Enhancing the Orienting Properties of Poly(γ‐benzyl‐L‐glutamate) by means of Additives

Residual dipolar couplings (RDCs) have recently become increasingly important in organic structure determination due to their unique information content. One main limitation for the use of RDCs in organic compounds is the orientation that needs to be induced to be able to measure RDCs. So far, there are very few possibilities to modulate the orientational properties of organic solutes and even less when chiral media are considered. Based on our recent findings that the critical concentration of the liquid‐crystalline phase of homopolypeptides depends on their molecular weight, we sought for further ways to modulate the orienting properties. We were especially interested in seeing whether we could not only influence the induced degree of orientation, but whether we could also change the solute′s preferred orientation and even enhance enantiodifferentiation. We thus tried different aprotic and protic additives and were successful in all of the above‐mentioned aspects by using CCl₄ as the additive. Furthermore, we consider DMSO to be a very useful additive. The LC phase of low MW poly(γ‐benzyl‐L ‐glutamate) (PBLG) is usually unstable when DMSO is added. The high MW PBLG used in this study, however, remained stable up to a DMSO/CDCl₃ ratio of 1:2. By using this combination of solvents, the alignment of the two enantiomers of a compound, which is insoluble in CDCl₃, namely, the HCl salt of a tryptophane ester, was possible leading to high‐quality spectra. The two enantiomers of the tryptophane ester showed different couplings, thus indicating that enantiodifferentiation is taking place. Thus we were able to modulate the orienting properties (degree of orientation, preferred orientation and enantiodifferentiation) of PBLG by using additives and to increase the accessible solvent and solute range significantly.     

Probing Long‐Range Anisotropic Interactions: a General and Sign‐Sensitive Strategy to Measure 1H–1H Residual Dipolar Couplings as a Key Advance for Organic Structure Determination

Residual dipolar couplings (RDCs) are amongst the most powerful NMR parameters for organic structure elucidation. In order to maximize their effectiveness in increasingly complex cases such as flexible compounds, a maximum of RDCs between nuclei sampling a large distribution of orientations is needed, including sign information. For this, the easily accessible one‐bond ¹H–¹³C RDCs alone often fall short. Long‐range ¹H–¹H RDCs are both abundant and typically sample highly complementary orientations, but accessing them in a sign‐sensitive way has been severely obstructed due to the overflow of ¹H–¹H couplings. Here, we present a generally applicable strategy that allows the measurement of a large number of ¹H–¹H RDCs, including their signs, which is based on a combination of an improved PSYCHEDELIC method and a new selective constant‐time β‐COSY experiment. The potential of ¹H–¹H RDCs to better determine molecular alignment and to discriminate between enantiomers and diastereomers is demonstrated.     

Probing Long-Range Anisotropic Interactions: a General and Sign-Sensitive Strategy to Measure 1H–1H Residual Dipolar Couplings as a Key Advance for Organic Structure Determination

Residual dipolar couplings (RDCs) are amongst the most powerful NMR parameters for organic structure elucidation. In order to maximize their effectiveness in increasingly complex cases such as flexible compounds, a maximum of RDCs between nuclei sampling a large distribution of orientations is needed, including sign information. For this, the easily accessible one-bond ¹H–¹³C RDCs alone often fall short. Long-range ¹H–¹H RDCs are both abundant and typically sample highly complementary orientations, but accessing them in a sign-sensitive way has been severely obstructed due to the overflow of ¹H–¹H couplings. Here, we present a generally applicable strategy that allows the measurement of a large number of ¹H–¹H RDCs, including their signs, which is based on a combination of an improved PSYCHEDELIC method and a new selective constant-time β-COSY experiment. The potential of ¹H–¹H RDCs to better determine molecular alignment and to discriminate between enantiomers and diastereomers is demonstrated.     

CHARMM36 all‐atom additive protein force field: Validation based on comparison to NMR data

Protein structure and dynamics can be characterized on the atomistic level with both nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experiments and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. Here, we quantify the ability of the recently presented CHARMM36 (C36) force field (FF) to reproduce various NMR observables using MD simulations. The studied NMR properties include backbone scalar couplings across hydrogen bonds, residual dipolar couplings (RDCs) and relaxation order parameter, as well as scalar couplings, RDCs, and order parameters for side‐chain amino‐ and methyl‐containing groups. It is shown that the C36 FF leads to better correlation with experimental data compared to the CHARMM22/CMAP FF and suggest using C36 in protein simulations. Although both CHARMM FFs contains the same nonbond parameters, our results show how the changes in the internal parameters associated with the peptide backbone via CMAP and the χ₁ and χ₂ dihedral parameters leads to improved treatment of the analyzed nonbond interactions. This highlights the importance of proper treatment of the internal covalent components in modeling nonbond interactions with molecular mechanics FFs. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Synthesis and crystal structures of two structurally related kryptoracemates

Kryptoracemates are racemic compounds (pairs of enantiomers) that crystallize in Sohnke space groups (space groups that contain neither inversion centres nor mirror or glide planes nor rotoinversion axes). Thus, the two symmetry‐independent molecules cannot be transformed into one another by any symmetry element present in the crystal structure. Usually, the conformation of the two enantiomers is rather similar if not identical. Sometimes, the two enantiomers are related by a pseudosymmetry element, which is often a pseudocentre of inversion, because inversion symmetry is thought to be favourable for crystal packing. We obtained crystals of two kryptoracemates of two very similar compounds differing in just one residue, namely rac‐N‐[(1S ,2R ,3S )‐2‐methyl‐3‐(5‐methylfuran‐2‐yl)‐1‐phenyl‐3‐(pivalamido)propyl]benzamide, C₂₇H₃₂N₂O₃, (I), and rac‐N‐[(1S ,2S ,3R )‐2‐methyl‐3‐(5‐methylfuran‐2‐yl)‐1‐phenyl‐3‐(propionamido)propyl]benzamide dichloromethane hemisolvate, C₂₅H₂₈N₂O₃·0.5CH₂Cl₂, (II). The crystals of both compounds contain both enantiomers of these chiral molecules. However, since the space groups [P 2₁2₁2₁ for (I) and P 1 for (II)] contain neither inversion centres nor mirror or glide planes nor rotoinversion axes, there are both enantiomers in the asymmetric unit, which is a rather uncommon phenomenon. In addition, it is remarkable that (II) contains two pairs of enantiomers in the asymmetric unit. In the crystal, molecules are connected by intermolecular N—H…O hydrogen bonds to form chains or layered structures.     

Residual dipolar couplings in short peptides reveal systematic conformational preferences of individual amino acids

Residual dipolar couplings (RDCs) observed by NMR in solution under weak alignment conditions can monitor average net orientations and order parameters of individual bonds. By their simple geometrical dependence, RDCs bear particular promise for the quantitative characterization of conformations in partially folded or unfolded proteins. We have systematically investigated the influence of amino acid substitutions X on the conformation of unfolded model peptides EGAAXAASS as monitored by their (1)H(Nu)-(15)N and (1)H(alpha)-(13)C(alpha) RDCs detected at natural abundance of (15)N and (13)C in strained polyacrylamide gels. In total, 14 single amino acid substitutions were investigated. The RDCs show a specific dependence on the substitution X that correlates to steric or hydrophobic interactions with adjacent amino acids. In particular, the RDCs for the glycine and proline substitutions indicate less or more order, respectively, than the other amino acids. The RDCs for aromatic substitutions tryptophane and tyrosine give evidence of a kink in the peptide backbone. This effect is also observable for orientation by Pf1 phages and corroborated by variations in (13)C(alpha) secondary shifts and (3)J(HNH)(alpha) scalar couplings in isotropic samples. RDCs for a substitution with the beta-turn sequence KNGE differ from single amino acid substitutions. Terminal effects and next neighbor effects could be demonstrated by further specific substitutions. The results were compared to statistical models of unfolded peptide conformations derived from PDB coil subsets, which reproduce overall trends for (1)H(Nu)-(15)N RDCs for most substitutions, but deviate more strongly for (1)H(alpha)-(13)C(alpha) RDCs. The outlined approach opens the possibility to obtain a systematic experimental characterization of the influence of individual amino acid/amino acid interactions on orientational preferences in polypeptides.     

RDC‐enhanced structure calculation of a β‐heptapeptide in methanol

Residual dipolar couplings (RDCs) are a rich source of structural information that goes beyond the range covered by the nuclear Overhauser effect or scalar coupling constants. They can only be measured in partially oriented samples. RDC studies of peptides in organic solvents have so far been focused on samples in chloroform or DMSO. Here, we show that stretched poly(vinyl acetate) can be used for the partial alignment of a linear β‐peptide with proteinogenic side chains in methanol. ¹D_CH, ¹D_NH, and ²D_HH RDCs were collected with this sample and included as restraints in a simulated annealing calculation. Incorporation of RDCs in the structure calculation process improves the long‐range definition in the backbone of the resulting 3₁₄‐helix and uncovers side‐chain mobility. Experimental side‐chain RDCs of the central leucine and valine residues are in good agreement with predicted values from a local three‐state model. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effect of the position of a methoxy substituent on the antimicrobial activity and crystal structures of 4‐methyl‐1,6‐diphenylpyrimidine‐2(1H)‐selenone derivatives

Derivatives of pyrimidine‐2(1H)‐selenone are a group of compounds with very strong antimicrobial activity. In order to study the effect of the position of the methoxy substituent on biological activity, molecular geometry and intermolecular interactions in the crystal, three derivatives were prepared and evaluated with respect to their antimicrobial activities, and their crystal structures were determined by X‐ray diffraction. The investigated compounds, namely, 1‐(X‐methoxyphenyl)‐4‐methyl‐6‐phenylpyrimidine‐2(1H)‐selenones (X = 2, 3 and 4 for 1 , 2 and 3 , respectively), C₁₈H₁₆N₂OSe, showed very strong activity against selected strains of Gram‐positive bacteria and fungi. Two compounds, 1 and 2 , crystallize in the monoclinic space group P2₁/c, while 3 crystallizes in the space group P2₁/n; 1 has two molecules in the asymmetric unit and the other two ( 2 and 3 ) have one molecule. The geometries of the investigated compounds differ slightly in the mutual orientations of the aromatic and pyrimidineselenone rings. The O atom in 1 stabilizes the conformation of the molecules via intramolecular C—H…O hydrogen bonding. The packing of molecules is determined by weak C—H…N and C—H…Se intermolecular interactions and additionally in 1 and 2 by C—H…O intermolecular interactions. The introduction of the methoxy substituent results in greater selectivity of the investigated compounds.     

Circularly Polarized Luminescence of Chiral Perylene Diimide Based Enantiomers Triggered by Supramolecular Self‐Assembly

Two perylene diimide (PDI) enantiomers ( d/l ‐PDI ) incorporating the d /l ‐alanine moiety have been designed and synthesized. d/l ‐PDI in chloroform displays bright‐yellow fluorescence that is redshifted to orange‐red when the solvent contains a methanol fraction of 99 vol %. No circular dichroism (CD) or circularly polarized luminescence (CPL) signals were observed for d/l ‐PDI enantiomers in CHCl₃. Interestingly, the d/l ‐PDI enantiomers exhibit clear mirror‐image Cotton effects and CPL emission in the aggregate state. The optical anisotropy factor (g_lum) is as high as 0.02 at f_m=99 %, which can be attributed to self‐assembly through intermolecular π–π interactions in the aggregate state.     

Orientational Properties of Poly‐γ‐benzyl‐L‐glutamate: Influence of Molecular Weight and Solvent on Order Parameters of the Solute

Residual dipolar couplings (RDCs) have recently become increasingly important in organic structure determination due to their unique information content. One main limitation for the use of RDCs in organic compounds, however, is that the compound in question needs to be oriented with respect to the magnetic field in order to measure RDCs. So far, there are very few possibilities for modulating the induced degree of orientation. The situation is even worse when chiral orienting media are considered, which could allow absolute configuration determination in the future. We have conducted a systematic investigation into modulating the orientation induced by one chiral orienting medium, namely organic solutions of PBLG (poly‐γ‐benzyl‐L ‐glutamate), as a function of its molecular weight and the organic co‐solvent used, and have obtained significant insights into factors that influence the order induced. With increasing molecular weight of the polypeptide the orientation of the solutes decreases, leading to well‐resolved spectra with improved line shapes. This can be attributed exclusively to the fact that the critical concentration of the liquid‐crystalline phase decreases with increasing molecular weight (pure dilution effect). Any influence of increasing flexibility on the orientation can be ruled out.     

[2‐(2‐Pyridyl)‐1H‐benzimidazole‐κ2N2,N3]bis(p‐toluato‐κ2O,O′)manganese(II)

In the title compound, [Mn(C₈H₇O₂)₂(C₁₂H₉N₃)], the manganese(II) centre is surrounded by three bidentate chelating ligands, namely, one 2‐(2‐pyridyl)benzimidazole ligand [Mn—N = 2.1954 (13) and 2.2595 (14) Å] and two p‐toluate ligands [Mn—O = 2.1559 (13)–2.2748 (14) Å]. It displays a severely distorted octahedral geometry, with cis angles ranging from 58.87 (4) to 106.49 (5)°. Intermolecular C—H...O hydrogen bonds between the p‐toluate ligands link the molecules into infinite chains, and every two neighbouring chains are further coupled by N—H...O and C—H...O hydrogen bonds between the 2‐(2‐pyridyl)benzimidazole and p‐toluate ligands, leading to an infinite ribbon‐like double‐chain packing mode. The complete solid‐state structure can be described as a three‐dimensional supramolecular framework, stabilized by these intermolecular hydrogen‐bonding interactions and possible C—H...π interactions, as well as stacking interactions involving the 2‐(2‐pyridyl)benzimidazole ligands.     

Paramagnetic-based NMR restraints lift residual dipolar coupling degeneracy in multidomain detergent-solubilized membrane proteins

Residual dipolar couplings (RDCs) are widely used as orientation-dependent NMR restraints to improve the resolution of the NMR conformational ensemble of biomacromolecules and define the relative orientation of multidomain proteins and protein complexes. However, the interpretation of RDCs is complicated by the intrinsic degeneracy of analytical solutions and protein dynamics that lead to ill-defined orientations of the structural domains (ghost orientations). Here, we illustrate how restraints from paramagnetic relaxation enhancement (PRE) experiments lift the orientational ambiguity of multidomain membrane proteins solubilized in detergent micelles. We tested this approach on monomeric phospholamban (PLN), a 52-residue membrane protein, which is composed of two helical domains connected by a flexible loop. We show that the combination of classical solution NMR restraints (NOEs and dihedral angles) with RDC and PRE constraints resolves topological ambiguities, improving the convergence of the PLN structural ensemble and giving the depth of insertion of the protein within the micelle. The combination of RDCs with PREs will be necessary for improving the accuracy and precision of membrane protein conformational ensembles, where three-dimensional structures are dictated by interactions with the membrane-mimicking environment rather than compact tertiary folds common in globular proteins.     

Metastable Chiral Azobenzenes Stabilized in a Double Racemate

The self‐assembly of chiral organic chromophores is gaining huge significance due to the abundance of supramolecular chirality found in natural systems. We report an interdigitated molecular assembly involving axially chiral octabrominated perylenediimide (OBPDI) which transfers chiral information to achiral aromatic moieties. The crystalline two‐component assemblies of OBPDI and electron‐rich aromatic units were facilitated through π‐hole???π donor–acceptor interactions, and the charge‐transfer characteristics in the ground and excited states of the OBPDI cocrystals were established through spectroscopic and theoretical techniques. The OBPDI cocrystals entail a remarkable homochiral segregation of P and M enantiomers of both molecular entities in the same crystal system, leading to twisted double‐racemic arrangements. Synergistically engendered cavities with the stored chiral information of the twisted OBPDI stabilize higher‐energy P/M enantiomers of trans‐azobenzene through non‐covalent interactions.     

Chiral analytical method development of liquiritigenin with application to a pharmacokinetic study

Pharmacometric characterization studies of liquiritigenin have historically overlooked its chiral nature. To achieve complete characterization, an analytical method enabling the detection and quantification of the individual enantiomers of racemic (±) liquiritigenin is necessary. Resolution of the enantiomers of liquiritigenin was achieved using a simple high‐performance liquid chromatographic method. A Chiralpak® ADRH column was employed to perform baseline separation with UV detection at 210 nm.The standard curves were linear ranging from 0.5 to 100 µg/mL for each enantiomer. Limit of quantification was 0.5 µg/mL. The assay was applied successfully to stereoselective serum disposition of liquiritigenin enantiomers in rats. Liquiritigenin enantiomers were detected in serum as both aglycones and glucuronidated conjugates. Both unconjugated enantiomers had a serum half‐life of ~15 min in rats. The volume of distribution (V_d) for S‐ and R‐liquiritigenin was 1.49 and 2.21 L/kg, respectively. Total clearance (Cl_total) was 5.12 L/h/kg for S‐liquiritigenin and 4.79 L/h/kg for R‐liquiritigenin, and area under the curve (AUC_0‐inf) was 3.95 µg h/mL for S‐liquiritigenin and 4.23 µg h/mL for R‐liquiritigenin. The large volume of distribution coupled with the short serum half‐life suggests extensive distribution of liquiritigenin into tissues. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

基于2,4′-二羧基二苯甲酮构筑的具有一维梯状链和一维隧道的三维超分子体系

采用水热法设计合成了两个新型三维超分子化合物H₂L·H₂O (1)和[Ag(bpy)₂]·HL·H₂O (2) (其中bpy=2,2'-联吡啶, H₂L=2,4′-二羧基二苯甲酮),晶体结构分析表明,它们均是通过氢键采用不同的连接方式拓展而成。其中,化合物1 是2,4′-二羧基二苯甲酮和水分子通过O–H···O氢键形成的一维梯状链扩展构筑的三维超分子体系;化合物2 则是2,4′-二羧基二苯甲酮和水分子通过两种氢键形成含有一维隧道的三维超分子体系。有趣的是,[Ag(bpy)₂]⁺ 阳离子通过π–π 堆积和弱的Ag···Ag相互作用连在一起,进而以客体形式填充其中。荧光性质研究表明,由于存在bpy的螯合与堆积效应,化合物2相比配体和化合物1,其荧光发射峰发生红移。     

2‐{[(4‐Methylphenyl)sulfonyl]amino}phenyl 4‐methylbenzenesulfonate

The title compound, C₂₀H₁₉NO₅S₂, crystallizes as an almost 2:1 mixture of two molecular orientations (described as Orient‐A and Orient‐B). The consequences of these two orientations is the formation of three types of N—H...O hydrogen‐bonded dimers in which the (Orient‐A + Orient‐A) dimers are likely to be the most stable, while the mixed (Orient‐A + Orient‐B) dimers are more frequent. Extra interactions in the form of C—H...O and C—H...π interactions act to further stabilize these dimers and probably allow the less energetically favourable (Orient‐A + Orient‐B) and (Orient‐B + Orient‐B) hydrogen‐bonded dimers to exist by preventing their conversion to (Orient‐A + Orient‐A)‐only hydrogen‐bonded dimers during the crystal‐growth process.     

Confined crystallization behaviors in polyethylene/silica nanocomposites: Synergetic effects of interfacial interactions and filler network

The confinement effects introduced by nanoparticles have been reported to influence the phase behaviors thus the properties of polymer nanocomposites. In this study, molecular dynamics and crystallization behaviors of polyethylene (PE) composited with three types of silica (SiO₂) nanoparticles, namely unmodified SiO₂, hydrophobically modified SiO₂, SiO₂‐APTES (3‐aminopropyltriethoxysilane) and SiO₂‐PTES (n‐propyltriethoxysilane), were systematically investigated via a combination of DSC, XRD and ¹H solid‐state NMR measurements. The suppressions in crystallization and chain mobilities of PE rank in the order of unmodified SiO₂ < SiO₂‐APTES < SiO₂‐PTES due to the increasing interfacial interactions between PE and SiO₂ nanoparticles. Additionally, independent of polymer–nanoparticle interactions, a silica network forms for all three kinds of nanocomposites when SiO₂ content reaches 83 wt %. The mobilities of polymer chains are severely restricted by such a percolated network structure, leading to a turning point in the crystallization ability of nanocomposites and a new crystallization peak at 45 °C lower than that of pure PE. The synergetic effects of interfacial interactions and filler network on polymer crystallization have been thoroughly studied in this work, which will provide guidance on modifying and designing nanocomposites with controlled properties. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2017 , 55, 498–505     

Nanographene Imides Featuring Dual‐Core Sixfold [5]Helicenes

A novel kind of nanographene imide, namely pentaperylene decaimides (PPD) featuring dual‐core sixfold [5]helicenes and ten imide groups, was efficiently obtained. Among the possible 28 stereoisomers, which include 14 pairs of enantiomers, only one pair of enantiomers was obtained selectively which could be separated by chiral HPLC. Single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction analyses revealed that it exhibits a D₂‐symmetric “four‐bladed propeller” conformation composed of conjoined double “three‐bladed propeller”, which is very stable and could not convert into other conformations even when heated up to 200 °C. Meanwhile, enantiomerically pure PPD also exhibits an excellent resistance to thermally induced racemization, which makes it a promising candidate for various applications in chiral material science.     

2,6‐Diamino‐9H‐purine monohydrate and bis(2,6‐diamino‐9H‐purin‐1‐ium) 2‐(2‐carboxylatophenyl)acetate heptahydrate: two simple structures with very complex hydrogen‐bonding schemes

Two structures presenting an uncomplexed 2,6‐diaminopurine (dap) group are reported, namely 2,6‐diamino‐9H‐purine monohydrate, C₅H₆N₆·H₂O, (I), and bis(2,6‐diamino‐9H‐purin‐1‐ium) 2‐(2‐carboxylatophenyl)acetate heptahydrate, 2C₅H₇N₆⁺·C₉H₆O₄²⁻·7H₂O, (II). Both structures are rather featureless from a molecular point of view, but present instead an outstanding hydrogen‐bonding scheme. In compound (I), this is achieved through a rather simple independent unit content (one neutral dap and one water molecule) and takes the form of two‐dimensional layers tightly connected by strong hydrogen bonds, and interlinked by much weaker hydrogen bonds and π–π interactions. In compound (II), the fundamental building blocks are more complex, consisting of two independent 2,6‐diamino‐9H‐purin‐1‐ium (Hdap⁺) cations, one homophthalate [2‐(2‐carboxylatophenyl)acetate] dianion and seven solvent water molecules. The large number of hydrogen‐bond donors and acceptors produces 26 independent interactions, leading to an extended and complicated network of hydrogen bonds in a packing organization characterized by the stacking of interleaved anionic and cationic planar arrays. These structural characteristics are compared with those of similar compounds in the literature.     

Helical self‐assembly of 2‐(1,4,7,10‐tetraazacyclododecan‐1‐yl)cyclohexan‐1‐ol (cycyclen)

The title macrocyclic amino alcohol compound, C₁₄H₃₀N₄O, is investigated as a solid‐state synthon for the design of a self‐assembled tubular structure. It crystallizes in a helical column constructed by stereospecific O—H...N and N—H...N interactions. The hydrogen‐bonding interactions, dependent upon macrocyclic ring helicity and molecular conformation, link R,R and S,S enantiomers in a head‐to‐tail fashion, forming a continuous hydrophilic inner core.