NMR in chiral polypeptide liquid crystals: the problem of amines

It is shown that lyotropic liquid crystal mixtures made of poly-γ-benzyl-l-glutamate (PBLG) dissolved in N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) are efficient anisotropic NMR solvents to distinguish the enantiomers of chiral amines through the effects of the differential ordering of enantiomers. This type of solvent overcomes problems often encountered when dissolving amines into the more conventional PBLG/CHCl₃ or PBLG/CH₂Cl₂ liquid crystals. Furthermore, it is shown that perdeuterobenzyl chloride is an excellent achiral deuterated derivatizing agent for enantiomeric excess measurements of chiral amines in conjunction with the PBLG/DMF solvent.     

Achiral deuterated derivatizing agent for enantiomeric analysis of carboxylic acids by NMR in a chiral liquid crystalline solvent

The use of a deuterated ‘probe’ for the enantiomeric analysis of chiral carboxylic acids is proposed. The probe is the perdeuterobenzyl fragment which can be easily attached to the acid and removed from the corresponding ester. The analysis is performed through the measurement of the proton-decoupled deuterium NMR spectrum of the chiral benzyl ester dissolved in poly-γ-benzyl-l-glutamate/dimethylformamide liquid crystal. Enantiomeric discrimination was observed for all the studied compounds on the para and/or α deuterons. There is no need for the deuterons to be located close to the stereogenic centre. Thus enantiomers were correctly distinguished from the signal of a deuterium located 12 bonds away from the asymmetric carbon. The major interest of this general technique is that no kinetic resolution should occur during the derivatization process.     

Convenient synthesis of fully and partially deuterated stereoregular poly(phenylacetylene)s bearing a carboxy pendant and helicity induction on the polymers with chiral amines and its memory

Poly[(4-carboxyphenyl)acetylene] and its derivatives deuterated in the main chain and/or on the phenyl group (poly- 1 's) were conveniently synthesized by the polymerization of 4-ethynylbenzoic acid or its derivative deuterated on the phenyl group in the presence of bases with a water-soluble rhodium complex in water or deuterium oxide. The obtained polymers possesses highly cis–transoidal stereoregular structures according to NMR and Raman spectroscopy. Possible deuterium isotope effects of these partially and fully deuterated poly- 1 's during the helicity induction with chiral amines and its memory assisted by achiral amines were investigated. The thermal cis–trans isomerization of the methyl esters of poly- 1 's was also studied with ¹H NMR spectroscopy. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 42: 4711–4722, 2004     

Empirical determination of the absolute configuration of small chiral molecules using natural abundance 2H NMR in chiral liquid crystals

Natural abundance deuterium 2D NMR spectroscopy in polypeptide liquid crystals is used for empirically determining the absolute configuration of small chiral molecules.     

Discrimination and analysis of the NMR spectra of enantiomers dissolved in chiral liquid crystal solvents through 2D correlation experiments

The discrimination and analysis of the NMR spectra of optically active molecules dissolved in chiral liquid crystal solvents through 2D correlation experiments is studied. The technique allows the identification of the line positions of each enantiomer, thus providing a notable simplification of the spectral analysis. The 2D HOHAHA and multiple-quantum experiments are investigated and discussed. The potential of the method is illustrated using a sample of (±) 3,3,3-trichloroepoxypropane dissolved in a thermotropic cholesteric solvent. The case of chiral molecules bearing a fluorine or deuterium nucleus has also been studied. In addition, it is shown that 2D heteronuclear correlation experiments are powerful methods for correlating carbon and proton spectral data of two enantiomers. A specific example is given through (±) 2-bromopropanoic acid dissolved in a lyotropic polypeptide liquid crystal. Spectral parameters of each enantiomer are calculated for the different examples.     

ORD and CD studies of poly[(S)(−)-N-α-methylbenzylethylenimine]

The advantages of chiral N-substituted polyethylenimines for the chiroptical study of macromolecular conformations in solution have been considered. Poly[(S)(?)-N-α-methylbenzylethylenimine] (poly-3) and five model compounds have been obtained and their chiroptical properties studied. The cyclic dimer and tetramer of imine 3 are suitable models for the chiroptical study of configurational and conformational behaviour of randomly coiled and helical poly-3 in solution. Unlike the disordered poly-3 in acidified solvents and the configurational models in various solvents, helical poly-3 in hydrocarbon solvents has positive optical rotation and positive CD-band of the tertiary amine chromophore at 223 nm. The appearance of this inherently chiral chromophore of the helix explains the observed changes of the sign and values of the optical rotation of poly-3 in various solvents which are mainly caused by conformational transformations of the main chain. The presence of helical conformations of poly-3 in solution are also confirmed by optical rotation data of stereocopolymers and the concentration dependence data of ORD curves of poly-3. This conclusion agrees with NMR and i.r.-data.     

2H QUOSY 2D-NMR Experiments in Weakly Aligning Systems: From the Conventional to the Ultrafast Approach

We describe three anisotropic ultrafast (UF) QUadrupolar Ordered SpectroscopY (QUOSY) 2D-NMR experiments (referred to as ADUF 2D NMR spectroscopy) designed for recording the ²H homonuclear 2D spectra of weakly aligned (deuterated) solutes in sub-second experiment times. These new ADUF 2D experiments derive from the Q-COSY, Q-resolved and Q-DQ 2D pulse sequences (J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1999 , 121, 5249) and allow the correlation between the two components of each quadrupolar doublet, and then their assignment on the basis of ²H chemical shifts. The UF 2D pulse sequences are analyzed by using the Cartesian spin-operator formalism for spin I=1 nuclei with a small quadrupolar moment. The optimal experimental/practical conditions as well as the resolution, sensitivity and quantification issues of these ADUF 2D experiments are discussed on comparison to their conventional 2D counterparts and their analytical potentialities. Illustrative ADUF 2D experiments using deuterated achiral/prochiral/chiral solutes in poly-γ-benzyl-L-glutamate based chiral liquid crystals are presented, as well as the first examples of natural abundance deuterium (ANADUF) 2D spectrum using 14.1 T magnetic field and a basic gradient unit (53 G.cm⁻¹) in oriented solvents.     

Application of deuterated THENA for assigning the absolute configuration of chiral secondary alcohols

The structure of a constrained bicyclic chiral derivatizing agent (CDA), 1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-1,4-epoxynaphthalene-1-carboxylic acid, THENA 1, was modified by replacing both exo-methylene protons with deuterium atoms. The modified CDA, THENA-d₂2, could be used to assign the absolute configuration of chiral secondary alcohols with good reliability. Compared with THENA, the multiplicity of the methylene proton signals in the ¹H NMR spectra of THENA-d₂ derivatives is less complicated and the new CDA thus offers simpler NMR spectra for data interpretation.     

Distinction of tris(diimine)ruthenium(II) enantiomers chiral by virtue of helical chirality: temperature-dependent deuterium NMR spectroscopy in partially oriented phases

2H NMR spectra of perdeuterated tris(diimine)ruthenium(II) complexes have been recorded in lyotropic liquid crystalline phase formed by the chiral polypeptide, poly-gamma-benzyl-L-glutamate (PBLG) and co-solvents. It is demonstrated that the left- and right-rotation isomers of these octahedral metal complexes with D3 symmetry can be distinguished. The effects of temperature and ligand size on spectral resolution were also studied. Although in the case of free bipyridine ligands excellent optical resolution could be obtained at room temperature in the complexes studied, the increase in ligand size has a detrimental effect on the resolution. This can be compensated to some extent by elevating the sample temperature and decreasing the deuterium relaxation rates, but the available temperature range and therefore the applicability of the technique are limited.     

Characterization of racemization of chiral pesticides in organic solvents and water

Eight chiral pesticides, which were selected to cover different pesticide species and origins of chirality, were investigated to explore their chiral stability in organic solvents and water. Profenophos, fenamiphos, quizalofop-ethyl, dichlorprop-methyl (DCPP-methyl) and acetochlor were showed stable under all test conditions. However, significant racemization was observed for malathion, phenthoate and fenpropathrin in methanol, ethanol and water, but not in n-hexane, isopropanol, acetone or methylene chloride. The kinetic parameters (rate constant k and half-life T_1/2) of the abiotic racemization were calculated through a mathematical model of the first-order reaction. Furthermore, the extent of racemization varied among the solvents and was also affected by temperature dependence. The racemization of malathion, phenthoate and fenpropathrin in water was documented to be pH-dependent and took place more rapidly at pH 7.0 than at pH 5.8. The observed racemization was deduced to occur via a proton exchange process at the chiral center, and the relationship between the abiotic racemization and pesticide structure was further explored. Findings from this study are useful for better understanding enantioselectivity of chiral pesticides in environment and also for proper analysis, formulating or handling of enantiopure products.     

Recent advances in the analysis of the site-specific isotopic fractionation of metabolites such as fatty acids using anisotropic natural-abundance <Superscript>2</Superscript>H NMR spectroscopy: application to conjugated linolenic methyl esters

The full elucidation of the enzymatic mechanisms leading to polyunsaturated ω-3 to ω-5 fatty acids (PUFAs) occurring in plants or microorganisms by analyzing their site-specific isotopic fractionation profiles is a challenging task. Isotropic SNIF-NMR® method is an historical, powerful tool for the determination of (²H/¹H) ratios. However, the absence of accessible isotopic data on the enantiotopic hydrogen sites (CH₂ groups) prevents the study of the enzymatic reaction stereoselectivity. Natural-abundance deuterium (NAD) 2D NMR experiment using chiral liquid crystals (CLC) as solvent is a new tool in this field, overcoming this limitation. In this work, we have explored various possibilities for optimizing the enantio-discrimination properties of CLC by changing the nature of the polypeptide and/or increasing the polarity of the organic co-solvents. We report also the first applications of TMU as co-solvent for preparing enantio-discriminating, homogenous polypeptide mesophases. The various experimental NAD NMR results recorded at an optimal sample temperature are discussed and compared in terms of number of discriminated ²H sites and magnitude of spectral separation for different PUFAs such as the linoleic and linolenic acids. The comparison of all NMR results shows that optimal results are obtained when CLC mixtures made of poly-γ-benzyl-l-glutamate (PBLG) and high polarity co-solvents are used. As new challenging examples of applications, we report the preliminary analytical results obtained from two ω-5 conjugated linolenic acids: the α-eleostearic acid (9Z, 11E, 13E) and the punicic acid (9Z, 11E, 13Z). NMR data are discussed in terms of molecular orientational ordering parameters and isotopic distribution.

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Figure The new challenges of the site-specific isotopic fractionation analysis of fatty acids using the natural-abundance deuterium NMR in polypeptide aligned media

     

Simultaneous determination of 1H-1H and 1H-13C residual dipolar couplings in a chiral liquid crystal solvent using a natural abundance HSQC experiment

A high-resolution, phase-sensitive, natural abundance F2-coupled 1H-13C HSQC (F2HSQC) NMR experiment was developed to measure simultaneously both (n)D(HH) and 1D(CH) residual dipolar couplings (RDCs) of small molecules present in a chiral polypeptide liquid crystal solvent system composed of poly-gamma-benzyl-L-glutamate (PBLG) in CDCl3. Because this is an indirect-detection NMR experiment, the relatively small amount of sample (7.5 mg in this study) and short acquisition times (5 h) that are required make this HSQC experiment well suited for samples that are either limited in solubility or in quantity or require short analysis times. The F2HSQC experiment can be performed without any specialized equipment or sample modification and can enhance our ability to measure RDCs accurately and rapidly in polypeptide liquid crystal solvents.     

2D-NMR strategy dedicated to the analysis of weakly ordered,fully deuterated enantiomers in chiral liquid crystals

Methods for the assignment of the quadrupolar doublets in the deuterium NMR spectra of weakly ordered, perdeuterated or partially deuterated enantiomers dissolved in chiral liquid crystals are described which use robust 2D correlation NMR experiments. To overcome a lack of resolution in deuterium tilted Q-COSY 2D spectra in such materials, we propose and explore a correlation 2D sequence which is based on deuterium-carbon 2D correlation spectroscopy. The technique results in a (13)C-(2)H contour plot and allows the full resonance assignment of overcrowded deuterium 1D spectra using carbon-deuterium correlations. The (2)H autocorrelation and (13)C-(2)H correlation experiments are applied in the case of a racemic mixture of 2-ethylhexanoic acid-d(15) dissolved in a polypeptidic chiral oriented solvent. The performance and the limits of both techniques are presented and discussed. For the last step of the assignment procedure, we propose a simple method for obtaining two coherent sets of quadrupolar splittings, one for each enantiomer.     

Enantiodiscrimination in deuterium NMR spectra of flexible chiral molecules with average axial symmetry dissolved in chiral liquid crystals: the case of tridioxyethylenetriphenylene

Flexible chiral molecules undergoing fast interconversion (on the NMR time scale) between different conformational enantiomers may yield "average" axial species with enantiotopically related sites. Contrary to the situation observed for rigid axial molecules, signals from these enantiotopic sites in NMR spectra recorded in chiral liquid-crystalline solvents can be resolved. In the present work, we studied the deuterium NMR spectra of tridioxyethylenetriphenylene (compound 4) statistically deuterated to 10% in the flexible side chains and dissolved in chiral and achiral lyotropic liquid crystals based on poly(gamma-benzylglutamate). The fast chair-chair flipping of the side chains in 4 on average renders the molecule axially symmetric ( D 3 h ) with pairs of enantiotopic ethylene deuterons. These deuterons exhibit unusually large enantiodiscrimination. To explain this observation, we first describe how the average symmetry of flexible molecules can be derived from the symmetry of the "frozen" conformers and the nature of the averaging process. The procedure is then applied to 4 and used to analyze the NMR results. It is shown that the large enantiodiscrimination in the present case reflects a large difference in the orientational ordering of the conformational enantiomers participating in the interconversion processes as well as a large geometrical factor due to the special shape of the dioxyethylene side groups. (1)H and (13)C NMR spectra of 4 in the same lyotropic liquid crystalline solvent are analyzed to determine its ordering characteristics. Several related cases are also discussed.     

Asymmetric synthesis of axially chiral benzamides and anilides utilizing planar chiral arene chromium complexes

Optically active axially chiral 2,6-disubstituted benzamides and anilides were stereoselectively prepared by utilizing planar chiral (arene)chromium complexes. Nucleophilic addition to enantiomerically pure planar chiral tricarbonyl(N,N-diethyl-2-methyl-6-formyl- (or 6-acyl)benzamide)chromium complex gave axially chiral 2-methyl-6-substituted N,N-diethyl benzamide chromium complexes with high selectivity. An alternative method for the preparation of axial chiral benzamides or anilides is an enantiotopic lithiation at the benzylic methyl of prochiral tricarbonylchromium complexes of N,N-diethyl-2,6-dimethylbenzamide and N-methyl-N-acyl-2,6-dimethylaniline with a chiral lithium amide followed by electrophilic substitution. The resulting axially chiral chromium-complexed benzamides and anilides were oxidized in air to give chromium-free axially chiral benzamides and anilides in enantiomerically enriched form without axial bond rotation at room temperature.     

Natural abundance deuterium NMR spectroscopy in polypeptide liquid crystals as a new and incisive means for the enantiodifferentiation of chiral hydrocarbons

Polymeric chiral liquid-crystalline solvents based on homopolypeptides are of interest with the view to discriminate between enantiomeric pairs of chiral hydrocarbons using proton-decoupled deuterium one- and two-dimensional NMR spectroscopy at natural abundance level. This method offers the major advantage that neither chemical modification nor isotopic labelling of the solutes to be studied is required. Chiral differentiation between optical isomers is observed through a difference in residual deuterium quadrupolar splittings. The spectroscopic separations and the S/N ratio from the spectra are usually large enough to measure the enantiomeric excess with an accuracy varying between 5 to 10 %. This analytical approach is successfully applied to a large collection of chiral, rigid or flexible unsaturated as well as saturated hydrocarbons, including cases of axial chirality, atropoisomerism, and moieties existing as a mixture of enantiomers interconverting by ring inversion. Using the results reported in literature, a systematic comparison with other analytical strategies (NMR, GC, HPLC, VCD) is made and discussed. Also, a tentative proposal to rationalise the various results in terms of chiral differentiation and enantioselective shape recognition is presented. We show that this original tool provides an attractive and incisive alternative to the existing analytical techniques for studying nonfunctionalised chiral materials.     

Deuterium NMR of the TGBA* phase in chiral liquid crystals

A deuterium NMR (DNMR) study of the TGBA* (twist grain boundary smectic A*) phase in an NMR magnetic field of 9.4 T for the chiral compound 4-[4'-(1-methyl heptyloxy)] biphenyl 4-(10-undecenyloxy) benzoate (11EB1M7) is reported. The deuterium two-dimensional (2D) exchange spectra were observed for the first time in this phase. The present study allows us to learn how the helicoidal structures arrange in an external magnetic field. To derive quantitative kinetic parameters of this novel phase, both 1D and 2D experimental spectra were simulated by means of a jump diffusion model. By comparing the experimental and simulated spectra, an accurate determination of the dynamic parameters in the TGBA* phase was obtained. Furthermore, the twist angle between two neighboring smectic A blocks is found as 26 +/- 10 degrees, which is consistent with the X-ray results for similar chiral liquid crystals. The diffusion constant (D(parallel)) is estimated to be 3.2 x 10(-12) m(2)/s at 379.5 K.     

Synthesis of novel chiral bis-N-substituted-hydrazinecarboxamide receptors and probing their solution-phase recognition to chiral carboxylic guests by ESI-TOF/MS and tandem ESI-MS

Seven novel bis-N-substituted-hydrazinecarboxamide receptors were synthesized in good to excellent yields by reacting chiral dicarbohydrazides, obtained from commercially available tartaric acid, with substituted aromatic isocyanates. The newly synthesized hydrazinecarboxamides formed structurally unique supramolecular aggregates, which have been confirmed by ESI-TOF/MS and tandem ESI-MS. They also showed molecular recognition to a selection of chiral carboxylic guests and oligopeptides, which mimic the backbone structure of the bacterial cell wall. The structures of the novel compounds were verified by various spectroscopic techniques including FTIR, ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR, ESI-TOF/MS, tandem ESI-MS, 2D ROESY NMR, and CD spectroscopy.     

A new chiral oxathiane: synthesis,resolution and absolute configuration determination by vibrational circular dichroism

A new oxathiane, derived from 5-hydroxy-1-tetralone has been synthesized in eight steps, fully characterized as cis-fused rings by 1D and 2D NMR and resolved by preparative chiral chromatography (CHIRALCEL OD-R). The second eluting (+, MeOH)-isomer was assigned (S,S)-configuration by VCD-ab initio simulation.