Effect of water on the tautomeric equilibrium of uracil monoanions. A PCILO study

The PCILO method is used to calculate the stabilization energies of the anionic forms of uracil by water molecules forming the first hydration shell of the tautomers. The results show that the 1-HU^– tautomer is more stabilized by the solvent effect than the 3-HU^– tautomer by about 8 kcal/mole. The effect brings closer together the energies of the two tautomers which differ intrinsically by about 13 kcal/mole in favour of the 3-HU^– form. It operates in the direction inferred from experimental studies.This work was supported in part by R.C.P. 173 of the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique of France and in part by the Polish Academy of Sciences within the project 09.3.1.     

Quantum-chemical calculations of the relative stability of the keto-enol tautomers of 5-chlorouracyl

Relative energies (by MP4(SQTQ)/def2-TZVPP) for 13 tautomeric conformers of 5-chlorouracyl in the gas phase and in solution with consideration of nonspecific solvation in water are calculated. The geometrical parameters of the calculated conformers are analyzed. A stability series of tautomers with respect to the diketo form is obtained. It is shown that nonspecific solvation leads to changes in the stability series.     

Study on the Tautomer Interconversion of 3-Oxo Pentanoate During Gas Chromatography

Enol and keto tautomers of methyl 3-oxo pentanoate could be separated on a HP-5 capillary column. The chromatographic peaks were identified by examining characteristic mass ions arose from the corresponding enol and keto molecular ions. The study showed that the area percentage of enol tautomer is a function of temperature of the column. Treating the column as a reactor, the energy of activation for the on-column tautomerization could be extracted (35.1 kJ mol⁻¹) by monitoring the loss of the enol tautomer, because the reaction is found to obey pseudo first-order kinetics. The enthalpy and the entropy changes (ΔH = −3.98 kJ mol⁻¹, ΔS = −7.89 J K⁻¹mol⁻¹) for the enol-to-keto reaction in the stationary phase were also obtained.     

Inclusion Complexes of β-Cyclodextrin with Keto/Enol Tautomers of 2-Acetyl-1-tetralone. A Comparative Study

The keto–enol interconversion of 2-acetyl-1-tetralone (ATLO) and of 2-acetyl-cyclohexanone (ACHE) occurs at measurable rates in aqueous acid or neutral medium. This finding allowed us to determine the keto–enol equilibrium constants, K _E, by following two distinct methods. Both methodologies afford results in complete agreement. The first one is a test of the Beer-Lambert law under two different experimental conditions that contain the substrate only in the enol form or in a mixture of both tautomers in equilibrium. The second method analyses the UV-absorption spectrum of each substrate under keto–enol equilibrium in aqueous β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) solutions of variable concentration: the presence of β-CD increases the percentage of the enol due to the formation of 1:1 inclusion complexes between this tautomer and β-CD. Rates of keto–enol tautomerization, in neutral and acid medium, and of nitrosation in acid medium under non equilibrium conditions have also been measured. Throughout the study, the presentation of the results is done by comparing the different behaviour observed between ATLO and ACHE. While the enol of ACHE included into the β-CD cavity shows to be unreactive either in tautomerization or in nitrosation, in the case of ATLO it is observed tautomerization through the complexed enol. In addition, with ACHE only the enol tautomer forms inclusion complexes with β-CD, whereas with ATLO the keto tautomer entries also to the β-CD cavity, however the stability constant with the enol is near 3-fold that of the keto isomer. These main differences can be rationalized on the basis of the molecular structure of these diketones.This revised version was published online in July 2005 with a corrected issue number.     

Gas phase ionization of 1,3-propanedial tautomeric forms: A theoretical study

Two stable 1,3-propanedial tautomers and three their anions have been studied theoretically at MP2 and DFT levels of theory. The energies, structural parameters, ionization potentials, and vibration frequencies have been calculated at the two theoretical levels in order to compare the accuracy of the methods used. The ionization potential of the end form of 1,3-propanedial enol form was estimated to be 752 kJ mol^?1; the first and second potentials of the diketo form of 1,3-propanedial are 661 and 1239 kJ mol^?1, respectively.     

Resonance electron capture by uracil derivatives

The enol forms of uracil and its derivatives were detected in the gas phase by mass spectrometry. The [M - H]⁻ ion is produced by resonance electron capture to the lowest unoccupied molecular orbitals, the process being accompanied by the detachment of the hydrogen atom from the nitrogen atom of the diketo form (low-energy peak at 0.8 eV) and from the oxygen atom of the enol form (in the energy region of 1.4 eV). The gas phase contains ∼10⁻³% of the enol form. Published in Russian in Izvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 6, pp. 1360–1362, June, 2005.     

Correlated ab initio study of nucleic acid bases and their tautomers in the gas phase,in a microhydrated environment and in aqueous solution. guanine: surprising stabilization of rare tautomers in aqueous solution

Altogether eight keto and enol tautomers of guanine were studied theoretically in the gas phase, in a microhydrated environment (1 and 2 water molecules) and in bulk water. The structures of isolated, as well as mono- and dihydrated tautomers were determined by means of the RI-MP2 method using the extended TZVPP (5s3p2d1f/3s2p1d) basis set. The relative energies of isolated tautomers included the correction to higher correlation energy terms evaluated at the CCSD(T)/aug-cc-pVDZ level. The relative enthalpies at 0 K and relative free energies at 298 K were based on the above-mentioned relative energies and zero-point vibration energies, temperature-dependent enthalpy terms and entropies evaluated at the MP2/6-31G level. The keto form having hydrogen atom at N7 is the global minimum while the canonical form having hydrogen atom at N9 represents the first local minimum at all theoretical levels in vacuo and in the presence of 1 and 2 water molecules. All three unusual rare tautomers having hydrogens at N3 and N7, at N3 and N9, and also at N9 and N7 are systematically considerably less stable and can be hardly detected in the gas phase. The theoretical predictions fully agree with existing theoretical as well as experimental results. The effect of bulk solvent on the relative stability of guanine tautomers was studied by self-consistent reaction field and molecular dynamics free energy calculations using the thermodynamic integration method. Bulk solvent, surprisingly, strongly favored these three rare tautomers over all remaining low-energy tautomers and probably only these forms can exist in water phase. The global minimum (tautomer with hydrogens at N3 and N7) is by 13 kcal/mol more stable than the canonical form (3rd local minimum). Addition of one or two water molecules does not change the relative stability order of isolated guanine tautomers but the respective trend clearly supports the surprising stabilization of three rare forms.     

Theoretical study of the stability of myrsinone in vacuo and in solution

The stability of various conformers of myrsinone (2,3-dihydroxy-5-undecyl-1,4-benzoquinone) and its tautomer [2,3-dihydroxy-5-(undec-1-ene)-cyclohex-2-ene-1,4-dione] has been studied in vacuo and in solution on model systems with the long alkyl side chains replaced with ethyl and eth-1-ene groups, respectively. Ab initio Hartree–Fock (HF) calculations in vacuo and free-energy calculations either in chloroform or in water solution, in the framework of the polarizable continuum model, have been carried out on the 6-31G* optimized geometries obtained in vacuo and in solution (water or chloroform). The nature of the stationary points found was investigated using normal mode analysis. The energy gap between the two tautomeric forms turns out to be about 1.3 kcal/mol in vacuo and becomes about 0.3 kcal/mol in chloroform solution, whereas in water the second tautomer is favored by about 1.2 kcal/mol. The effect of second-order M?ller–Plesset (MP2) correlation corrections has been considered on both the energy and the geometry of the tautomers in vacuo, whereas in solution only their effect on the energy was taken into account. The contribution to the stability in the gas phase and in solution of the intramolecular hydrogen bonds between the hydroxy hydrogen and the quinonoid oxygen is larger at the MP2 level than at the HF one. The directionality of the hydrogen bonds between the hydroxy groups affects considerably only the stability of the isomer with the exocyclic double bond. The computed chemical shifts for the two tautomers were compared to the experimental ones. In addition the solvation properties of 2,5-dihydroxy-3-ethyl-1,4-benzoquinone and of an ortho-quinonoid system were considered in order to evaluate the effect of the repulsion between vicinal hydroxy or quinonoid groups. Received: 14 September 1999 / Accepted: 3 February 2000 / Published online: 2 May 2000     

水合铀酰与尿嘧啶及其异构体配位体系的计算研究

运用B3LYP/6-311++G**(RLC ECP)方法研究[UO_2(Uracil)j(H_2O)k]~(2+)(Uijk,i为尿嘧啶6种异构体代号,j+k=5)配位体系的几何结构、振动光谱、结合能等性质,并用极化连续介质模型(PCM)考察了溶剂化效应。结果表明,在U1jk体系中,随着尿嘧啶配体数目的逐渐增加,U-Ouracil配位键和U=O键的键长逐渐伸长,水溶液中U=O键的伸缩振动频率逐渐减小,配离子的总结合能呈增加趋势,且气相中的线性拟合效果较好。在Ui14体系中,U-Ouracil的键长与U-OH_2的键长整体成负相关,与U=O键的伸缩振动频率成正相关,结合能最大的配离子并不是由能量最低的尿嘧啶异构体生成的。电子密度拓扑分析表明U-Ouracil键和U-OH_2键具有离子键性质。原子电荷分析揭示在配位过程中是由配体片段向铀酰发生了电子转移,且尿嘧啶的电荷转移量与该配体数目成负相关,其中Ur6异构体向铀酰离子转移电子数最多。     

Theoretical investigation of the tautomerism of isoorotic acid in gaseous and aqueous phases

In the present investigation, the tautomeric and conformational equilibrium of isoorotic acid have been studied using Møller–Plesset second‐order (MP2) and density functional theory (DFT) methods in the gas phase and aqueous solution (ε = 78.5) using the IPCM model. The relative energies of these tautomers have been calculated at the two levels of theory using 6‐311++G** basis set. Energetics and relative stabilities of the tautomers were compared and analyzed in both the gaseous and aqueous phases. The results indicate that the diketo tautomer (iso) is the most stable form in the gas phase and water. The carboxylic substitution in the uracil ring does not alter its relative stability order of the tautomers. The proton affinity of the oxygen atoms and the deprotonation enthalpy of the NH bonds of isoorotic acid have been compared with recent data of uracil. The relative stability of both syn‐ and anti‐conformations was investigated and the syn form was found to be more stable by 17.65 kcal/mol. It was determined in ab initio calculations that an electron can attach to isoorotic acid, forming a stable anion better than uracil. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2007     

Nitrogen bridgehead compounds. Part 35. Structures of α-formyl-2,3-polymethylene-3,4-dihydroquinazolin-4-ones

The structures of the title compounds bearing a five-, six- or seven-membered A ring have been investigated by uv and ¹H and ¹³C nmr spectroscopy. The imine-enol-enamine (I-II-III) tautomerism of these compounds depends greatly on the ring size. A significant solvent-dependence is observed only for the five-membered-ring compounds 1 and 2 , which in ethanolic solution exist predominantly in the imine form I, and in chloroform solution in the enol form II. The compounds with a six-membered A ring, 3 and 4 , are mainly in the enamine form III. On protonation, 3 and 4 change into the E and Z isomeric mixture of the enol tautomer II. The seven-membered-ring compound 5 is a mixture of the imine I and the enamine III tautomers.     

Molecular Structure of an Isocytosine Analog: Combined X-ray Structural and Computational Study of 2-Diethylamino-6-methyl-5-n-propyl-4(3H)-pyrimidinone

The structure of 2-diethylamino-6-methyl-5-n-propyl-4(3H)-pyrimidinone has been studied by X-ray crystallography and quantum-chemical calculations. X-ray analysis established that 2-diethylamino-6-methyl-5-n-propyl-4(3H)-pyrimidinone exists exclusively as the lactam tautomer protonated at the N3 ring nitrogen in the solid state. Crystals of 2-diethylamino-6-methyl-5-n-propyl-4(3H)-pyrimidinone are monoclinic (space group P2₁/n); the unit-cell dimensions are: a = 11.0460(8) Å, b = 5.0064(4) Å, c = 22.8358(17) Å, = = 90°, = 90.521(1)°. In the crystal, molecules of 2-diethylamino-6-methyl-5-n-propyl-4(3H)-pyrimidinone are assembled in planar centrosymmetric dimers by strong resonance-assisted N—H···O intermolecular hydrogen bonds from the NH group of one molecule to the C=O of the adjacent molecule (N—H···O distance 2.804 Å). Bond distances and angles are generally similar to those reported for the corresponding tautomer of isocytosine and derivatives. Quantum-chemical calculations on 2-diethylamino-6-methyl-5-n-propyl-4(3H)-pyrimidinone are also reported in order to estimate the relative energies of the possible tautomeric forms; ab initio and DFT results predict the coexistence of the N3 and AH tautomers in the gas phase. There is excellent correspondence between the crystal and the HF/6-311G** or B3LYP/6-31G* calculated structures of the N3 lactam form; the largest deviations between the experimental and computed structures are mostly the effects of strong intermolecular H bonds in the crystal.     

The nature of ion exchange selectivity of phenol-formaldehyde sorbents with respect to cesium and rubidium ions

The structure of aqua complexes of alkali metal ions Me⁺(H₂O) _n , n = 1−6, where Me is Li, Na, K, Rb, and Cs, and complexes of 2,6-dimethylphenolate anion (CH₃)₂PhO⁻ selected as a model of the elementary unit of phenol-formaldehyde ion exchanger with hydrated alkali metal cations Me⁺(H₂O) _n , n = 0−5, was studied by the density functional method. The energies of successive hydration of the cations and the energies of binding of alkali metal hydrated cations with (CH₃)₂PhO⁻ depending on the number of water molecules n were calculated. It was shown that the dimethylphenolate ion did not have specific selectivity with respect to cesium and rubidium ions. The energies of hydration and the energies of binding of alkali metal cations with (CH₃)₂PhO⁻ decreased in the series Li⁺ > Na⁺ > K⁺ > Rb⁺ > Cs⁺ as n increased. The conclusion was drawn that the reason for selectivity of phenol-formaldehyde and other phenol compounds with respect to cesium and rubidium ions was the predomination of the ion dehydration stage in the transfer from an aqueous solution to the phenol phase compared with the stage of binding with ion exchange groups.     

Tautomers and conformers of malonamide, NH2-C(O)-CH2-C(O)-NH2: vibrational analysis, NMR spectra and ab initio calculations

The conformational and tautomeric compositions of malonamide, NH2-C(O)-CH2-C(O)-NH2 were determined by vibrational spectroscopy and theoretical calculations (HF/6-31G*, B3PW91/6-31G*). Solid state Fourier transform infrared and Raman spectra were analysed. They reveal the existence of a diketo tautomer. Theoretical calculations predict a diketo structure belonging to the C1 symmetry group. No enol form is present in the molecule in the solid. 13C-NMR studies show only signals of a diketo tautomer.     

Two tautomeric forms of 2‐amino‐5,6‐dimethylpyrimidin‐4‐one

Derivatives of 4‐hydroxypyrimidine are an important class of biomolecules. These compounds can undergo keto–enol tautomerization in solution, though a search of the Cambridge Structural Database shows a strong bias toward the 3H‐keto tautomer in the solid state. Recrystallization of 2‐amino‐5,6‐dimethyl‐4‐hydroxypyrimidine, C₆H₉N₃O, from aqueous solution yielded triclinic crystals of the 1H‐keto tautomer, denoted form (I). Though not apparent in the X‐ray data, the IR spectrum suggests that small amounts of the 4‐hydroxy tautomer are also present in the crystal. Monoclinic crystals of form (II), comprised of a 1:1 ratio of both the 1H‐keto and the 3H‐keto tautomers, were obtained from aqueous solutions containing uric acid. Forms (I) and (II) exhibit one‐dimensional and three‐dimensional hydrogen‐bonding motifs, respectively.     

Enol-keto tautomerism of aromatic photochromic Schiff base N,N'-bis(salicylidene)-p-phenylenediamine: ground state equilibrium and excited state deactivation studied by solvatochromic measurements on ultrafast time scale

A photochromic symmetric Schiff base, N,N'-bis(salicylidene)-p-phenylenediamine, is proposed as a probe for the study of solvent dependent enol-keto tautomerism in the ground and excited states. The ground state equilibrium between the enol-keto tautomers is found to depend mainly not on polarity but on the proton donating ability of the solvent. Upon selective excitation of each of these tautomers, the same excited state of a keto tautomer is created: in enol, after the ultrafast excited state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT), reaction, and in keto tautomer, directly. Then some part (<30%) of excited molecules are transferred to the photochromic form in its ground state. The evidence of another ultrafast deactivation channel in the excited enol tautomer competing with ESIPT has been found. The solvent does not influence the ESIPT dynamics nor the efficiency of the creation of the photochrome.     

Full MP2 study of solvent implicit and explicit effect on tautomers of Dithio-Biuret

Dithio biuret conformers were optimised and frequency calculations were performed at MP2/6–311++G(d,p) level of theory. Classification of conformers was done to five different tautomers and the most stable conformer of each tautomer was selected. Tautomer 3 having trans conformation of amino and thiocarbonyl functional group was the most stable tautomer in the gas phase. Optimisation and frequency calculations were also done in four different solvents as follows: benzene, acetonitrile, DMSO and water. Stability of tautomers were compared in these solvents to explore effect of polarity on stabilisation of tautomers. Inter-conversion of selected tautomers was investigated both in the gas phase and in four different media. Results showed that when solvent is used as an implicit media, it has negligible effect on proton transfer. Water-explicit effect was also investigated and the results exhibited high dependency of proton transfer mechanism on water molecules when they participate in breaking and formation of bonds.     

Theoretical Study on Enol-keto Tautomerism of α-Fluorine-β-diketones

Density Functional Theory method is applied to investigate the enol-keto tautome- rism of both acyclic and cyclic α-fluorine-β-diketones. It is shown that, for acyclic cases, α-fluorine could improve the relative stability of keto tautomer by lessening intramolecular hydrogen bond of enol form, whereas the relative stability of cyclic enol could be attributed to two factors: destabi- lization of keto and stabilization of enol. Furthermore, the relative stabilities of all enol tautomers are improved in THF to different extents.     

Systematic theoretical investigations on the tautomers of thymine in gas phase and solution

The tautomers of thymine are systematically calculated using various methods. The order of the relative stability, dipole moment as well as solvent effect of the 13 isomers are investigated. The one-step transition process by proton transfer in gas phase and in solution (H₂O or CH₃OH), which acts as both proton donor and acceptor, are exhaustively studied, meanwhile, the internal rotation between two related isomers in the gas phase is also investigated. Furthermore, the energy barrier of each transition is calculated and the results show that both H₂O and CH₃OH could reduce the energy barrier. Comparisons between the activation energies of all the producing processes of each tautomer as well as temperature effect on the producing processes are made. The calculation results also indicated that the diketo is the most stable isomer both in gas phase and in solution, additionally, it is thermodynamically as well as dynamically favored.     

Theoretical investigation of solvent effects on tautomeric equilibrium of 2‐diazo‐4,6‐dinitrophenol

The density functional theory has been used to study the tautomeric equilibrium of 2‐diazo‐4,6‐dinitrophenol(DDNP) in the gas phase and in 14 solvents at the B3LYP/6‐31G* level. The solvent effects on the tautomeric equilibria were investigated by the self‐consistent reaction field theory (SCRF) based on conductor polarized continuum model (CPCM) in apolar and polar solvents and by the hybrid continuum‐discrete model in protic solvent, respectively. Solvent effects on the computed molecular properties, such as molecular geometries, dipole moments, E_LUMO, E_HOMO, total energies for DDNP tautomers and transition state, tautomerization energies and solvation energies have been found to be evident. The tautomeric equilibrium of DDNP is solvent‐dependent to a certain extent. The tautomer I (cyclic azoxy form) is preferred in the gas phase, while in nonpolar solvents tautomer I and II (quinold form) exist in comparable amounts, and in highly polar solvents, the tautomeric equilibrium is shifted in favor of the more polar tautomer II . © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2011