Theoretical evaluation of pK(a) in phosphoranes: implications for phosphate ester hydrolysis

Knowledge of the pK(a) of phosphoranes is important for the interpretation of phosphate ester hydrolysis. Calculated pK(a)'s of the model phosphorane, ethylene phosphorane, are reported. The method of calculation is based on the use of dimethyl phosphate as a reference state for evaluating relative pK(a) values, and on the optimization of the oxygen and acidic hydrogen van der Waals radii to give reasonable pK(1)(a), pK(2)(a), and pK(3)(a) for phosphoric acid in solution. Density functional theory is employed to calculate the gas-phase protonation energies, and continuum dielectric methods are used to determine the solvation corrections. The calculated pK(1)(a) and p(2)(a) for the model phosphorane are 7.9 and 14.3, respectively. These values are within the range of proposed experimental values, 6.5-11.0 for pK(1)(a), and 11.3-15.0 for pK(2)(a). The mechanistic implications of the calculated pK(a)'s are discussed.     

Amplified potentiometric determination of pK(00), pK(0), pK(l), and pK(2) of hydrogen sulfides with Ag(2)S ISE

The chemical capacitor theory has been applied to accurately determine dissociation constants of H(2)S with the Ag(2)S ion-selective electrode (ISE). The theory's principle is based on the measurement of the change in electrode charge density as a result of protonated or unprotonated sulfide adsorbed on the electrode surface. This charge density is related to the potential. Connection of each individual capacitor in series amplifies the potential according to the equation, E(total)=E(1)+E(2)+E(3)+cdots, three dots, centeredE(n). As the charges of individual capacitors are concentrated to one capacitor area, the charge density rises, and the potential increases. The pK(00), pK(0), pK(1), and pK(2) are reported as 1.8, 2.12, 7.05, and 12.0, respectively. The pK(00) and pK(0) are reported here for the first time. The pK(1) agrees well with the literature values; however, the pK(2) differs from those reported recently under extreme conditions. Reasons for disproving the unreasonably high pK(2)>17-19 values are given based on calculations. Mainly, when pK(2)>17-19, the experimental results do not fit the equilibrium equations, pH=(pK(1)+pK(2))/2, pK(1)=(pK(0)+pK(2))/2, and pH=pK(2)+log(HS(-))/(S(2-)).     

Ion pair pKs of some amines: extension of the computed lithium pK scale

The pK of p-(methylamino)biphenyl, 1, on our Li scale, pK(Li) = 22.09, compared to the cesium scale, pK(Cs) = 28.60. For hexamethyldisilazane, HMDS, pK(Li) = 23.05, pK(Cs) = 29.26. These results are those for the monomers in THF; corrections were made for dimers present in some cases. The pK(Li) of these two amines fit well the previously found correlation with Hartree-Fock calculations at 6-31+g(d) using RLi coordinated with three dimethyl ethers as a computational model for RLi in THF. The results are also compared with earlier pK(Li)s reported from equilibria with lithium amides in which aggregation was not considered.     

Kinetics and mechanism of the pyridinolysis of S-2,4-dinitrophenyl 4-substituted thiobenzoates

[reaction: see text] The reactions of S-2,4-dinitrophenyl 4-methyl (1), S-2,4-dinitrophenyl 4-H (2), S-2,4-dinitrophenyl 4-chloro (3), and S-2,4-dinitrophenyl 4-nitro (4) thiobenzoates with a structurally homogeneous series of pyridines are subjected to a kinetic investigation in 44 wt % ethanol-water, at 25.0 degrees C and an ionic strength of 0.2 M (KCl). The reactions are studied spectrophotometrically (420 nm) by monitoring the appearance of 2,4-dinitrobenzenethiolate anion. Pseudo-first-order rate coefficients (k(obsd)) are obtained for all the reactions, employing excess of amine. The plots of k(obsd) vs [free pyridine] at constant pH are linear with the slopes (k(N)) independent of pH. The Br?nsted-type plots (log k(N) vs pK(a) of the conjugate acid of the pyridines) are curved for all the reactions. The Br?nsted curves are in accordance with stepwise mechanisms, through a zwitterionic tetrahedral intermediate (T(+/-)), and a change in the rate-limiting step. An equation based on this hypothesis accounts well for the experimental points. The Br?nsted lines were calculated with the following parameters: Reactions of thiolbenzoate 1: beta(1) 0.33 (slope at high pK(a)), beta(2) 0.95 (slope at low pK(a)), and pK(a)(0) = 8.5 (pK(a) at the curvature center); thiolbenzoate 2: beta(1) 0.30, beta(2) 0.88, and pK(a)(0) = 8.9; thiolbenzoate 3: beta(1) 0.33, beta(2) 0.89, and pK(a)(0) = 9.5; thiolbenzoate 4: beta(1) 0.21, beta(2) 0.97, and pK(a)(0) = 9.9. The increase of the pK(a)(0) value with the increase of the electron-withdrawing effect of the acyl substituent is explained by the argument that the rate of pyridine expulsion from T(+/-) (k(-)(1)) is favored over that of 2,4-dinitrobenzenethiolate leaving (k(2)), i.e., k(-)(1)/k(2) increases, as the acyl group becomes more electron withdrawing. The pK(a)(0) values for the title reactions are smaller than those for the reactions of the corresponding 4-nitrophenyl 4-substituted thiolbenzoates with the same pyridine series. This is explained by the larger k(2) value for 2,4-dinitrobenzenethiolate leaving from T(+/-) compared with 4-nitrobenzenethiolate, which results in lower k(-)(1)/k(2) ratios for the dinitro derivatives. The pK(a)(0) value obtained for the pyridinolysis of thiolbenzoate 2 (pK(a)(0) = 8.9) is smaller than that found for the same aminolysis of 2,4-dinitrophenyl benzoate (pK(a)(0) = 9.5). This is attributed to the greater nucleofugality from T(+/-) of 2,4-dinitrobenzenethiolate (pK(a) of conjugate acid 3.4) relative to 2,4-dinitrophenoxide (pK(a) of conjugate acid 4.1). The title reactions are also compared with the aminolysis of similar esters to assess the effect of the amine nature and leaving and acyl groups on the kinetics and mechanism.     

Stability constants of the ternary complexes of CuDTPA, NiDCTA, CrEDTA, CoHEEDTA, NiHEEDTA and CuHEEEDT Aheedta with OH-

The acid dissociation constants of the metal chelates H(3)CuDTPA, H(2) NiDCTA, HCrEDTA, HCoHEEDTA, HNiHEEDTA and HCuHEEDTA were determined by potentiometric titration. The constants determined at an ionic strength of 0.1 were pK(a,1) = 2.1; pK(a,2) = 2.8 and pK(a,3) = 4.75 for H(3) CuDTPA (296 K), pK(a,1) = 2.16 for HCrEDTA (298 K); pK(a,1) = 1.6 and pK(a,2) = 2.0 for H(2) NiDCTA (298 K); pK(a,1) = 2.24 for HCoHEEDTA, pK(a,1) = 2.47 for HCuHEEDTA and pK(a,1) = 1.73 for HNi-HEEDTA. At high pH the formation of ternary hydroxo-complexes was observed for the chelates CrEDTA(-) (pK(a,1) = 7.35; pK(a,1) = 12.35), CoHEEDTA(-) (pK(a,1) = 11.74), NiHEEDTA(-) (pK(a,2) = 12,44) and CuHEEDTA(-) (pK(a,2) = 10.45).     

Determination of the intrinsic site pK(a) value and cooperativity of the symmetrical hexadentate chelator N,N',N'-tris[2-(3-hydroxy-2-oxo-1,2-dihydropyridin-1-yl)acetamido]ethylamine

The three overlapping pK(a) values of N,N',N'-tris[2-(3-hydroxy-2-oxo-1,2-dihydropyridin-1-yl)acetamido]ethylamine, a tripodal hexadentate chelator formed from three 3-hydroxy-2(1H)-pyridinone moieties amide linked to tris-(2-aminoethyl)amine, were determined by simultaneous spectrophotometric and potentiometric titration. The data was analysed by non-linear regression with constraints to deal with (a) the highly correlated absorptivities and (b) the highly correlated pK(a) values. The three pK(a) values were optimized first from the spectrophotometric data (absorbance vs. pH) by non-linear regression to a model in which the molar absorptivity of the ith species ((i)) was constrained by the correlation equation (i) = epsilon (0) + (epsilon (3) - epsilon (0))i 3 with i = 0, 1, 2, 3, where (3) and (0) represent the molar absorptivities of the most protonated and least protonated species, respectively. The molar absorbitivity of the four species defined by three pK(a) values is, therefore, linearly related to proton stoichiometry. The pK(a) values were then optimized from the potentiometric data (pH vs. titrant volume) by non-linear regression to a model in which the three pK(a) values were constrained by the correlation equation pK(a(i)) = pK(a(int)) + b(i - 1) + (i - 2)log(3) where i = 1, 2 or 3. This expresses the three pK(a) values in terms of only two optimizable parameters, the intrinsic site pK(a) (pK(a(int))) and the interaction energy between sites (b). The fixed term (i - 2)log(3) accounts for the statistical effect on the pK(a) values of three equivalent ionizable sites. The modified analytical derivatives required for optimization of these parameters by the Gauss-Newton-Marquardt algorithm and the merits of optimizing pK(a) values with these two correlation equations are discussed. The optimized pK(a) values were 9.31 +/- 0.01, 8.75 +/- 0.01 and 8.19 +/- 0.01. The separation between pK(a) values is 0.58 comprising 0.477 for the statistical effect and 0.081 for the interaction energy while the intrinsic site pK(a) is 8.672 +/- 0.005. The tertiary amine at the centre of the tripodal backbone has a pK(a) of 5.88 +/- 0.03.     

Kinetic investigation of the reactions of S-4-nitrophenyl 4-substituted thiobenzoates with secondary alicyclic amines in aqueous ethanol

The reactions of S-4-nitrophenyl 4-X-substituted thiobenzoates (X = H, Cl, and NO(2): 1, 2, and 3, respectively) with a series of secondary alicyclic amines (SAA) were subjected to a kinetic investigation in 44 wt % ethanol-water, at 25.0 degrees C and an ionic strength of 0.2 M (KCl). The reactions were followed spectrophotometrically by monitoring the release of 4-nitrobenzenethiolate anion at 420-425 nm. Under excess amine, pseudo-first-order rate constants (k(obsd)) are obtained for all reactions. The plots of k(obsd) vs [SAA] at constant pH are linear with the slope (k(N)) independent of pH. The statistically corrected Br?nsted-type plots (log k(N)/q vs pK(a) + log p/q) for the reactions of 1 and 2 are nonlinear with slopes at high pK(a), beta(1) = 0.27 and 0.10, respectively, and slopes at low pK(a), beta(2) = 0.86 and 0.84, respectively. The Br?nsted curvature is centered at pK(a) (pK(a)(0)) 10.0 and 10.4, respectively. The reactions of SAA with 3 exhibit a linear Br?nsted-type plot of slope 0.81. These results are consistent with a stepwise mechanism, through a zwitterionic tetrahedral intermediate (T(+/-)). For the reactions of 1 and 2, there is a change in rate-determining step with amine basicity, from T(+/-) breakdown to products at low pK(a), to T(+/-) formation at high pK(a). For the reactions of 3, breakdown to products of T(+/-) is rate limiting for all the SAA series (pK(a)(0) > 11). The increasing pK(a)(0) value as the substituent in the acyl group becomes more electron withdrawing is attributed to an increasing nucleofugality of SAA from T(+/-). The greater pK(a)(0) value for the reactions of SAA with 1, relative to that found in the pyridinolysis of 2,4-dinitrophenyl benzoate (pK(a)(0) = 9.5), is explained by the greater nucleofugality from T(+/-) of the former amines, compared to isobasic pyridines, and the greater leaving ability from T(+/-) of 2,4-dinitrophenoxide relative to 4-nitrobenzenethiolate.     

Ionization behavior of amino lipids for siRNA delivery: determination of ionization constants, SAR, and the impact of lipid pKa on cationic lipid-biomembrane interactions

Ionizable amino lipids are being pursued as an important class of materials for delivering small interfering RNA (siRNA) therapeutics, and research is being conducted to elucidate the structure-activity relationships (SAR) of these lipids. The pK(a) of cationic lipid headgroups is one of the critical physiochemical properties of interest due to the strong impact of lipid ionization on the assembly and performance of these lipids. This research focused on developing approaches that permit the rapid determination of the relevant pK(a) of the ionizable amino lipids. Two distinct approaches were investigated: (1) potentiometric titration of amino lipids dissolved in neutral surfactant micelles; and (2) pH-dependent partitioning of a fluorescent dye to cationic liposomes formulated from amino lipids. Using the approaches developed here, the pK(a) values of cationic lipids with distinct headgroups were measured and found to be significantly lower than calculated values. It was also found that lipid-lipid interaction has a strong impact on the pK(a) values of lipids. Lysis of model biomembranes by cationic lipids was used to evaluate the impact of lipid pK(a) on the interaction between cationic lipids and cell membranes. It was found that cationic lipid-biomembrane interaction depends strongly on lipid pK(a) and solution pH, and this interaction is much stronger when amino lipids are highly charged. The presence of an optimal pK(a) range of ionizable amino lipids for siRNA delivery was suggested based on these results. The pK(a) methods reported here can be used to support the SAR screen of cationic lipids for siRNA delivery, and the information revealed through studying the impact of pK(a) on the interaction between cationic lipids and cell membranes will contribute significantly to the design of more efficient siRNA delivery vehicles.     

Prediction of 3-hydroxypyridin-4-one (HPO) hydroxyl pKa values

As an aid in optimising the design of 3-hydroxypyridin-4-ones (HPOs) intended for use as therapeutic Fe(3+) chelating agents, various quantum mechanical (QM) and semi-empirical (QSAR) methods have been explored for predicting the pK(a) values of the hydroxyl groups in these compounds. Using a training set of 15 HPOs with known hydroxyl pK(a) values, reliable predictions are shown to be obtained with QM calculations using the B3LYP/6-31+G(d)/CPCM model chemistry (with Pauling radii, and water as solvent). With this methodology, the observed hydroxyl pK(a) values for the training set compound are closely matched by the predicted pK(a) values, with the correlation between the observed and predicted values giving r(2) = 0.98. Predictions subsequently made by this method for a test set of 48 HPOs of known hydroxyl pK(a) values (11 of which were determined experimentally in this study), gave predicted pK(a) values accurate to within ±0.2 log units. In order to further investigate the predictive power of the method, two novel HPOs were synthesised and their hydroxyl pK(a) values were determined experimentally. Comparison of these predicted pK(a) values against the measured values gave absolute deviations of 0.13 (10.18 vs. 10.31) and 0.43 (5.58 vs. 5.15).     

Accurate prediction of basicity in aqueous solution with COSMO-RS

The COSMO-RS method, a combination of the quantum chemical dielectric continuum solvation model COSMO with a statistical thermodynamics treatment for realistic solvation simulations, has been used for the prediction of base pK(a) constants. For a variety of 43 organic bases the directly calculated values of the free energies of dissociation in water showed a very good correlation with experimental base pK(a) values (r2 = 0.98), corresponding to a standard deviation of 0.56 pK(a) units. Thus, we have an a priori prediction method for base pK(a) with the regression constant and the slope as only adjusted parameters. In accord with recent findings for pK(a) acidity predictions, the slope of pK(a) vs. DeltaG(diss) was significantly smaller than the theoretically expected value of 1/RTln(10). The predictivity of the presented method is general and not restricted to certain compound classes, but systematic corrections of 1 and 2 pKa units for secondary and tertiary aliphatic amines are required, respectively. The pK(a) prediction method was validated on a set of 58 complex multifunctional drug-like compounds, yielding an RMS accuracy of 0.66 pK(a) units.     

Effect of changing electrophilic center from C=O to C=S on rates and mechanism: pyridinolyses of O-2,4-dinitrophenyl thionobenzoate and its oxygen analogue

Second-order rate constants have been measured spectrophotometrically for the reactions of O-2,4-dinitrophenyl thionobenzoate (1) and 2,4-dinitrophenyl benzoate (2) with a series of substituted pyridines in 80 mol % H(2)O/20 mol % DMSO at 25.0 +/- 0.1 degrees C. The Br?nsted-type plots obtained are nonlinear with beta(1) = 0.26, beta(2) = 1.07, and pK(a) degrees = 7.5 for the reactions of 1 and beta(1) = 0.40, beta(2) = 0.90, and pK(a) degrees = 9.5 for the reactions of 2, suggesting that the pyridinolyses of 1 and 2 proceed through a zwiterionic tetrahedral intermediate T(+/-) with a change in the rate-determining step at pK(a) degrees = 7.5 and 9.5, respectively. The thiono ester 1 is more reactive than its oxygen analogue 2 except for the reaction with the strongest basic pyridine studied (pK(a) = 11.30). The k(1) value is larger for the reactions of 1 than for those of 2 in the low pK(a) region, but the difference in the k(1) value becomes negligible with increasing the basicity of pyridines. On the other hand, 1 exhibits slightly larger k(2)/k(-1) ratio than 2 in the low pK(a) region but the difference in the k(2)/k(-1) ratio becomes more significant with increasing the basicity of pyridines. Pyridines are more reactive than alicyclic secondary amines of similar basicity toward 2 in the pK(a) above ca. 7.2 but less reactive in the pK(a) below ca. 7.2. The k(1) value is slightly larger, but the k(2)/k(-1) ratio is much smaller for the reactions of 2 with pyridines than with isobasic secondary amines in the low pK(a) region, which is responsible for the fact that the weakly basic pyridines are less reactive than isobasic secondary amines.     

Computational calculations of pKa values of imidazole in Cu(II) complexes of biological relevance

The imidazole ring is part of the lateral chain of histidine. One of the main features of this amino acid is the ability to coordinate copper, especially Cu(2+), because of the intermediate base nature of its imidazole ring, which has a great biological relevance. Proteins such as cytochrome c oxidase, a crucial enzyme in the respiratory chain, and β-amyloid peptide, implicated in the pathology of Alzheimer's disease, are examples of proteins containing histidines in their coordination sphere. Several studies indicate that the presence of this metal ion produces a decrease in the pK(a) of the imidazole ring of histidine. However, there are no reports of systematic studies of pK(a) variation in these types of metal cation complexes. In this work we use density functional theory to study the dependence of imidazole pK(a) with the number of imidazole rings in Cu(2+) coordination environments. The pK(a) of isolated imidazole (ImH), and the pK(a) of imidazole in Cu(2+)(ImH)(m)(H(2)O)(4-m) (m=1-3) complexes have been studied using two different functionals, B3LYP and MPWB1K, which have different percentage of exact exchange, and the highly-correlated CCSD(T) method. Results show that imidazole pK(a) decreases between 2 and 7 units depending on the method employed and the number of imidazole rings coordinating the metal cation. Taking into account that the pK(a) of imidazole is 14, this decrease could be relevant in biological processes.     

Acid-base characterization of molecular weight fractionated humic acid

Acid-base properties of molecular weight fractionated humic acids (HAs) were investigated by the acid-base potentiometric titration. The acidic group contents (C(A(t))) and the average values of apparent pK (pK(app)) were evaluated by applying a modified Henderson-Hasselbalch equation to the experimental titration curves. The average values of pK(app) of the fractionated and unfractionated HAs were about 4.1-4.4, and the distribution of pK(app) values could be represented by the relationships between alpha and pK(app) plots in the range 2-8. The C(A(t)) values increased with a decrease in molecular size, as did the aromaticity. This suggests that the acidic group contents are related to the aromaticity of the HA.     

Acid-base equilibria in nonpolar media. 2.(1) Self-consistent basicity scale in THF solution ranging from 2-methoxypyridine to EtP(1)(pyrr) phosphazene

Relative ion-pair basicities Delta(pK)(ip) of 25 substituted aryl and alkyl iminophosphoranes (phosphazenes) and 20 other N-bases (various pyridines, amines, amidines) have been measured in THF medium using the UV-Vis and/or (13)C NMR methods. The Delta(pK)(ip) values were corrected for ion pairing using the Fuoss equation to obtain relative ionic basicities Delta(pK)(alpha). Based on the measurements, a basicity scale ranging from 2-methoxypyridine to EtP(1)(pyrr) and having a total span over 18 pK units has been created. The scale has been anchored to the pK(alpha) value of triethylamine (pK(alpha) = 12.5). The results are compared to pK(a) values in various other solvents and in the gas phase. The pK(alpha) values give better correlations than the pK(ip) values, thus indirectly validating the procedure of correction for ion pairing. The predictability of the basicity together with suitable spectral properties in the UV range make the phenylphosphazenes convenient neutral indicators in the high basicity range where the choice of neutral indicators is very limited.     

Improved pK(a) prediction: combining empirical and semimicroscopic methods

Using three different methods we tried to compute 171 experimentally known pK(a) values of ionizable residues from 15 different proteins and compared the accuracies of computed pK(a) values in terms of the root mean square deviation (RMSD) from experiment. One method is based on a continuum electrostatic model of the protein including conformational flexibility (KBPLUS). The others are empirical approaches with PROPKA deploying physically motivated energy terms with adjustable parameters and PKAcal using an empirical function with no physical basis. PROPKA reproduced the pK(a) values with highest overall accuracy. Differentiating the data set into weakly and strongly shifted experimental pK(a) values, however, we found that PROPKA's accuracy is better if the pK(a) values are weakly shifted but on equal footing with that of KBPLUS for more strongly shifted values. On the other hand, PKAcal reproduces strongly shifted pK(a) values badly but weakly shifted values with the same accuracy as PROPKA. We tested different consensus approaches combining data from all three methods to find a general procedure for most accurate pK(a) predictions. In most of the cases we found that the consensus approach reproduced experimental data with better accuracy than any of the individual methods alone.     

Protonated benzofuran,anthracene, naphthalene,benzene, ethene,and ethyne: measurements and estimates of pK(a) and pK(R)

Aqueous solvolyses of acyl derivatives of hydrates (water adducts) of anthracene and benzofuran yield carbocations which undergo competitive deprotonation to form the aromatic molecules and nucleophilic reaction with water to give the aromatic hydrates. Trapping experiments with azide ions yield rate constants k(p) for the deprotonation and k(H2O) for the nucleophilic reaction based on the "azide clock". Combining these with rate constants for (a) the H(+)-catalyzed reaction of the hydrate to form the carbocation and (b) hydrogen isotope exchange of the aromatic molecule (from the literature) yields pK(R) = -6.0 and -9.4 and pK(a) = -13.5 and -16.3 for the protonated anthracene and protonated benzofuran, respectively. These pK values may be compared with pK(R) = -6.7 for naphthalene hydrate (1-hydroxy-1,2-dihydronaphthalene), extrapolated to water from measurements by Pirinccioglu and Thibblin for acetonitrile-water mixtures, and pK(a) = -20.4 for the 2-protonated naphthalene from combining k(p) with an exchange rate constant. The differences between pK(R) and pK(a) correspond to pK(H2O), the equilibrium constant for hydration of the aromatic molecule (pK(H2O) = pK(R) - pK(a)). For naphthalene and anthracene values of pK(H2O) = +13.7 and +7.5 compare with independent estimates of +14.2 and +7.4. For benzene, pK(a) = -24.3 is derived from an exchange rate constant and an assigned value for the reverse rate constant close to the limit for solvent relaxation. Combining this pK(a) with calculated values of pK(H2O) gives pK(R) = -2.4 and -2.1 for protonated benzenes forming 1,2- and 1,4-hydrates, respectively. Coincidentally, the rate constant for protonation of benzene is similar to those for protonation of ethylene and acetylene (Lucchini, V.; Modena, G. J. Am. Chem Soc. 1990, 112, 6291). Values of pK(a) for the ethyl and vinyl cations (-24.8) may thus be derived in the same way as that for the benzenonium ion. Combining these with appropriate values of pK(H2O) then yields pK(R) = -39.8 and -29.6 for the vinyl and ethyl cations, respectively.     

Acidity and alkali metal adsorption on the SiO2-aqueous solution interface

The intrinsic deprotonation constant (pK(a(2))(int)) and the intrinsic ion exchange constants (pK(Me(+))(int)) of Li(+), Na(+), and K(+) on SiO(2) were uniquely determined at 30 degrees C by using the potentiometric titration data, the Gouy-Chapman-Stern-Grahame (GSCG) model for the structure of the electrical double-layer (edl) and the double-extrapolation method. The values of these constants were pK(a(2))(int) = 6.57, pK(Li(+))(int) = pK(Na(+))(int) = pK(K(+))(int) = 5.61. The chemical meaning of intrinsic equilibrium constants and the equality in the values of pK(Li(+))(int), pK(Na(+))(int) and pK(K(+))(int) were discussed.     

Determination of the overlapping pK(a) values of chrysin using UV-vis spectroscopy and ab initio methods

The overlapping pK(a) values of 5,7-dihydroxyflavone (chrysin) in EtOH-water solutions were determined by means of a UV-vis spectroscopic method that uses absorbance diagrams, at constant ionic strength (0.050 M) and temperature (25.0+/-0.1 degrees C). It was observed that the pK(a) values increase when the polarity-polarizability and solvation abilities of the reaction medium decrease. In order to calculate the pK(a1) and pK(a2) of chrysin in pure water, various relationships between the determined pK(a) and properties of solvents (relative permittivity, alpha-parameter of Taft and parameter Acity), are proposed. Moreover, with the aim of explaining the first pK(a1) value obtained, the molecular conformations and solute-solvent interactions of the 7(O(-))chrysinate monoanion were also investigated, using ab initio methods. Several ionization reactions and equilibria in water, which possesses a high hydrogen-bond-donor ability, are proposed. These reactions and equilibria constituted the necessary theoretical basis to calculate the first acidity constant of chrysin. The HF/6-31G(d) and HF/6-31+G(d) methods were used for calculations. Tomasi's method was used to analyze the formation of intermolecular hydrogen bonds between the 7(O(-))chrysinate monoanion and water molecules. It was proposed that in alkaline aqueous solutions the monoanion of chrysin is solvated with one water molecule. The agreement between the experimental and theoretical pK(a1) values provides good support for the acid-base reactions proposed in this paper.     

Determination of acid-base dissociation constants of azahelicenes by capillary zone electrophoresis

CZE was employed to determine acid-base dissociation constants (pK(a)) of ionogenic groups of azahelicenes in methanol (MeOH). Azahelicenes are unique 3-D aromatic systems, which consist of ortho-fused benzene/pyridine units and exhibit helical chirality. The pK(a) values of pyridinium groups of the studied azahelicenes were determined from the dependence of their effective electrophoretic mobility on pH by a nonlinear regression analysis. The effective mobilities of azahelicenes were determined by CZE at pH range between 2.1 and 10.5. Thermodynamic pK(a) values of monobasic 1-aza[6]helicene and 2-aza[6]helicene in MeOH were determined to be 4.94 +/- 0.05 and 5.68 +/- 0.05, respectively, and pK(a) values of dibasic 1,14-diaza[5]helicene were found to be equal to 7.56 +/- 0.38 and 8.85 +/- 0.26. From these values, the aqueous pK(a) of these compounds was estimated.