Beiträge zur Chemie der Pyrrolpigmente, 19. Mitt.: Die elektrochemische Oxidation von Pyrromethenonen und Pyrromethenen (Gallenpigment-Partialstrukturen)

The electrochemical oxidation of arylmethylene-pyrrolinones, pyrromethenones and pyrromethenes as representative bile pigment partial structure models was investigated by means of a rotating disc platinum electrode using acetonitrile as the solvent. Two different oxidation reactions were found. The first reaction being a reversible one-electron oxidation with compounds of the arylmethylene-pyrrolinone series and pyrromethenones which are unsubstituted in position 5 of the pyrrole ring. A two step reaction (the first one reversible, the second irreversible) on the other hand was found to be typical for pyrromethenones bearing a methyl group in this position.Through protonation the first step is at a higher potential, whereas the second one is lowered and becomes reversible. The resulting oxidation pattern can be interpreted analogous to the oxidation of hydroquinones in aprotic solvents.The geometrical isomers of a pyrromethenone were oxidized at appr. the same potential, but there is a strong dependence of the potential of the first oxidation step on the substitution: a higher degree of alkylation favours oxidation by lowering the oxidation potential.

---

---

Mit 1 Abbildung     

The effect of electronegative atoms on the structures of hydrocarbons. ab initio calculations on molecules containing fluorine or (carbonyl) oxygen

A series of ab initio calculations have been carried out, using the 4-21G basis set. Ethane and propane were first studied to obtain reference points. The effect of adding an electronegative atom (fluorine, or carbonyl oxygen) onto the framework was then studied as a function of the torsional angle about the single bond. Some pronounced trends in structural changes were observed, and these can in part be correlated with hyperconjugative effects. For example, fluoroethane has bond lengths which are shorter than those in ethane itself, by 0.024 Åin the C C bond, and 0.003 Åin the α C H bonds. These changes are essentially torsionally independent. On the other hand, in propionaldehyde, the C C bond length of the methyl group and the C H bond lengths of the hydrogens attached to the alpha carbon vary as a function of the torsion angle. If the methyl C C bond in the carbonyl plane is taken as a reference, the bond stretches .016 Åwhen the torsion angle is increased to 90°, an α C H bond similarly stretches up to .007 Å. Many of these geometric changes are large, well beyond the experimental errors in modern measurements.     

Kraftfeldrechnungen an linearen Oligopyrrolen: 2,2′-Bipyrrol, 2,2′-Furylpyrrol und Prodigiosen

Using a specific force field model, relative stabilities of 2,2-bipyrrole and 2,2-furylpyrrole conformers as well as of prodigiosene tautomers, configurations, and conformations, are studied. 2,2-Bipyrrole adopts anantiperiplanar conformation in accord with other theoretical calculations and experimental findings. Its rotational barrier calculated by this method compares favourably to the one derived by other means. For the parent prodigiosene the (Z)sp,sp arrangement is found to be the most stable one. The two possible tautomers within its dipyrrin fragment do not show a significant energy difference.

     

Zur Verbrennung fluor-, phosphor- und metallhaltiger Verbindungen mit einem CHN-Automaten

Zusammenfassung Durch Hinzunahme von Magnesiumoxid zur Verbrennungsrohrfüllung wird der Anwendungsbereich des CHN-Automaten auf fluor- und phosphorhaltige Proben erweitert. Diese beiden Elemente werden im wesentlichen in der Magnesiumoxidzone der Füllung gebunden. Bei manchen phosphorhaltigen Verbindungen macht die geringe Pyrolysegeschwindigkeit einen längeren Analysezyklus notwendig. Die längere Verbrennungszeit wird durch eine Reduzierung des Gasstromes ermöglicht. Bei metallhaltigen Proben geben alle Verbindungen, deren Metalle unter den herrschenden Bedingungen definierte Rückstände bilden, ohne besondere Maßnahmen gute Werte. Die Bildung carbonathaltiger Rückstände bei Alkali und Erdalkali wird meistens von der Apparatur als solche registriert.

---

Summary The field of application of the CHN-automatic combustion devices is extended to samples containing fluorine and phosphorus by including magnesium oxide in the filling of the combustion tube. These two elements are essentially bound in the magnesium oxide zone. Many compounds containing phosphorus make it necessary to reduce the speed of the gas stream because of the low pyrolysis velocity. When samples containing metals are being analyzed, excellent results are obtained with all compounds whose metals yield definite residues under the prevailing conditions. The formation of residues containing carbonate in the case of alkali and alkaline earths is usually registered as such by the apparatus.

---

---

Die Firma Technicon hat uns für diese Untersuchungen dankenswerterweise einen CHN-Analyzer zur Verfügung gestellt.     

Concerning the Thermal Diastereomerization of the Green Fluorescent Protein Chromophore

Summary. Two model compounds for the green fluorescent protein chromophore were prepared. One of them incorporates the natural 4-hydroxybenzylidene group of the natural tyrosin derived chromophore, the other one bears a methyl group instead of the hydroxy group. Whereas the photochemically prepared (E)-diastereomer of the first compound very effectively reverted thermally (room temperature) to the thermodynamically stable (Z)-diastereomer, the (E)-diastereomer of the second derivative proved to be stable even at elevated temperatures for more than a day. This finding can be rationalized by constructing the appropriate resonance structures showing that only in the first case an effective delocalization enables partial single bond character of the benzylidene double bond. From the standpoint of chemical etiology, only Nature’s choice of the tyrosin derived chromophore of the green fluorescent protein provides an efficient radiationless thermal relaxation channel for the unwanted photo-diastereomerization product formed after excitation besides the dominating fluorescence channel of its chromophore.     

Zum Mechanismus der Thermischen Dehydratisierung von Natriumdihydrogenphosphat

Mechanism of Thermal Dehydration of Sodium Dihydrogenphosphate The thermal dehydration of sodium dihydrogenphosphate (P₁) to sodium cyclotriphosphate (CP₃) and sodium polyphosphate, the so-called Maddrell's salt (MS), is controlled by nucleation and crystallization of CP₃ and MS, respectively. The wellknown influence of various formation conditions on the CP₃:MS product ratio is caused by amorphous and crystalline intermediate phases and their ability to form CP₃ or MS nuclei. On seeding P₁ with CP₃ or MS the dehydration proceeds structure-controlled via dihydrogendiphosphate to pure CP₃ or pure MS. The particularities of thermal dehydration of crystalline sodium dihydrogendiphosphate, and also the dehydration and reorganization of sodium phosphate glasses (Na:P = 1:1) with different mean chain lengths, under formation of CP₃ or MS are described.     

The role of the π-bonding network for trigonal level splittings of tris-bidentate Cr(acac)3 and Cr(ox) 3 3−

The varying -bonding contributions in the title compounds caused by the different electronic and molecular structure of the chelate rings are used for explaining the large band splittings in the absorption spectra by trigonal symmetry. It is shown that usual ligand field theory and the angular overlap model are not able to account for the trigonal level splitting of Cr(acac)₃ for which the coordination sphere of oxygen atoms is nearly octahedrally arranged. The experimental finding can, however, be rationalized by an extended angular overlap model which considers the phase coupling of -orbitals in the ligands leading to non-additive contributions to the metal-ligand bond energy.On leave of absence from the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, Bulgaria     

Tautomerism and stereochemistry of hypericin: Force field,NMR, and X-ray crystallographic investigations

Summary Stereochemistry and tautomerism of hypericin, pseudohypericin, and several of their partial structure models were investigated using an MM2 derived force field method. Besides the propeller type conformer, which was also found by the X-ray crystallographic study, the complicated energy hypersurface was shown to contain a novel double-butterfly conformer of similar stability. The upper limit interconversion barrier between these conformers and their enantiomers was found to be in the order of 115 kJ/mol.¹H-NMR experiments suggested a lower limit interconversion barrier of at least 80 kJ/mol. From the ten tautomers possible in principle, the 7,14-species was derived to be the most stable one by at least 48 kJ/mol.

---

Tautomerie und Stereochemie von Hypericin: Untersuchungen mit Hilfe der Kraftfeld-Methodik, NMR-Spektroskopie und Röntgenstrukturanalyse

Zusammenfassung Die Stereochemie von Hypericin, Pseudohypericin und einigen seiner Partialstrukturmodelle wurde mit Hilfe einer von MM2 abgeleiteten Kraftfeldmethodik untersucht. In der komplizierten Energiehyperfläche wurde neben dem auch durch Röntgenstrukturanalyse gefundenen Propeller-Konformeren ein neues Doppelschmetterling-Konformer ähnlicher Stabilität aufgefunden. Die obere Grenze für die Interkonversionsbarrieren zwischen diesen Konformeren und ihren Enantiomeren sind in der Größenordnung von 115 kJ/mol. Aus¹H-NMR-Experimenten konnte eine untere Grenze von wenigstens 80 kJ/mol abgeleitet werden. Es wurde gefunden, daß von den zehn prinzipiell möglichen Tautomeren die 7,14-Spezies die um wenigstens 48 kJ/mol stabilste ist.

     

Beiträge zur Chemie der Pyrrolpigmente, 20. Mitt.: Untersuchungen über das Deprotonierungsgleichgewicht und die Bildung von Metallkomplexen von Gallenpigment-Partialstrukturen

By spectrophotometric measurements in the systemDMSO/H₂O/Me ₄NOH pK _a-values for several model compounds representing bile pigment partial structures were established. The acidic protons of pyrrole and lactame type nitrogen atoms are removed by bases governed by the electronic properties of the substituents on these ring systems. The pK _a-values for both types lie in the same region. In the pyrromethenones the lower one corresponds to the lactame type NH as was deduced by comparison with specifically methylated derivatives.The complexation of these ligands is determined by the possibility of removing an acidic proton and achieving a chelate structure by means of an adjacent pyrrolinone type nitrogen atom. Complexes are favoured in the series pyrromethenes > lactim ethers > pyrromethenones. With the latter there are two possibilities: one observed with BF₂-chelation where the lactime form becomes stabilized, the other one with zink where both acidic centers are involved in the bonding.

---

---

19. Mitt.:H. Falk, A. Leodolter undG. Schade, Mh. Chem.109, 183 (1978).