Relative importance of basicity in the gas phase and in solution for determining selectivity in electrospray ionization mass spectrometry

Electrospray ionization mass spectrometry is a critically important technique for the determination of small molecules, but its application for this purpose is complicated by its selectivity. For positive ion ESI-MS analysis of basic analytes, several investigators have pointed to the importance of analyte basicity as a source of selectivity. Currently, however, it is not known whether basicity in the gas phase or in solution is ultimately most important in determining responsiveness. The objective of these studies was to investigate the relative importance of basicity in solution and in the gas phase as factors that predict selectivity in positive ion ESI-MS analysis. ESI-MS response was compared for a diverse series of protonatable analytes in two different solvents, neat methanol and methanol with 0.5% acetic acid. A correlation was observed between analyte pK(b) and electrospray response. However, the response for the analytes with very high pK(b) values was significantly higher than would be expected based on concentration of the protonated form or the analyte in solution, and this higher response did not appear to result from gas-phase proton transfer reactions. Although all of the analytes investigated had higher gas-phase basicities than the solvent, their relative responses were not dictated by gas-phase basicity. Higher response was observed for all of the analytes studied in acidified methanol compared with neat methanol, and this higher response was most pronounced for weakly basic analytes. These findings support the use of analyte pK(b) for rational method development in ESI-MS analysis of small molecules.     

Acrylamide in the Baylis-Hillman reaction: expanded reaction scope and the unexpected superiority of DABCO over more basic tertiary amine catalysts

DMAP, DBU, and quinuclidine efficiently promote novel hydroalkoxylation reactions of acrylamide in primary alcohol solvents. DABCO is a comparatively poor hydroalkoxylation promoter and can effect clean, selective Baylis-Hillman reactions between acrylamide and aldehydes in alcoholic/aqueous media in which more basic nucleophilic catalysts promote hydroalkoxylation preferentially. Optimization of the reaction conditions has allowed acrylamide to be reacted with a range of aromatic aldehydes in moderate to excellent yields, including the first examples involving deactivated, electron-rich substrates such as p-tolualdehyde and o-anisaldehyde.     

Increasing the reactivity of nitrogen catalysts

This review article presents how nitrogen-centred Lewis bases were modified in order to increase their reactivity in catalytic processes. As examples, we focus on alcohol acylation and Morita-Baylis-Hilman reactions in order to showcase the fundamental parameters at play in transformations initiated by catalysts bearing respectively an active sp(2) or sp(3) nitrogen atoms. These two aspects are epitomised by two leading compounds, the Steglich base 4-dimethylaminopyridine (DMAP), and 1,4-diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane (DABCO). Throughout this review, we stress the role played and the information brought by physical organic chemistry. Comprehension of these complex transformations relies on the fundamental knowledge of parameters, such as, nucleophilicity, nucleofugality, Lewis basicity, and crucially also the knowledge of their divergent impacts on each elementary step of the catalytic cycle.     

DABCO as a dynamic hinge between cofacial porphyrin panels and its tumbling inside a supramolecular cavity

The heteroleptic supramolecular double-decker porphyrin 1 was synthesized with DABCO as a guest between two cofacial porphyrin units as characterized by (1)H NMR and ESI-MS. While DABCO is not seen to tumble inside the cavity, even at higher temperatures (80 °C), such motion was triggered upon addition of various coordinating ligands (quinuclidine, 4-bromopyridine, or excess of DABCO). Different stoichiometric amounts were needed depending on the n donor quality of the added ligands to initiate tumbling of the "inside" DABCO. As demonstrated in an example with excess DABCO, the tumbling was stopped by lowering the temperature to -50 °C.     

Electrophilicity of aromatic triflones in sigma-complexation processes

The kinetics of sigma-complexation of 2,6-bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)-4-nitroanisole (4) have been investigated over a large pH range of 2-15.68 in methanol. Two competitive processes have been identified with the initial addition of MeO(-) at the unsubstituted 3-position of 4 to give a 1,3-dimethoxy adduct (4b-Me) and a subsequent and slow conversion of this species into the 1,1-dimethoxy isomer (4a-Me). Both 4a-Me and 4b-Me are more stable than the related adducts of 2,6-dinitro-4-trifluromethanesulfonylanisole, i.e.5a-Me and 5b-Me, and 2,4,6-trinitroanisole, i.e.6a-Me and 6b-Me, the latter compound being a conventional reference aromatic electrophile in Meisenheimer complex chemistry. The high thermodynamic stability of 4a-Me (pK(a) = 10.48) and 4b-Me (pK(a) = 12.23) relative to 5a-Me (pK(a) = 10.68) and 6a-Me (pK(a) = 12.56) or 5b-Me (pK(a) = 15.38) and 6b-Me (pK(a) = 16.46), is shown to derive from an especially high capacity of a para or an ortho SO(2)CF(3) group to stabilize a negative charge through Fpi-type polarization effects. From the kinetic data, it appears that the contribution of a methanol pathway to the formation of 4a-Me is much weaker than that found to operate in the formation of the 1,1-complex 5a-Me of 2,6-dinitro-4-trifluromethanesulfonylanisole, the experimental evidence suggesting that the reactivity of 4 and 5 is located just beyond the region defining the boundary between super- and normal-electrophilicity in methanol. Comparison of our results with available literature data show that this boundary corresponds to a pK(MeOH)(a) value of approximately 10, in agreement with our previous finding of a very effective solvent contribution to the sigma-complexation of 1,3,5-tris(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)benzene (13; pK(MeOH)(a) = 9.12) in methanol. Taking advantage of our observation that pK(MeOH)(a) and pK(H(2)O)(a) values for sigma-complexation at unsubstituted ring positions are related by a nice linear correlation, an approximate ranking of the electrophilicity of our aromatic triflones on the E scale developed by Mayr (Acc. Chem. Res. 2003, 36, 66) can be made.     

Inverse solvent effects in carbocation carbanion combination reactions: the unique behavior of trifluoromethylsulfonyl stabilized carbanions

Second-order rate constants for the reactions of the trifluoromethylsulfonyl substituted benzyl anions 1a-e (CF3SO2CH(-)-C6H4-X) with the benzhydrylium ions 2f-j and structurally related quinone methides 2a-e have been determined by UV-vis spectroscopy. The reactions proceed approximately 10-40 times faster in methanol than in DMSO leading to the unique situation that these carbocation carbanion combinations are faster in protic than in dipolar aprotic media. The pK(a) values of some benzyl trifluoromethylsulfones were determined in methanol (1c-H, 17.1; 1d-H, 16.0; 1e-H, 15.0) and found to be 5 units larger than the corresponding values in DMSO. Rate and equilibrium measurements thus agree that the trifluoromethylsulfonyl substituted benzyl anions 1a-e are more effectively solvated by ion-dipole interactions in DMSO than by hydrogen bonding in methanol. Br?nsted correlations show that in DMSO the trifluoromethylsulfonyl substituted carbanions 1 are less nucleophilic than most other types of carbanions of similar basicity, indicating that in DMSO the intrinsic barriers for the reactions of the localized carbanions 1 are higher than those of delocalized carbanions, including nitroalkyl anions. The situation is reversed in methanol, where the reactions of the localized carbanions 1 possess lower intrinsic barriers than those of delocalized carbanions as commonly found for proton-transfer processes. As a consequence, the relative magnitudes of intrinsic barriers are strongly dependent on the solvent.     

Synthesis, characterization, and catalytic reactivity of a highly basic macrotricyclic aminopyridine

The synthesis methods, physicochemical and structural characteristics, and catalytic reactivity of new macrocyclic proton chelators, N,N',N'-tris(p-tolyl)azacalix[3](2,6)(4-pyrrolidinopyridine) and N,N',N'-tris(p-tolyl)azacalix[3](2,6)(4-piperidinopyridine), are studied. The introduction of pyrrolidino and piperidino groups into the pyridine unit enables the enhancement of the synergistic proton affinity of the cavity of the macrotricycle giving a high basicity (pK(BH+) = 28.1 and 27.1 in CD(3)CN), resulting in a catalytic activity for the Michael addition of nitromethane with α,β-unsaturated carbonyl compounds.     

Stereoelectronic substituent effects in polyhydroxylated piperidines and hexahydropyridazines

From the pK(a) values of the conjugate acids of a large series of hydroxylated piperidines and hexahydropyridazines, a consistent difference in basicity was found between stereoisomers having an axial or equatorial hydroxyl (OH) group either beta or gamma to the amine. Compounds with an equatorial OH group in the 3-position were 0.8 pH units more acidic than otherwise identical compounds with an axial OH group, whilst compounds with an equatorial OH group in the 4-position relative to the amine were 0.4 pH units more acidic than the corresponding compound with an axial OH. A similar effect was observed for the COOMe substituent. The difference in electron-withdrawing power of axial and equatorial substituents was explained by a difference in charge-dipole interactions in the two systems. Since this stereoelectronic substituent effect causes differences in basicity in different conformers, certain piperidines and hexahydropyridazines were found to change conformation upon protonation. A method for predicting the pK(a) of piperidines which takes stereochemistry into account is described.     

Reaction of Selectfluor (F-TEDA-BF4) with chloromethylated-DABCO monocation salts (X = BF4, NTf2) and other nitrogen bases (Et3N; piperidine; basic ionic liquid); unexpected formation of symmetrical [N−H−N] trication salts

Selectfluor reacts with N-chloromethylated DABCO monocation BF₄ or NTf₂ salts in MeCN (rt to 80 °C) to give symmetrical [N−H−N]⁺ trication salts. The same dimeric adducts are formed via the reaction of Selectfluor with Et₃N, piperidine, or a basic-IL (imidazolium with an alkyl-piperidine tether). The resulting stable salts were studied by multinuclear NMR, ¹⁵N/¹H HMBC, electrospray-MS, and by chemical reactivity. This hitherto unreported reactivity behavior contrasts the well documented ‘transfer fluorination’ by Selectfluor to quinuclidine and the quinuclidinic nitrogen of cinchona alkaloids.     

Basicity of some P1 phosphazenes in water and in aqueous surfactant solution

The pKa values in water and in dilute surfactant solution for 15 ring-substituted phenyl P1 pyrrolidino phosphazenes PhN=P(NC4H8)3 and the phenyl P1 dimethylamino phosphazene PhN=P(NMe2)3 previously studied in acetonitrile (AN) and tetrahydrofuran (THF) are reported. The nonionic surfactant Tween 20 was used for the basicity measurements of some compounds to overcome the solubility problems. Measurements with a control group of phosphazenes in both media were used to validate the use of the obtained pKa values as estimates of aqueous values. The pK(a) values of the studied phosphazenes in aqueous medium vary from 6.82 (2,6-dinitro-) to 12.00 (4-dimethylamino-). The basicity span is 5.18 pKa units. The aqueous pKa values of the P1 phosphazenes were correlated with the respective basicity data in AN and THF and from these correlations the pK(a) values in water for the parent compounds HN=P(NC4H8)3 and HN=P(NMe2)3 were estimated as 13.9 and 13.3. Also a comparison of the basicity of phosphazenes and some guanidines, amines and pyridines was made. In water the parent phosphazenes and guanidines are the strongest of all the groups of bases studied. In AN and THF the parent phosphazenes are clearly the strongest bases followed by guanidines, amines and pyridines which are bracketed between the basicities of phenyl phosphazenes. In the gas phase the phosphazenes for which data are available are clearly more basic than the other compounds referred to here. Comparison of the basicity data of P1 phosphazenes and some guanidines confirms earlier conclusions about the partly ylidic character of the N=P double bond.     

Formation and stability of enolates of acetamide and acetate anion: an Eigen plot for proton transfer at alpha-carbonyl carbon

Second-order rate constants were determined in D(2)O for deprotonation of acetamide, N,N-dimethylacetamide, and acetate anion by deuterioxide ion and for deprotonation of acetamide by quinuclidine. The values of k(B) = 4.8 x 10(-8) M(-1) s(-1) for deprotonation of acetamide by quinuclidine (pK(BH) = 11.5) and k(BH) = 2-5 x 10(9) M(-1) s(-1) for the encounter-limited reverse protonation of the enolate by protonated quinuclidine give pK(a)(C) = 28.4 for ionization of acetamide as a carbon acid. The limiting value of k(HOH) = 1 x 10(11) s(-1) for protonation of the enolate of acetate anion by solvent water and k(HO) = 3.5 x 10(-9) M(-1) s(-1) for deprotonation of acetate anion by HO(-) give pK(a)(C) approximately 33.5 for acetate anion. The change in the rate-limiting step from chemical proton transfer to solvent reorganization results in a downward break in the slope of the plot of log k(HO) against carbon acid pK(a) for deprotonation of a wide range of neutral alpha-carbonyl carbon acids by hydroxide ion, from -0.40 to -1.0. Good estimates are reported for the stabilization of the carbonyl group relative to the enol tautomer by electron donation from alpha-SEt, alpha-OMe, alpha-NH(2), and alpha-O(-) substituents. The alpha-NH(2) and alpha-OMe groups show similar stabilizing interactions with the carbonyl group, while the interaction of alpha-O(-) is only 3.4 kcal/mol more stabilizing than for alpha-OH. We propose that destabilization of the enolate intermediates of enzymatic reactions results in an increasing recruitment of metal ions by the enzyme to provide electrophilic catalysis of enolate formation.     

双功能金属锌(Salen)配合物催化的醛的不对称炔基加成反应

本文研究了双功能金属锌(Salen)配合物催化的醛的不对称炔基加成反应。在相应的反应中,当手性salen配体的C3和C3’位有路易斯碱性的1-哌啶甲基取代时,其和金属锌形成的配合物较一般的锌(Salen)配合物具有更好的催化活性和立体选择性。     

Extension of the self-consistent spectrophotometric basicity scale in acetonitrile to a full span of 28 pKa units: unification of different basicity scales

The earlier compiled self-consistent spectrophotometric basicity scale in acetonitrile (AN) was expanded to range from 3.8 to 32.0 pK(a) units, that is 28 orders of magnitude. Altogether 54 new relative basicity measurements (DeltapK(a) measurements) were carried out and 37 new compounds were introduced to the scale (it now includes altogether 89 bases). The relative basicity of any two bases in the scale can be obtained by combining at least two independent sets of measurements. Multiple overlapping measurements make the results more reliable. The overall consistency (as defined earlier) of the measurements is s = 0.03 pK(a) units. Thorough analysis of all of our experimental data (DeltapK(a) values of this and earlier works) and experimental pK(a) data in AN available in the literature (works from the groups of Coetzee and Padmanabhan, Kolthoff and Chantooni, Jr., the Schwesinger group, Bren' et al. and some others, altogether 19 papers) was carried out. On the basis of this analysis the anchor point of the scale-pyridine-was shifted upward by 0.20 pK(a) units thereby also revising the absolute pK(a) values of all the bases on the scale. This way very good agreement between our relative data and the absolute pK(a) values of the abovementioned authors was obtained. The revised basicity scale was interconnected with the earlier published self-consistent acidity scale by DeltapK(a) measurements between acids and bases. The rms deviation between the directly measured DeltapK(a) values and the absolute pK(a) values of the compounds was 0.10 pK(a) units.     

Enhancing the Reaction Rates of Morita–Baylis–Hillman Reaction in Heterocyclic Aldehydes by Substitutions

The molecular origin of the experimentally observed pronounced difference in the rates of Morita–Baylis–Hillman (MBH) reaction in heterocyclic aldehydes, depending on the position of the formyl group, is investigated herein by using DFT‐based mechanistic studies and free energy computations. These calculations are based on the 1,4‐diazobicyclo[2.2.2]octane (DABCO)‐catalyzed MBH reaction of methyl acrylate with substituted 4‐ and 5‐isoxazolecarbaldehyde, which are slow‐ and fast‐reacting substrates, respectively. As a result of this study, we propose that by tailoring ring substitutions the reactivity of the formyl group for MBH reactions may be enhanced in slow‐reacting heterocyclic aldehydes. This proposition is demonstrated by enhancing the rate of the MBH reaction in 4‐isoxazolecarbaldehyde more than 10⁴‐fold by installing an ester substitution at the C‐3 position. Similarly, the reactivity of the formyl group towards the MBH reaction in substituted 3‐pyrazolecarbaldehyde and pyridinecarbaldehyde is shown to be increased several‐fold by a halo substitution. We also confirm that the reasons for different reactivities of heterocyclic aldehydes and the proposed scheme for improving the reaction rates remains valid for all the three mechanisms proposed for the MBH reaction, namely, Hill–Isaacs, McQuade, and Aggarwal.     

Effects of amine nature and nonleaving group substituents on rate and mechanism in aminolyses of 2,4-dinitrophenyl X-substituted benzoates

Second-order rate constants have been measured for the reactions of 2,4-dinitrophenyl X-substituted benzoates (1a-f) with a series of primary amines in 80 mol % H(2)O/20 mol % DMSO at 25.0 +/- 0.1 degrees C. The Br?nsted-type plot for the reactions of 1d with primary amines is biphasic with slopes beta(1) = 0.36 at the high pK(a) region and beta(2) = 0.78 at the low pK(a) region and the curvature center at pK(a) degrees = 9.2, indicating that the reaction proceeds through an addition intermediate with a change in the rate-determining step as the basicity of amines increases. The corresponding Br?nsted-type plot for the reactions with secondary amines is also biphasic with beta(1) = 0.34, beta(2) = 0.74, and pK(a) degrees = 9.1, indicating that the effect of amine nature on the reaction mechanism and pK(a) degrees is insignificant. However, primary amines have been found to be less reactive than isobasic secondary amines. The microscopic rate constants associated with the aminolysis have revealed that the smaller k(1) for the reactions with primary amines is fully responsible for their lower reactivity. The electron-donating substituent in the nonleaving group exhibits a negative deviation from the Hammett plots for the reactions of 1a-f with primary and secondary amines, while the corresponding Yukawa-Tsuno plots are linear. The negative deviation has been ascribed to stabilization of the ground state of the substrate through resonance interaction between the electron-donating substituent and the carbonyl functionality.     

Theoretical prediction of the hydrogen-bond basicity pK(HB)

Ab initio and DFT calculations on around 65 hydrogen bond or Lewis bases and their complexes with hydrogen fluoride have been performed, and a range of calculated properties from both free bases and complexes correlated with pK(HB), an experimental scale of hydrogen-bond basicity. For the entire range of bases, we found that the hydrogen-bond binding Gibbs free energy computed at the B3LYP/6-31+G(d,p) level of theory linearly correlated with pK(HB). Further improvements in the correlation and prediction of pK(HB) were possible with a non-linear fit by considering the hydrogen bonding Gibbs free energy of another possible stereoisomeric 1:1 complex and/or that of a linear 2:1 complex, which included a second hydrogen fluoride.     

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.     

Self-consistent spectrophotometric basicity scale in acetonitrile covering the range between pyridine and DBU

A self-consistent spectrophotometric basicity scale in acetonitrile, including DBU, ten (arylimino)tris(1-pyrrolidinyl)phosphoranes, two (arylimino)tris(dimethylamino)phosphoranes, 2-phenyl-1,1,3, 3-tetramethylguanidine, 1-(2-tolyl)biguanide, benzylamine, two substituted benzimidazoles, pyridine, and ten substituted pyridines, has been created. The span of the scale is almost 12 pK(a) units. Altogether, 29 different bases were studied and 53 independent equilibrium constant measurements were carried out, each describing the relative basicity of two bases. The scale is anchored to the pK(a) value of pyridine of 12.33 that has been measured by Coetzee et al. Comparison of the basicity data of phenyliminophosphoranes and phenyltetramethylguanidines implies that the P=N bond in the (arylimino)tris(1-pyrrolidinyl)phosphoranes involves contribution from the ylidic (zwitterionic) structure analogous to that found in phosphorus ylides.     

Predicting experimental complexation-induced changes in (1)H NMR chemical shift for complexes between zinc-porphyrins and amines using the ab initio/GIAO-HF methodology

Ab initio calculations were carried out on zinc-porphyrins complexed to several amines: N-(3,5-dimethyl-pyridin-4-yl)-formamide, 1,4-diazabiciclo[2.2.2]octane (DABCO), and 1-azabiciclo[2.2.2]octane (quinuclidine). The proton chemical shifts of these complexes were calculated ab initio at the GIAO-HF/6-311G//HF/3-21G level of theory, and the obtained values agree satisfactorily with experimental results. The complexation-induced changes in (1)H NMR chemical shifts correlate well with differences in association constants of several host-guest complexes.     

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.