Structure elucidation with lanthanide-induced shifts. 4—Bound shifts vs relative shifts

The use of lanthanide shift reagents (LSR's) to obtain additional structural information from nuclear magnetic resonance studies has gained widespread acceptance. However, there has not been general agreement with regard to the most appropriate methodology for analysis of the shifted NMR spectra. We present arguments that only the bound shifts (Δ₁) corresponding to the LS complex should be used for correlation of lanthanide-induced shifts with molecular structure by means of the pseudocontact equation. Several examples are discussed of compounds for which the relative induced shifts are dependent on the concentration of LSR. For such cases it is not possible for both Δ₁ and Δ₂ (the bound shift corresponding to the LS₂ complex) to correlate successfully with the correct structure. Alternative methods of obtaining bound shifts are critically evaluated.     

Structure elucidation with lanthanide induced shifts. 6—solvent effects on bound shifts and association constants

The NMR spectra of acetone, adamantanone and 1-adamantanecarbonitrile have been studied in the presence of Eu(fod)₃ in various solvents. A substantial solvent dependence is found for the association constants between shift reagent and substrate. The magnitude of the association constants is correlated with solvent polarity, and a tenfold decrease in K₁ is observed upon changing from carbon tetrachloride to the more polar dichloromethane. Only a very small solvent dependence is observed for the bound shifts. The relative bound shifts (and therefore the structures of the LS complexes) are found to be solvent independent. The small solvent dependence of the absolute magnitude of the bound shifts for the LS complexes is suggested to result from experimental errors.     

Lanthanide induced shifts in the NMR spectra of methyl methoxybenzoates and methoxybenzenes

Aromatic methyl ethers appear to bind strongly to the NMR shift reagent Eu(fod)₃ only when there are at least two ether groups ortho to each other. Isolated or lone methyl ethers are very weakly bound to shift reagent as compared to an ester group. It is proposed that europium is involved in strong bidentate binding to ortho oxygens in veratrole, 1,2,3-trimethoxybenzene, methyl veratrate, methyl 3,4,5-trimethoxybenzoate and reserpine. The resultant shifts in molecules with several sites of comparable binding ability are subjected to population analysis using shifts from model compounds. Populations of individual substrate-lanthanide complexes are calculated and demonstrate the additivity of lanthanide induced shifts in these systems.     

Lanthanide-induced shifts in proton NMR spectra of cyclohexanones

The lanthanide-induced shifts (LIS) of the lanthanide shift reagent (LSR) Eu(FOD)₃ are reported for a large number of cyclohexanones, especially those which are highly substituted. The following compounds were synthesized and characterized: 3-(aryl)-3,5,5-trimethylcyclohexanones, in which aryl = 1-naphthyl, phenyl, o-anisyl, m-anisyl, p-anisyl and p-chlorophenyl. Some analogous compounds were also studied: 3,5,5-trimethylcyclohexanone, 4-tert-butyl-cyclohexanone, 3,3,5,5-tetramethylcyclohexanone 3-(1-naphthyl)5,5-dimethylcyclohexanone and para-tert-butyl-anisole. A method for the regression analysis of the concentration dependence of the LIS of these substrates is developed and reported, and used to derive the limiting incremental LIS (Δ₂) for the LS₂ complex and to evaluate the proton chemical shifts (δ₀) in the absence of LSR. An ‘incremental dilution’ technique was found to be most appropriate to insure constant substrate concentrations, needed to extract both Δ₂ and δ₀. The conformations of the 3-(aryl)-type systems and analogous compounds were studied via LIS and found to conform to:—(i) an axially disposed aryl substituent in the 3,3,5,5-tetra-substituted cyclohexanones and (ii) a flattened chair form of the cyclohexanone ring with distortions in this chair form being an increase in the syn-diaxial (C-3, C-5) substituent distance (C-3 and C-5 substituents still eclipsed). The LIS were fully compatible with these structural assumptions.     

Predicting 15N amide chemical shifts in proteins. I. An additive model for the backbone contribution

Because proteins adopt unique structures, chemically identical nuclei in proteins exhibit different chemical shifts. Amide ¹⁵N chemical shifts have been shown to vary over 20 ppm. The cause of these chemical shift inequivalencies is the different intra‐ and intermolecular interactions that individual nuclei experience at different locations in the protein structure. These chemical shift inequivalencies can be described as structural shifts, the difference between the actual chemical shift and the random coil chemical shift. As a first step toward the prediction of these amide ¹⁵N structural shifts, calculations have been carried out on acetyl‐glycine‐methyl amide to examine how a neighboring peptide group influences the amide ¹⁵N structural shifts. The ϕ,ψ dihedral angle space is completely surveyed, while all other geometrical variables are held fixed, to isolate the effect of the backbone conformation. Similar calculations for a limited number of conformations of acetyl‐glycine‐glycine‐methyl amide were carried out, where the effects of the two terminal peptide groups on the central amide ¹⁵N structural shift are examined. It is shown that the effect of the two adjacent groups can be accurately modeled by combining their individual effects additively. This provides a quite simple method to predict the backbone influence on amide ¹⁵N structural shifts in proteins. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Comput Chem 22: 366–372, 2001     

Standardization of chemical shifts of TMS and solvent signals in NMR solvents

The standard for chemical shift is dilute tetramethylsilane (TMS) in CDCl3, but many measurements are made relative to TMS in other solvents, the proton resonance of the solvent peak or relative to the lock frequency. Here, the chemical shifts of TMS and the proton and deuterium chemical shifts of the solvent signals of several solvents are measured over a wide temperature range. This allows for the use of TMS or the solvent and lock signal as a secondary reference for other NMR signals, as compared with dilute TMS in CDCl3 at a chosen temperature; 25 degrees C is chosen here. An accuracy of 0.02 ppm is achievable for dilute solutions, provided that the interaction with the solvent is not very strong. The proton chemical shift of residual water is also reported where appropriate.     

Lanthanide induced 1H and 13C NMR shifts and their use for geometry analysis with alicyclic compounds

Based on computations with conformationally rigid substrates the ambiguities involved in the geometrical analysis of pseudocontact shifts are demonstrated. The minimal agreement factors R and the corresponding lanthanide positions (usually more than one) are extremely dependent upon the chosen structural data for the model substrate and on the errors of the experimental shift values. It is observed, that a difference or improvement of R factors of less than 3% is not significant in most cases. This is so, even on the basis of Ytterbium induced ¹³C shifts, which are found to be more accurate than ¹H shifts and free from contact contributions within the experimental error. Using lanthanide induced shifts some ¹³C signal assignment problems are discussed. The computed minima for five substituted norbornanols indicate a lanthanide position with an L . . . O distance of d = 2·5 Å for the secondary alcohols and an orientation avoiding gauche interactions with the two neighbouring CC bonds. Similar computed results are obtained with five bicyclic ketones, except for an L . . . O distance from 3 to 4 Å increasing with steric hindrance. The particular problems with the analysis of symmetrical compounds like cyclohexyl derivatives are pointed out.     

Large lanthanide-induced chemical shifts in cobalt complexes of enethials (α,β-unsaturated thioaldehydes)

Eu(fod)₃-, Yb(fod)₃- and Pr(fod)₃-induced chemical shifts of the ‘thioaldehydic’ protons in enethial ligands complexed to a cobalt cyclopentadienyl group are unusually large and in the same direction (10–30 ppm downfield per mole of shift reagent per mole of substrate). The shifts of the protons induced by Eu(fod)₃ and Pr(fod)₃ in the enethial ligands show an alternation in sign on proceeding away from the sulfur atom. In contrast to the results with the fod reagents, the ytterbium and lanthanum shift reagents Yb(thd)₃ and La(thd)₃ caused only small shifts of protons in the 2-phenylpropenethial ligand. No induced shifts with the Eu or Pr reagents were observed for a cyclopentadienyl cobalt complex of dithioglyoxal. The induced shifts in these enethial complexes may be caused by varying blends of complex formation, contact and pseudocontact shifts. Caution is advised in assigning origins to lanthanide induced shifts in such organometallic systems.     

Lanthanide-induced shifts in proton NMR spectra—IV: Praseodymium-induced shifts to lower applied fields and obscured chemical shifts from lanthanide-induced shift (LIS) data

Praseodymium(III) tris(dipivalomethanato) [Pr(DPM)₃] reduces the complex overlapping aromatic absorptions in the proton NMR spectrum of a monosubstituted naphthalene, cis-3-(1-naphthyl)-1,3,5,5-tetramethlcyclohexan-1-ol( 1 ) to a virtually first-order pattern, whereas Eu(DPM)₃ at the same and higher molar concentrations does not completely resolve the aromatic proton signals. Plots of the Pr(DPM)₃-induced shifts measured in carbon tetrachloride solution versus molar equivalents of Pr(DPM)₃ added may be extrapolated to provide accurate chemical shifts in the absence of added lanthanide shift reagent (LSR). The qualitative conformational conclusions from the Pr(DPM)₃ shifts agree with those from the Eu(DPM)₃-induced shifts, but there are detailed differences in the relative lanthanide-induced shifts (LIS) for different proton types in the molecule.     

Evaluation of limiting-induced shifts of disubstituted adamantane derivatives on the basis of shift additivity

A quantitative interpretation of ¹H NMR spectra of symmetrically disubstituted adamantane derivatives (2,4-adamantanedione, 2,6-adamantanedione and 2,4-adamantanetdiol) with shift reagents is reported. Assumptions are made of shift additivity and an average coordination of one molecule of the shift reagent to both functional groups. A much better fit between the experimental and the calculated set of limiting-induced shifts was obtained for calculations based on shift additivity.     

Chemical shifts of phenolic monomers in solution and implications for addition and self‐condensation

Alkali metal counter‐cations alter the electron density of phenolates in solution by electrostatic interactions. This change in electron density affects their reactivity toward formaldehyde, hydroxymethylphenols, and isocyanates during polymerization. The electronic perturbation of phenolic model compounds in the presence of alkali metal hydroxides was investigated with ¹³C and ¹H nuclear magnetic resonance in polar solvents relative to non‐ionic controls, altering the chemical shifts of the model compounds, thus indicating changes in electron density using the chemical shift as a proxy. These shifts were attributed to Coulombic electrostatic interactions of the counter‐cation with the phenolate anion that correlated to hydrated ionic radius and solvent dielectric constants. The predicted relative reaction rates for formaldehyde addition based on electron density ranking from ¹³C nuclear magnetic resonance of the phenolic models was compared with the literature values. Predictions for condensation reactions of 2‐ and 4‐hydroxymethylphenol from chemical shifts were consistent with published results. The results permit predictions for the reaction of phenolic compounds for the formation of thermosetting polymeric materials. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Calculating nuclear magnetic resonance chemical shifts in solvated systems

The nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) chemical shift is extremely sensitive to molecular geometry, hydrogen bonding, solvent, temperature, pH, and concentration. Calculated magnetic shielding constants, converted to chemical shifts, can be valuable aids in NMR peak assignment and can also give detailed information about molecular geometry and intermolecular effects. Calculating chemical shifts in solution is complicated by the need to include solvent effects and conformational averaging. Here, we review the current state of NMR chemical shift calculations in solution, beginning with an introduction to the theory of calculating magnetic shielding in general, then covering methods for inclusion of solvent effects and conformational averaging, and finally discussing examples of applications using calculated chemical shifts to gain detailed structural information.     

Survey of structural regularities in molecular properties. I. Carbon-13 chemical shifts in alkanes

Many regularities in properties among structurally related compounds are known but a systematic approach to investigate all such cases is rare. A plan is outlined for a systematic study of structural regularities that is based on use of selected graph invariants as prime auxiliary quantities. In this paper carbon-13 chemical shifts in alkanes are examined. Since NMR spectra of paraffins are well understood, the example provides a useful illustration of the approach, introduces basic concepts, and illustrates the kind of the results that the graph-theoretical scheme generates. Differences and similarities between graph-theoretical viewing of the problem of structural regularities and customary direct use of additivities are discussed in some detail.     

Sizable concentration-dependent frequency shifts in solution NMR using sensitive probes

With the growing use of high fields and ultrasensitive probes, radiation damping emerges as a significant feedback interaction in modern solution NMR. Motivated by recent observations of mysterious concentration-dependent frequency shifts, experiments carried out on a cryoprobe at 600 MHz have revealed a time-averaged frequency shift of up to +83/-81 Hz. The sizable frequency shifts arise from deviations in the phase of the radiation damping field from perfect orthogonality relative to the net transverse magnetization. The frequency shift is shown to depend on the longitudinal magnetization and probe tuning conditions through experiments and numerical simulations. Such unexpected shifts in the solvent precession frequency provide a physical explanation for the empirical practice of adjusting the irradiation frequency of the saturating B1 field in solvent presaturation to achieve optimal suppression. Additional applications of the radiation damping induced frequency shift to solvent suppression and NMR methodology are discussed.     

Determination of the relative stereochemistry of flexible organic compounds by Ab initio methods: conformational analysis and Boltzmann-averaged GIAO 13C NMR chemical shifts

Ab initio calculations at the Hartree-Fock level with full-geometry optimization using the 6-31G(d) basis set, and GIAO (gauge including atomic orbitals) (13)C NMR chemical shifts, are presented here as a support in the study of the stereochemistry of low-polar organic compounds having an open-chain structure. Four linear stereoisomers, fragments of a natural product previously characterized by experimental (13)C NMR spectra, which possesses three stereogenic centers, 11 carbon atoms, and 38 atoms in total, were considered. Conformational searches, by empirical force-field molecular dynamics, pointed out the existence of 8-13 relevant conformers per stereoisomer. Thermochemical calculations at the ab initio level in the harmonic approximation of the vibrational modes, allowed the evaluation, at 298.15 K, of the standard Gibbs free energy of the conformers. The (13)C NMR chemical shift of a given carbon atom in each stereoisomer was considered as the average chemical shift value of the same atom in the different conformers. The averages were obtained by the Boltzmann distribution, using the relative standard free energies as weighting factors. Computed parameters related to linear correlation plots of experimental (13)C chemical shifts versus the corresponding computed average data allowed us to distinguish among the four stereoisomers.     

Structure elucidation with lanthanide induced shifts. 7—development of a reliable method for structure evaluation and the application to organic nitriles

A useful and reliable procedure has been developed for the evaluation of the structures of organic nitriles using lanthanide shift reagents. The procedure is based on a statistical comparison of the experimental lanthanide induced shifts (LIS) with values which are predicted with the pseudocontact equation for a proposed structure. The experimental LIS are obtained by nonlinear regression analysis of the chemical shifts observed in the presence of varying amounts of the shift reagent, Eu(fod)₃. The precise geometry for a proposed structure is obtained from molecular mechanics calculations. The LIS are then predicted with the pseudocontact equation using k=976.6 and a europium-nitrogen bond length of 2.50 Å. (Detailed arguments are presented in support of these values.) The carbon-nitrogen-europium array is approximately linear, although small distortions from linearity are both expected and observed.     

Saturated amine oxides: Part 8. Hydroacridines: Part 27. Effects of N-oxidation and of N-quaternization on the 15N NMR chemical shifts of N-methylpiperidine-derived mono-, bi-, and tricycloaliphatic tertiary amines

The (15)N chemical shifts of 13 N-methylpiperidine-derived mono-, bi- and tricycloaliphatic tertiary amines, their methiodides and their N-epimeric pairs of N-oxides were measured, and the contributions of specific structural parameters to the chemical shifts were determined by multilinear regression analysis. Within the examined compounds, the effects of N-oxidation upon the (15)N chemical shifts of the amines vary from +56 ppm to +90 ppm (deshielding), of which approx. +67.7 ppm is due to the inductive effect of the incoming N(+)--O(-) oxygen atom, whereas the rest is due to the additive shift effects of the various C-alkyl substituents of the piperidine ring. The effects of quaternization vary from -3.1 ppm to +29.3 ppm, of which approx. +8.9 ppm is due to the inductive effect of the incoming N(+)--CH(3) methyl group, and the rest is due to the additive shift effects of the various C-alkyl substituents of the piperidine ring. The shift effects of the C-alkyl substituents in the amines, the N-oxides and the methiodides are discussed.     

The temperature dependence of 13C NMR shifts in polar compounds and its role for the determination of conformational equilibria

Intrinsic temperature dependencies of ¹³C NMR shifts in alkanes bearing one polar C-α? X bond are determined with neopentyl and 4-tert-butylcyclohexyl derivatives as conformationally homogeneous model compounds. The increased shiedling for C-α at higher temperatures can be related to a C-α—X bond length increase and, for less polarizable C? X bonds, essentially to a decrease of solvent polarity on raising the temperature. The use of temperature dependent ¹³C shifts in conformationally mixed compounds for the determination of the equilibrium constants, K, is evaluated with n-propyl halides; the computer fit of the unknown conformer shifts and the conformational enthalphy difference, δH° to the time averaged shifts yields δH° values which, although converging rather broadly, are in general agreement with literature data. In compounds with higher conformational barriers, such as methoxy- and bromocyclohexane, low temperature signal integration yields accurate δG° values; inclusion of shifts above coalescence, however, yields unreliable δH° and δS° parameters. This can only partially be remedied by application of temperature shift corrections obtained from parent t-butylcyclohexyl compounds.     

Origin of the red shifts in the optical absorption bands of nonplanar tetraalkylporphyrins

The view that the large red shifts seen in the UV-visible absorption bands of peripherally crowded nonplanar porphyrins are the result of nonplanar deformations of the macrocycle has recently been challenged by the suggestion that the red shifts arise from substituent-induced changes in the macrocycle bond lengths and bond angles, termed in-plane nuclear reorganization (IPNR). We have analyzed the contributions to the UV-visible band shifts in a series of nickel or zinc meso-tetraalkylporphyrins to establish the origins of the red shifts in these ruffled porphyrins. Structures were obtained using a molecular mechanics force field optimized for porphyrins, and the nonplanar deformations were quantified by using normal-coordinate structural decomposition (NSD). Transition energies were calculated by the INDO/S semiempirical method. These computational studies demonstrate conclusively that the large Soret band red shifts ( approximately 40 nm) seen for very nonplanar meso-tetra(tert-butyl)porphyrin compared to meso-tetra(methyl)porphyrin are primarily the result of nonplanar deformations and not IPNR. Strikingly, nonplanar deformations along the high-frequency 2B(1u) and 3B(1u) normal coordinates of the macrocycle are shown to contribute significantly to the observed red shifts, even though these deformations are an order of magnitude smaller than the observed ruffling (1B(1u)) deformation. Other structural and electronic influences on the UV-visible band shifts are discussed and problems with the recent studies are examined (e.g., the systematic underestimation of the 2B(1u) and 3B(1u) modes in artificially constrained porphyrin structures that leads to a mistaken attribution of the red shift to IPNR). The effect of nonplanar deformations on the UV-visible absorption bands is then probed experimentally with a series of novel bridled nickel chiroporphyrins. In these compounds, the substituent effect is essentially invariant and the amount of nonplanar deformation decreases as the length of the straps connecting adjacent meso-cyclopropyl substituents decreases (the opposite of the effect observed for conventional strapped porphyrins). Several spectroscopic markers for nonplanarity (UV-visible bands, resonance Raman lines, and (1)H NMR resonances) are found to correlate with time-averaged deformations obtained from an NSD analysis of molecular dynamics snapshot structures. These results suggest that UV-visible band shifts of tetrapyrroles in proteins are potentially useful indicators of changes in nonplanarity provided other structural and electronic factors can be eliminated.     

1H chemical shifts in NMR: Part 23, the effect of dimethyl sulphoxide versus chloroform solvent on 1H chemical shifts

The 1H chemical shifts of 124 compounds containing a variety of functional groups have been recorded in CDCl3 and DMSO-d6 (henceforth DMSO) solvents. The 1H solvent shift Delta delta = delta(DMSO) - delta(CDCl3) varies from -0.3 to +4.6 ppm. This solvent shift can be accurately predicted (rms error 0.05 ppm) using the charge model of alpha, beta, gamma and long-range contributions. The labile protons of alcohols, acids, amines and amides give both, the largest solvent shifts and the largest errors. The contributions for the various groups are tabulated and it is shown that for H.C.C.X gamma-effects (X = OH, NH, =O, NH.CO) there is a dihedral angle dependence of the gamma-effect. The group contributions are discussed in terms of the possible solvent-solute interactions. For protic hydrogens, hydrogen bonding is the dominant interaction, but for the remaining protons solvent anisotropy and electric field effects appear to be the major factors.