEM characterizations demonstrated that Na+ complex with cholesterol-armed cyclen gave a particularly stable self-aggregate in aqueous solution and offered supramolecular environments effective for sensing and detection of amino acid anions. Various dansylamino acid derivatives (dansyl = 5-(dimethylamino)-1-naphthalenesulfonyl) were nicely accommodated in the helicate aggregates to give highly enhanced fluorescence signals, which could be detected by the naked eye at 10(-7) mol/L level. Their inclusion behaviors were analyzed by a Langmuir-type equation, indicating that enantiomer-selective inclusion occurred. MM/MD calculations and circular dichroism (CD) studies further suggested that cholesterol-armed cyclen helicates have chiral and hydrophobic cavities upon self-aggregation, in which the dansylamino acid anions were specifically accommodated. Since these helicates exhibited nonselective binding abilities in solvent extraction experiments of dansylamino acid anions, uncommon chiral recognition and sensing functions were generated by supramolecular alignments of the chiral metal helicates in the aqueous solutions.     

Molecular recognition with micellar and micelle-like aggregates in aqueous media

In this article, attention is directed to molecular recognition by micellar aggregates made with ionic surfactants involving directed interactions of substrates. Particular emphasis is placed on chiral recognition of enantiomers by hydrogen bonding functionalities incorporated in hydrophobic micellar interior. Hydrophobic properties within micelles, the ordering of their polar headgroups containing chiral functionalities essential for the recognition and the cessation of micellar kinetic association-dissociation with polymerization and immobilization of the surfactants on the support are discussed.     

Isolable chiral aggregates of achiral π-conjugated carboxylic acids

The induced aggregation of achiral building blocks by a chiral species to form chiral aggregates with memorized chirality has been observed for a number of systems. However, chiral memory in isolated aggregates of achiral building blocks remains rare. One possible reason for this discrepancy could be that not much is understood in terms of designing these chiral aggregates. Herein, we report a strategy for creating such isolable chiral aggregates from achiral building blocks that retain chiral memory after the facile physical removal of the chiral templates. This strategy was used for the isolation of chiral homoaggregates of neutral achiral π-conjugated carboxylic acids in pure aqueous solution. Under what we have termed an "interaction-substitution" mechanism, we generated chiral homoaggregates of a variety of π-conjugated carboxylic acids by using carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) as a mediator in acidic aqueous solutions. These aggregates were subsequently isolated from the CMC templates whilst retaining their memorized supramolecular chirality. Circular dichroism (CD) spectra of the aggregates formed in the acidic CMC solution exhibited bisignated exciton-coupled signals of various signs and intensities that were maintained in the isolated pure homoaggregates of the achiral π-conjugated carboxylic acids. The memory of the supramolecular chirality in the isolated aggregates was ascribed to the substitution of COOH/COOH hydrogen-bonding interaction between the carboxylic acid groups within the aggregates for the hydrogen-bonding interactions between the COOH groups of the building blocks and the chiral templates. We expect that this "interaction-substitution" procedure will open up a new route to isolable pure chiral aggregates from achiral species.     

Isolable Chiral Aggregates of Achiral π‐Conjugated Carboxylic Acids

The induced aggregation of achiral building blocks by a chiral species to form chiral aggregates with memorized chirality has been observed for a number of systems. However, chiral memory in isolated aggregates of achiral building blocks remains rare. One possible reason for this discrepancy could be that not much is understood in terms of designing these chiral aggregates. Herein, we report a strategy for creating such isolable chiral aggregates from achiral building blocks that retain chiral memory after the facile physical removal of the chiral templates. This strategy was used for the isolation of chiral homoaggregates of neutral achiral π‐conjugated carboxylic acids in pure aqueous solution. Under what we have termed an “interaction–substitution” mechanism, we generated chiral homoaggregates of a variety of π‐conjugated carboxylic acids by using carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) as a mediator in acidic aqueous solutions. These aggregates were subsequently isolated from the CMC templates whilst retaining their memorized supramolecular chirality. Circular dichroism (CD) spectra of the aggregates formed in the acidic CMC solution exhibited bisignated exciton‐coupled signals of various signs and intensities that were maintained in the isolated pure homoaggregates of the achiral π‐conjugated carboxylic acids. The memory of the supramolecular chirality in the isolated aggregates was ascribed to the substitution of COOH/COOH hydrogen‐bonding interaction between the carboxylic acid groups within the aggregates for the hydrogen‐bonding interactions between the COOH groups of the building blocks and the chiral templates. We expect that this “interaction–substitution” procedure will open up a new route to isolable pure chiral aggregates from achiral species.     

Chiral ionic liquids: synthesis, properties, and enantiomeric recognition

We have synthesized a series of structurally novel chiral ionic liquids which have a either chiral cation, chiral anion, or both. Cations are an imidazolium group, while anions are based on a borate ion with spiral structure and chiral substituents. Both (or all) stereoisomeric forms of each compound in the series can be readily synthesized in optically pure form by a simple one-step process from commercially available reagents. In addition to the ease of preparation, most of the chiral ILs in this series are liquid at room temperature with a solid to liquid transformation temperature as low as -70 degrees C and have relatively high thermal stability (up to at least 300 degrees C). Circular dichroism and X-ray crystallographic results confirm that the reaction to form the chiral spiral borate anion is stereospecific, namely, only one of two possible spiral stereoisomers was formed. Results of NMR studies including 1H{15N} heteronuclear single quantum coherence (HSQC) show that these chiral ILs exhibit intramolecular as well as intermolecular enantiomeric recognition. Intramolecularly, the chiral anion of an IL was found to exhibit chiral recognition toward the cation. Specifically, for a chiral IL composing with a chiral anion and a racemic cation, enantiomeric recognition of the chiral anion toward both enantiomers of the cation lead to pronounced differences in the NMR bands of the cation enantiomers. The chiral recognition was found to be dependent on solvent dielectric constant, concentration, and structure of the ILs. Stronger enantiomeric recognition was found in solvent with relatively lower dielectric constants (CDCl3 compared to CD3CN) and at higher concentration of ILs. Also, stronger chiral recognition was found for anions with a relatively larger substituent group (e.g., chiral anion with a phenylmethyl group exhibits stronger chiral recognition compared to that with a phenyl group, and an anion with an isobutyl group has the weakest chiral recognition). Chiral anions were also found to exhibit intermolecular chiral recognition. Enantiomeric discrimination was found for a chiral IL composed of a chiral anion and achiral cation toward another chiral molecule such as a quinine derivative.     

Chiral recognition: design and preparation of chiral stationary phases using selectors derived from ugi multicomponent condensation reactions and a combinatorial approach

Combinatorial approaches together with high-throughput screening have been used to develop highly selective stationary phases for chiral recognition. Libraries of potential chiral selectors have been prepared by the Ugi multicomponent condensation reactions and screened for their enantioselectivity using the reciprocal approach involving a chiral stationary phase with immobilized model target compound N-(3,5-dinitrobenzoyl)-alpha-l-leucine. The best candidates were identified from the library of phenyl amides of 2-oxo-azetidineacetic acid derivatives. This screening also enabled specification of the functionalities of the selector desired to achieve the highest level of chiral recognition. The substituents of the phenyl ring adjacent to the chiral center of the selector candidates exhibited the most profound effect on the chiral recognition. The best candidate was then synthesized on a larger scale, resolved into single enantiomers using preparative enantioselective HPLC, and attached to porous poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate-co-ethylene dimethacrylate) beads via an ester linkage to afford the desired stationary phase. Selectivities alpha as high as 3.2 were found for the separation of a variety of amino acid derivatives.     

The role of central ion in chiral recognition by taking phenylalanine as an example

Chiral recognition of phenylalanine (Phe) was achieved in the gas phase by electrospray ionization Q-TOF tandem mass spectrometry. In this method, two central ions, i.e. proton and divalent copper, were used and chiral crown ether, (+)-2,3,11,12-tetracarboxylic acid-18-crown-6 (18-C-6-TCA), was used as a chiral host. Dimeric complexes were readily formed by electrospray ionization of a methanol/water (50/50, V/V) solution containing central ions, Phe and 18-C-6-TCA. The dimeric complex included proton-bound (18-C-6-TCA)(Phe)H+ and copper-bound deprotonated [Cu²⁺(18-C-6-TCA)(Phe)-H]⁺ ions were mass selected and then collided with Ar in the CID experiments. The chiral recognition capability of these complexes was evaluated using the relative abundance of daughter ion to parent ion. A higher degree of chiral recognition ability was observed with Cu²⁺ compared to that of H⁺. Different central ions exhibited distinctive dissociation pathways and unique chiral recognition characteristics. The chiral recognition mechanism was also discussed in detail with the help of the structure of copper-bound complex predicted by theoretical calculation.     

Rastertunnelmikroskopie an chiralen Molekülen: Nanochemie

The imaging and manipulation capabilities of the scanning tunnelling microscope (STM) render possible a novel nanoscale chemistry based on experiments with single molecules. Herein, we address several aspects of a nanoscale stereochemistry using the STM. As an example, we investigate 1‐nitronaphthalene on Au(111). 1‐Nitronaphthalene becomes chiral upon planar adsorption on the metal surface. High‐resolution STM images reflect the asymmetric electronic structure of the molecules and allow for the determination of the absolute configuration of any individual molecule within complex molecular structures. At medium coverage, spontaneous breaking of the chiral symmetry results in the formation of homochiral conglomerates, while at high coverage racemic structures prevail. Finally, the tip of the STM is used to separate “supramolecule‐by‐supramolecule” a racemic mixture of chiral 1‐nitronaphthalene aggregates into the enantiopure compounds.     

Chiral recognition of borneol by association with zinc(II) and l-tryptophan in the gas phase

Chiral recognition of the racemic borneol was obtained in the gas phase by using electrospray ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (ESI-TOFMS) and electrospray ionization Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (ESI-FTMS). Both single stage MS and tandem MS were employed for investigating the chiral recognition depending strongly on the stereochemistry of the ligands in the zinc(II)-l-tryptophan-borneol multimeric cluster ions. It was found that the type of acid which was used for adjusting the pH of the mixed solution played an important role in the chiral recognition, which was obtained when acetic acid or propanoic acid was used as an additive. No chiral recognition was observed using hydrochloric acid or formic acid. Furthermore, the nozzle potential was an important parameter for optimizing the discrimination of chirality. In tandem MS, the difference in intensity between two diastereomeric complex ions showed chiral recognition behavior. Such a difference could be determined by two approaches. One was using the fragment ion as an internal standard, the other was a new approach of using the isotopic form of parent complex ion as an internal standard.     

Diastereomeric cinchona based surfactants: features and chirality expression of their aggregates

The preparation and the aggregation properties of new diastereomeric cationic cinchona derivatized surfactants are described. The opposite configuration of a stereogenic center strongly influences the morphology, the colloidal features, and the chiral recognition capabilities of the diastereomeric aggregates that have been investigated by various physico-chemical tools.     

Equilibrium binding model of bile salt-mediated chiral micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography.

Optimum concentration of bile salts in chiral separations depends on both the aggregation properties of the surfactant and the stability of the analyte-micelle complexes. An equilibrium model is proposed in which these two effects are treated separately. First the aggregation constants should be determined under the experimental conditions of the chiral MEKC analysis. With these data, the equilibrium concentrations of bile salt aggregates can be calculated at any total surfactant concentration. Using the Offord equation to approximate the mobilities of the enantiomer-bile salt complexes, a model function has been derived to fit the experimental mobilities. The method yields the binding constants of the enantiomers to each aggregate present. Those species are assumed to be important in the chiral recognition process, which have significantly different stability constants for the enantiomers. The method is demonstrated by the chiral separation of R- and S-1,1'-binaphthyl-2,2'-diyl hydrogen phosphate with sodium taurodeoxycholate. Based on the calculated binding constants, tetrameric aggregates are assumed to be the discriminating species, while no significant difference in enantiomer binding to dimers was found.     

多糖类手性固定相超临界流体色谱法分离手性化合物

采用超临界流体色谱法(SFC),在多糖固定相Chiralpak IA、IB、IC、ID、IE和IF上成功拆分了11种手性化合物。分离结果表明,这6支手性色谱柱对这些手性化合物具有良好的手性识别互补性,均可以在10 min之内得到良好的分离结果,具有较好的实用性。改性剂甲醇、乙醇和异丙醇对手性化合物的保留时间以及手性选择性均具有良好的调节作用,需要根据不同手性物质在手性柱上的分离情况加以区别,选择使用,并调节改性剂至合适的比例。针对键合型固定相溶剂通用性的特征,特殊改性剂的应用也有助于优化手性分离。     

涂布溶剂对涂敷型手性固定相手性识别能力的影响

以微晶纤维素为原料,在非均相乙酰化条件下反应合成了微晶纤维素三醋酸酯。分别以二氯甲烷、三氯甲烷作涂布溶剂,采用减压蒸发溶剂法将其涂布在硅胶上制备成适宜于高效液相色谱上用的涂敷型手性固定相,得到的ＣＳＰｓ对反－２,３－二苯基环氧乙烷和吡喹酮均具有较好的手性识别能力。     

Bile Salts in Chiral Micellar Electrokinetic Chromatography: 2000–2020

Bile salts are naturally occurring chiral surfactants that are able to solubilize hydrophobic compounds. Because of this ability, bile salts were exploited as chiral selectors added to the background solution (BGS) in the chiral micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC) of various small molecules. In this review, we aimed to examine the developments in research on chiral MEKC using bile salts as chiral selectors over the past 20 years. The review begins with a discussion of the aggregation of bile salts in chiral recognition and separation, followed by the use of single bile salts and bile salts with other chiral selectors (i.e., cyclodextrins, proteins and single-stranded DNA aptamers). Advanced techniques such as partial-filling MEKC, stacking and single-drop microextraction were considered. Potential applications to real samples, including enantiomeric impurity analysis, were also discussed.     

Chiral recognition of binaphthyl derivatives using electrokinetic chromatography and steady-state fluorescence anisotropy: effect of temperature

The effect of temperature on the chiral recognition of binaphthyl derivatives in the presence of poly sodium N-undecanoyl-LL-leucyl-leucinate (poly LL-SULL) is examined using electrokinetic chromatography (EKC) and steady-state fluorescence anisotropy. An examination of the effect of temperature suggests that the chiral recognition of 1,1'-binaphthyl-2,2'-diol enantiomers improves with increasing temperature, whereas lower temperatures resulted in better enantiosolectivity in the case of 1,1'-binaphthyl-2,2'-diyl hydrogen phosphate enantiomers. In addition, steady-state fluorescence anisotropy results show that the anisotropy of the two enantiomers are different when complexed to poly-(LL) SULL. As would be expected, the enantiomer that binds stronger to the chiral pseudostationary phase, as evidenced by EKC experiments, had higher anisotropy values. The results of this study suggest that steady-state fluorescence anisotropy can be used to gain further insight into chiral recognition.     

Stereochemistry-Controlled Supramolecular Architectures of New Tetrahydroxy-Functionalised Amphiphilic Carbocyanine Dyes

The syntheses of novel amphiphilic 5,5′,6,6′-tetrachlorobenzimidacarbocyanine (TBC) dye derivatives with aminopropanediol head groups, which only differ in stereochemistry (chiral enantiomers, meso form and conformer), are reported. For the achiral meso form, a new synthetic route towards asymmetric cyanine dyes was established. All compounds form J aggregates in water, the optical properties of which were characterised by means of spectroscopic methods. The supramolecular structure of the aggregates is investigated by means of cryo-transmission electron microscopy, cryo-electron tomography and AFM, revealing extended sheet-like aggregates for chiral enantiomers and nanotubes for the mesomer, respectively, whereas the conformer forms predominately needle-like crystals. The experiments demonstrate that the aggregation behaviour of compounds can be controlled solely by head group stereochemistry, which in the case of enantiomers enables the formation of extended hydrogen-bond chains by the hydroxyl functionalities. In case of the achiral meso form, however, such chains turned out to be sterically excluded.     

Synthesis of novel chiral bis-N-substituted-hydrazinecarboxamide receptors and probing their solution-phase recognition to chiral carboxylic guests by ESI-TOF/MS and tandem ESI-MS

Seven novel bis-N-substituted-hydrazinecarboxamide receptors were synthesized in good to excellent yields by reacting chiral dicarbohydrazides, obtained from commercially available tartaric acid, with substituted aromatic isocyanates. The newly synthesized hydrazinecarboxamides formed structurally unique supramolecular aggregates, which have been confirmed by ESI-TOF/MS and tandem ESI-MS. They also showed molecular recognition to a selection of chiral carboxylic guests and oligopeptides, which mimic the backbone structure of the bacterial cell wall. The structures of the novel compounds were verified by various spectroscopic techniques including FTIR, ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR, ESI-TOF/MS, tandem ESI-MS, 2D ROESY NMR, and CD spectroscopy.