Cyclic hexapeptide of D,L-alpha-aminoxy acids as a selective receptor for chloride ion

Cyclic hexapeptide 2, prepared from linear hexapeptide 1 of alternating d- and l-alpha-aminoxy acids, was found to adopt a C3 symmetric and bracelet-like conformation with consecutive eight-membered-ring hydrogen bonds (N-O turns) in nonpolar solvents, similar to that of valinomycin, a cyclodepsipeptide that binds cations selectively. However, 2 showed affinities for halide ions with selectivity following the order of Cl- > F- > Br-. The observed higher selectivity for Cl- (Ka = 11880 M-1) over F- (Ka = 30 M-1) in CD2Cl2 suggested that the selectivity of 2 for halide ions is mainly governed by the size complementarity rather than the hydrogen-bonding strength. Upon Cl- ion binding, the original bracelet-like conformation of 2 turned into a rather flat conformation with all six amide NHs pointing inward to form hydrogen bonds with Cl-.     

Anion recognition by a family of quinoline-functionalised bis-amide hosts in solid state and in solution

The interaction between a series of bidentate, amide-functionalised 8-oxyquinoline receptors and coordinating anions is investigated. Anion recognition properties and conformations were studied by solid-state structures, Hartree–Fock calculations and solution-phase ¹H NMR investigations. Our findings suggest that the amide-oxyquinoline motif coordinates anions and water with a well-defined, consistent geometry involving multiple hydrogen bonds. Solution studies of the neutral receptors reveal the unprotonated oxyquinoline ring to indirectly contribute to anion binding by the adjacent amide NH groups despite being unable to directly participate through hydrogen bonding.     

Sugar amino acids and related molecules: Some recent developments

To meet the growing demands for the development of new molecular entities for discovering new drugs and materials, organic chemists have started working on many new concepts that can help to assimilate knowledge-based structural diversities more efficiently than ever before. Emulating the basic principles followed by Nature to build its vast repertoire of biomolecules, organic chemists are developing many novel multifunctional building blocks and using them to create ‘nature-like’ and yet unnatural organic molecules. Sugar amino acids constitute an important class of such polyfunctional scaffolds where the carboxyl, amino and hydroxyl termini provide an excellent opportunity to organic chemists to create structural diversities akin to Nature’s molecular arsenal. In recent years, sugar amino acids have been used extensively in the area of peptidomimetic studies. Advances made in the area of combinatorial chemistry can provide the necessary technological support for rapid compilations of sugar amino acidbased libraries exploiting the diversities of their carbohydrate frameworks and well-developed solid-phase peptide synthesis methods. This perspective article chronicles some of the recent applications of various sugar amino acids, furan amino acids, pyrrole amino acids etc. and many other related building blocks in wide-ranging peptidomimetic studies     

A Designed Three‐Stranded β‐Sheet in an α/β Hybrid Peptide

The incorporation of β‐amino acid residues into the antiparallel β‐strand segments of a multi‐stranded β‐sheet peptide is demonstrated for a 19‐residue peptide, Boc‐LV^βFV^DPGL^βFVVL^DPGLVL^βFVV‐OMe (BBH19). Two centrally positioned ^DPro–Gly segments facilitate formation of a stable three‐stranded β‐sheet, in which β‐phenylalanine (^βPhe) residues occur at facing positions 3, 8 and 17. Structure determination in methanol solution is accomplished by using NMR‐derived restraints obtained from NOEs, temperature dependence of amide NH chemical shifts, rates of H/D exchange of amide protons and vicinal coupling constants. The data are consistent with a conformationally well‐defined three‐stranded β‐sheet structure in solution. Cross‐strand interactions between ^βPhe3/^βPhe17 and ^βPhe3/Val15 residues define orientations of these side‐chains. The observation of close contact distances between the side‐chains on the N‐ and C‐terminal strands of the three‐stranded β‐sheet provides strong support for the designed structure. Evidence is presented for multiple side‐chain conformations from an analysis of NOE data. An unusual observation of the disappearance of the Gly NH resonances upon prolonged storage in methanol is rationalised on the basis of a slow aggregation step, resulting in stacking of three‐stranded β‐sheet structures, which in turn influences the conformational interconversion between type I′ and type II′ β‐turns at the two ^DPro–Gly segments. Experimental evidence for these processes is presented. The decapeptide fragment Boc‐LV^βFV^DPGL^βFVV‐OMe (BBH10), which has been previously characterized as a type I′ β‐turn nucleated hairpin, is shown to favour a type II′ β‐turn conformation in solution, supporting the occurrence of conformational interconversion at the turn segments in these hairpin and sheet structures.     

Synthesis of small tripeptide molecules through a catalysis sequence comprising metathesis and aminohydroxylation

Tripeptidic structures were synthesized by using a combination of two independent consecutive catalytic procedures. Cross-metathesis of N-acroyl amino acid esters yields fumaric amide compounds with exclusive E double-bond geometry. This represents an unprecedented example of complete double-bond selectivity in this kind of reaction. A subsequent asymmetric aminohydroxylation of the chiral fumaric amides was carried out without the need of any further ligand and gave high yields and no side products. This reaction transforms the central fumaric amide unit into a hydroxy aspartic acid moiety and relies on the inherent stereochemistry of the starting fumaric diamides. An additional feature of our sequence is the ease of generating stereochemical diversification within the aminohydroxylation reaction. As a consequence, rapid conformational and configurational diversification can be achieved from the overall two-step catalytic sequence. The versatility of this approach is demonstrated by starting from two different N-acroyl amino esters, which led to the synthesis of eight structurally and stereochemically different tripeptides that could all be identified individually. As such, the present two-step catalytic approach should serve to efficiently synthesize large families of tripeptidic molecular probes.     

Urea-, squaramide-, and sulfonamide-based anion receptors: a thermodynamic study

In this work, we compare the anion-binding capabilities of receptors 1-5, characterized by similar structures, but possessing different hydrogen-bond-donor moieties (urea, squaramide, and sulfonamide). The presence of chromophoric substituents on the receptor's skeleton allowed the determination of association constants by performing UV/Vis titrations with the investigated anions on solutions of the receptors in pure acetonitrile. Additional quantitative studies of the anion-binding properties of receptors 1-5 were performed by isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC). The experimental results indicated that 1 and 2 formed 1:1 hydrogen-bonded complexes with most of the anions investigated. In the case of receptors 3-5, the formation of the 1:1 adduct was observed only with anions of low basicity (i.e., chloride, bromide, iodide, and hydrogen sulfate). With more basic anions (i.e., acetate and dihydrogen phosphate), both spectrophotometric and ITC titrations accounted for the deprotonation of the sulfonamide group, involving the formation of the conjugated base of the receptor.     

A novel cyclic hexapeptide as chiral selector: Application for HPLC separation of a series of dansyl amino and arylalkanoic acids

In this paper, the synthesis of a cyclic hexapeptide molecule was presented and evaluated for the enantiomer separation of a series of dansyl amino and arylalkanoic acids using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). It was clearly vizualized that this chiral selector allowed the separation of a great number of enantiomer pairs. The influences of the size and the hydrogen bonding donor (HBD) parameter of the organic modifier (OM) (THF (HBD = 0.00), propan-2-ol (HBD = 0.33), methanol (HBD = 0.43)) added in the mobile phase were also investigated on both the enantiomer-chiral selector association and enantioseparation.     

A Study of the Solvation Structure of l‐Leucine in Alcohol–Water Binary Solvents through Molecular Dynamics Simulations and FTIR and NMR Spectroscopy

The solvation structures of l ‐leucine (Leu) in aliphatic‐alcohol–water and fluorinated‐alcohol–water solvents are elucidated for various alcohol contents by using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and IR, and ¹H and ¹³C NMR spectroscopy. The aliphatic alcohols included methanol, ethanol, and 2‐propanol, whereas the fluorinated alcohols were 2,2,2‐trifluoroethanol and 1,1,1,3,3,3‐hexafluoro‐2‐propanol. The MD results show that the hydrophobic alkyl moiety of Leu is surrounded by the alkyl or fluoroalkyl groups of the alcohol molecules. In particular, TFE and HFIP significantly solvate the alkyl group of Leu. IR spectra reveal that the Leu C?H stretching vibration blueshifts in fluorinated alcohol solutions with increasing alcohol content, whereas the vibration redshifts in aliphatic alcohol solutions. When the C?H stretching vibration blueshifts in the fluorinated alcohol solutions, the hydrogen and carbon atoms of the Leu alkyl group are magnetically shielded. Consequently, TFE and HFIP molecules may solvate the Leu alkyl group through the blue‐shifting hydrogen bonds.     

What anions do inside a receptor's cavity: a trifurcate anion receptor providing both electrostatic and hydrogen-bonding interactions

The trifurcate receptor 1(3+) forms stable 1:1 complexes with halide and oxo anions in MeCN solution, as shown by spectrophotometric and 1H NMR experiments, and selectively recognizes chloride (lg K(ass) > 7) in the presence of fluoride and bromide. The high stability reflects the receptor's ability to donate up to six hydrogen bonds (from three pyrrole N-H and three C-H fragments, polarized by the proximate positive charge) to the included anion. Addition of an excess of more basic anions (F- and CH3COO-) induces stepwise deprotonation of the N-H groups, an event signalled by the appearance of a bright yellow color. Crystal and molecular structures are reported for the complex with NO3(-) and a capsule consisting of two interconnected trifurcate subunits, one of which includes an H-bound Br- ion, while the other is doubly deprotonated and includes an H-bound water molecule. Finally, evidence is given for the formation in solution of an authentic complex of OH-, in which H-bound hydroxide is included within the cavity of 1(3+).