Competition between mono-and bimolecular reactions of artemisinin alkoxyl radicals

The competition between intramolecular and bimolecular reactions of alkoxyl radicals formed from artemisinin was theoretically analyzed. The enthalpies of these reactions were calculated. The activation energies and rate constants of reactions of intramolecular hydrogen atom transfer, decyclization, and decomposition of alkoxyl radicals of artemisinin and several its derivatives, as well as the activation energies and rate constants of reactions of these radicals with the C-H, S-H, and O-H bonds in biological substrates and their analogs were calculated by the intersecting parabolas method The fastest reactions of artemisinin alkoxyl radicals were identified. The full kinetic scheme of transformation of these radicals was proposed. Artemisinin radicals with the free valence on the carbon atom are predominantly formed due to the transformation of the artemisininoxyl radicals. Published in Russian in Izvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 9, pp. 1502–1510, September, 2006.     

Competition of monomolecular and bimolecular reactions of the alkyl radicals of artemisinin

The competition between monomolecular and bimolecular reactions of alkyl radicals of artemisinin is considered theoretically. The enthalpies of these reactions are calculated. The activation energies and rate constants of intramolecular hydrogen atom transfer, of the decyclization of the alkyl radicals of artemisinin, and of the bimolecular reactions of these radicals with C-H, S-H, and O-H bonds of biological substrates and their analogues are calculated in the framework of the parabolic model. The intramolecular hydrogen transfer reactions proceed at the highest rate. The bimolecular reactions occur somewhat less rapidly. The fastest of them are the reactions of the alkyl radicals with the thio groups of cysteine. The decyclization reactions of all artemisinin alkyl radicals are very slow.     

Intramolecular chain reaction of artemisinin oxidation

The intramolecular chain oxidation of artemisinin was analyzed using the parabolic model. The competition of the mono- and bimolecular peroxy radicals formed from artemisinin was considered. Artemisinin is predominantly oxidized via the intramolecular chain mechanism to form polyatomic hydroperoxides. This results in the situation when, under aerobic conditions, artemisinin is transformed from the monofunctional into polyfunctional initiator with several hydroperoxide groups. The enthalpy was calculated, and the activation energies and rate constants of the intramolecular reactions of the artemisinin peroxy radicals, as well as those of their bimolecular reactions with C-H, S-H, and O-H bonds of biological substrates and their analogs, were calculated in the framework of the parabolic model. A new kinetic scheme for artemisinin oxidation was proposed. Published in Russian in Izvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 2, pp. 267–275, February, 2008.     

Reactivity of thio (amino) derivatives of the ω-(4-hydroxyaryl)alkyl type in radical reactions

The enthalpies, activation energies, and rate constants of the reactions of thio (amino) alkylphenols of different structures were calculated and compared with those of the reactions of alkyl-substituted phenols, alkoxyl and alkyl radicals, hydroperoxides, and nitrogen dioxide, as well as the reactions of phenoxyl radicals with molecules of the substrate being oxidized. The calculation was performed by the intersecting parabolas method using O-H bond energy data for phenols. The correlation between the molecular structure of the thio (amino) alkylphenols and their reactivity in radical reactions is considered.     

Reactions of alkoxy and peroxy radicals formed upon the decomposition of hydroxyperoxide groups in the artemisinin derivatives

The enthalpies of intramolecular reactions of alkoxy and peroxy radicals formed from polyatomic artemisinin hydroperoxides and of their bimolecular reactions with C—H, S—H, and O—H bonds of biological substrates were calculated. The activation energies and rate constants of these reactions were calculated using the intersecting parabolas method. The decomposition of artemisinin hydroperoxides can initiate the cascade of intramolecular oxidation reactions involving radicals R·, RO·, HO·, HO₂·, and RO₂·. The main sequences of transformation of these radicals were established. The oxidative destruction of the artemisinin peroxy derivatives generates radicals RO₂·, HO·, and HO₂· in an amount of 4.5 radicals per peroxide derivative molecule on the average. The kinetic scheme of oxidative transformations of the hydroperoxide with four OOH groups and radicals formed from it was constructed using this radical as an example.     

A radiation-chemical and quantum-chemical study of ascorbic acid interaction with α-hydroxyethyl radicals

The effect of ascorbic acid and its analogue 5,6-O-isopropylidenyl-2,3-O-dimethylascorbic acid (I), which has been synthesized for the purpose and does not contain mobile hydrogen atoms, on the formation of the products of continuous radiolysis of deaerated ethanol and its aqueous solutions has been studied. The ionization potentials, the molecular orbital energies, the enthalpies of homolytic dissociation of C-H and O-H bonds, and the enthalpies of H atom addition to the C=O group of the test compounds have been calculated by ab initio methods. The array of the experimental and calculated theoretical data suggests that both ascorbic acid in the undissociated form and compound I can oxidize α-hydroxyethyl radicals, whereas the monoanion of ascorbic acid acts as a reducing agent in the reactions with these transient radicals. The reduction of α-hydroxyethyl radicals in aqueous solutions by the ascorbic acid monoanion can follow both the hydrogen transfer and electron transfer mechanisms.     

Polar and solvation effects in reactions of oxygen atoms and hydroxyl and alkoxyl radicals with oxygen-containing compounds

Experimental data on the activation energies of reactions of H-abstraction from oxygencontaining compounds by oxygen atoms and hydroxyl and alkoxyl radicals in the gas and liquid phases have been analyzed by means of the parabolic model of the transition state. The contribution of polar interaction to the activation energies of the reactions has been calculated. The contribution of solvation to the activation energy has been calculated by comparison of the reaction parameters of the respective reaction in the liquid and gas phases.Translated fromIzvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 1, pp. 38–42, January, 1994.     

Theoretical Studies on Thermal Decomposition of Benzoyl Peroxide in Ground State

Systematic studies of the thermal decomposition mechanism of benzoyl peroxide(BPO) in ground state,leading to various intermediates, products and the potential energy surface(PES) of possible dissociation reactions were made computationally. The structures of the transition states and the activation energies for all the paths causing the formation of the reaction products mentioned above were calculated by the AM1 semiempirical method. This method is shown to to be one predict correctly the preferred pathway for the title reaction. It has been found that in ground state, the thermal decomposition of benzoyl peroxide has two kinds of paths. The first pathway PhC(O)O--OC(O)Ph→PhC(O)O→Ph CO2 produces finally phenyl radicals and carbon dioxide. And the second pathway PhC (O) OO--C (O) Ph→PhC (O) OO PhC (O)→PhC(O) O2→Ph CO O2, via which the reaction takes place only in two steps, produces oxygen and PhC(O) radicals, and the further thermal dissociation of PhC(O) is quite difficult because of the high activation energy in ground state. The calculated activation energies and reaction enthalpies are in good agreement with the experimental values. The research results also show that also the thermal dissociation process of the two bonds or the three bonds for the benzoyl peroxide doesn‘t take place in ground state.     

Radical intermediates induced by porphyrin triplets

In the photochemical reactions of triplets of both protoporphyrin-IX-dimethyl-ester (PP) and haematoporphyrin dihydrochloride (HP) with alpha-phenyl-ethyl hydroperoxide (HROOH) in C6H6 at room temperature, both O-O and C-C bonds are broken yielding alkoxy and carbon-centred radicals. The ruptures of C-C and O-H bonds were observed in the photochemical reaction of PP with tert-butanol in the same solvent, yielding alkoxy and carbon-centred radicals at lambda greater than or equal to 366 nm, while HP did not react photochemically with tert-butanol at lambda greater than or equal to 334 nm.     

Reactivity of natural phenols in radical reactions

Activation enthalpies and energies and the rate constants of reactions with peroxyl, alkyl, and thiyl radicals (76 reactions) were calculated for a group of natural antioxidants (19 monohydroxy and polyhydroxy phenols). The calculation was performed with the use of the model of a radical abstraction reaction as the intersection of two parabolic potential curves. The results of the calculation were compared with experimental data: the average discrepancy in the activation energies of the reactions RO ₂ ^? + ArOH was 0.8 kJ/mol. Interatomic distances in the reaction centers of the transition states of the test reactions were calculated. Factors affecting the reactivity of these compounds are discussed.     

The energy and geometric characteristics of the transition state in reactions of RO<Stack><Subscript>2</Subscript><Superscript>•</Superscript></Stack> with carbonyl compound C-H bonds

The energy and geometry of the transition state in reactions of the ethyl peroxyl radical with ethane, ethanol (its α and β C-H bonds), acetone, butanone-2, and acetaldehyde were calculated by the density functional theory method. In all these reactions (except EtO_2/? + ethanol α C-H bond), the C…H…O reaction center has an almost linear configuration (φ = 176° ± 2°); polar interaction only influences the r ^≠ (C…O) interatomic bond. In the reaction of EtO_2/? with the ethanol α C-H bond, it is the O-H…O H-bond formed in the transition state that determines the configuration of the reaction center with the angle φ(C…H…O) = 160°. The results were used to estimate the r ^≠ (C…H) and r ^≠ (O…H) interatomic bonds in the transition state by the method of intersecting parabolas and the contribution of polar interaction to the activation energy of reactions between peroxyl radicals and aldehydes and ketones.     

Reactivity of quinones as alkyl radical acceptors

The enthalpies of the addition of 11 alkyl radicals to ortho-and para-benzoquinones and substituted para-benzoquinones and the enthalpies of formation of various alkoxyphenoxyl radicals have been calculated. Experimental data for the addition of alkyl radicals to quinones are analyzed in terms of the intersection of two parabolic potential curves, and parameters characterizing this class of reactions are calculated. The classical potential barrier of the thermally neutral reaction of alkyl radical addition to benzoquinone is E _e,0 = 82.1 kJ/mol. This class of reactions is compared to other classes of free-radical addition reactions. The interaction between the electrons of the reaction center and the π electrons of the aromatic ring is a significant factor in the activation energy. Activation energies, rate constants, and the geometric parameters of the transition state have been calculated for 40 reactions of alkyl radical addition to quinones. Strong polar interaction has been revealed in the addition of polar macroradicals to quinones, and its contribution to the activation energy has been estimated. Kinetic parameters, activation energies, and rate constants have been calculated for the reverse reactions of alkoxyphenoxyl radical decomposition to quinone and alkyl. The competition between chain termination and propagation reactions in alkoxyphenol-inhibited hydrocarbon oxidation is discussed.     

Estimation of O-H bond dissociation energies in alcohols and acids from kinetic data

The O-H bond dissociation energies (D _O-H) in five alcohols and six acids have been determined from experimental data (rate constants of radical reactions). The ratio of the rate constants of the reactions R¹O˙+RH→R¹OH+R˙ and R ⁱ O˙+RH→R ⁱ OH+R˙ and the intersecting parabolas method are used in the estimation procedure. The D _O-H values are used to calculate the activation energies and rate constants for hydrogen abstraction from 2-methylbutane, butene-1, and cumene by alkoxyl and carboxyl radicals. The geometric parameters of the transition state are calculated for these reactions.     

Kinetic and theoretical study of 4-exo ring closures of carbamoyl radicals onto C=C and C=N bonds

Carbamoyl radicals were generated from oxime oxalate amides, and the kinetics of their 4-exo cyclizations onto C=C and C=NO bonds, leading to beta-lactam-containing species, were studied by EPR spectroscopy. DFT computations with model carbamoyl radicals predicted 4-exo ring closures onto C=NO bonds to be facile, especially when tert-butyl substituents were present. The reverse ring-opening reactions were predicted to have much higher activation energies. Experimental evidence also favored slow reverse ring opening.     

An ab initio and density functional theory study of radical-clock reactions

Density functional theory (DFT) and ab initio (CBS-RAD) calculations have been used to investigate a series of "radical clock" reactions. The calculated activation energies suggest that the barriers for these radical rearrangements are determined almost exclusively by the enthalpy effect with no evidence of significant polar effects. The ring-closure reactions to cyclopentylmethyl radical derivatives and the ring opening of cyclopropylmethyl radicals give different correlations between the calculated heat of reaction and barrier, but the two types of reaction are internally consistent.     

The reactivity of silanes in free-radical reactions: Analysis in terms of the parabolic model of the transition state

Rate constants and activation energies of free-radical reactions of silanes and silyl radicals were analyzed in terms of the parabolic model of the transition state. The kinetic parameters were estimated for 16 groups of reactions of silanes and silyl radicals. These parameters were used to calculate the activation energies for 112 free-radical reactions and to estimate the dissociation energies of the Si−H bond for 21 compounds and those of the C−Cl bond for 12 substituted benzyl chlorides. Triplet repulsion, electronegativity, and radii of atoms of the reaction center of the transition state were shown to play an important role in the formation of the activation barrier. Translated fromIzvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 7, pp. 1311–1316, July, 1998.     

A novel type of free radical reactions: isomerization of a radical with concerted fragmentation

A comparison of experimental data and results of the rate constant calculations by the method of intersecting parabolas (MIP) showed that abstraction of H atom by a peroxyl radical from the C_α-H bond in hydroperoxide is accompanied by concerted fragmentation of the molecule. The complicated character of the elementary event is due to high exothermicity of the reaction. The kinetic parameters of isomerization with fragmentation of peroxyalkyl, peroxyalkoxyl, and peroxyperoxyl radicals were calculated within the framework of the MIP method. The enthalpies, activation energies, and rate constants for a series of isomerization reactions of peroxyl radicals with concerted fragmentation were also obtained from the MIP calculations. Factors influencing these reactions are analyzed.     

Quantum-chemical modeling of the detachment of hydrogen atoms by the sulfate radical anion

Nonempirical quantum-chemical calculations of the transition states of reactions between the sulfate radical anion and organic compounds of various classes were performed, and the activation energies of the corresponding reactions were calculated. A correlation dependence between the calculated activation energies and the strength of substrate C-H bonds was found. The polarized continuum model COSMO was used to study the influence of solvents on the kinetics of the reactions.     

Radical Abstraction Reactions with Concerted Fragmentation in the Chain Decay of Nitroalkanes

Reactions of the type X? + HCR₂CH2NO₂ → XH + R₂C=CH₂ + N?O₂ are exothermic, due to the breaking of weak C–N bonds and the formation of energy-intensive C=C bonds. Quantum chemistry calculations of the transition state using the reactions of Et? and EtO? with 2-nitrobutane shows that such reactions can be categorized as one-step, due to the extreme instability of the intermediate nitrobutyl radical toward decay with the formation of N?O₂. Kinetic parameters that allow us to calculate the energy of activation and rate constant of such a reaction from its enthalpy are estimated using a model of intersecting parabolas. Enthalpies, energies of activation, and rate constants are calculated for a series of reactions with the participation of Et?, EtO?, RO?₂, N?O₂ radicals on the one hand and a series of nitroalkanes on the other. A new kinetic scheme of the chain decay of nitroalkanes with the participation of abstraction reactions with concerted fragmentation is proposed on the basis of the obtained data.     

Hammett correlations in the chemistry of 3-phenylpropyl radicals

The energetics and kinetics of the reaction of variously substituted benzyl radicals with a model alkene were calculated at the G3(MP2)-RAD//B3-LYP/6-31G(d) level of theory to determine whether such reactions are amenable to Hammett analysis. The reactions were studied both in the gas phase and in toluene solution in the temperature range 298-353 K; calculations include 1D-hindered rotor corrections for low frequency torsional modes, and the solvation energies were calculated using COSMO-RS at the BP/TZP level of theory. The addition reaction was found to be dominated by radical stabilization effects, but under circumstances where olefin substituent effects were decoupled from aryl substituent effects, a modest polar effect comes into play, which is enhanced by solvation. Reasonable correlations with empirical substituent parameters such as Hammett σ and σ(?) are observed for the enthalpy of activation, but additional entropic factors act to decrease the degree of correlation with respect to free energies and rate coefficients, confirming hypotheses from earlier experimental work. Substituent effects on the reverse β-fragmentation reaction, and potential cyclization of the 3-phenylpropyl radicals formed by addition are also discussed.