Reconciling Electrostatic and n→π* Orbital Contributions in Carbonyl Interactions

Interactions between carbonyl groups are prevalent in protein structures. Earlier investigations identified dominant electrostatic dipolar interactions, while others implicated lone pair n→π* orbital delocalisation. Here these observations are reconciled. A combined experimental and computational approach confirmed the dominance of electrostatic interactions in a new series of synthetic molecular balances, while also highlighting the distance-dependent observation of inductive polarisation manifested by n→π* orbital delocalisation. Computational fiSAPT energy decomposition and natural bonding orbital analyses correlated with experimental data to reveal the contexts in which short-range inductive polarisation augment electrostatic dipolar interactions. Thus, we provide a framework for reconciling the context dependency of the dominance of electrostatic interactions and the occurrence of n→π* orbital delocalisation in C=O⋅⋅⋅C=O interactions.     

Scission of Carbon Monoxide Using TaR3, R=(N(tBu)Ph) or OSi(tBu)3: A DFT Investigation

The experimentally known reduction of carbon monoxide using a 3‐coordinate [Ta(silox)₃] (silox=OSi(tBu)₃) complex initially forms a ketenylidene [(silox)₃Ta? CCO], followed by a dicarbide [(silox)₃Ta? CC? Ta(silox)₃] structure. The mechanism for this intricate reaction has finally been revealed by using density functional theory, and importantly a likely structure for the previously unknown intermediate [(silox)₃Ta? CO]₂ has been identified. The analysis of the reaction pathway and the numerous intermediates has also uncovered an interesting pattern that results in CO cleavage, that being scission from a structure of the general form [(silox)₃Ta? C_nO] in which n is even. When n is odd, cleavage cannot occur. The mechanism has been extended to consider the effect of altering both the metal species and the ligand environment. Specifically, we predict that introducing electron‐rich metals to the right of Ta in the periodic table to create mixed‐metal dinuclear intermediates shows great promise, as does the ligand environment of the Cummins‐style 3‐coordinate amide structure. This latter environment has the added complexity of improved electron donation from amide rotation that can significantly increase the reaction exothermicity.     

Synthesis and Characterization of a New Layered Aluminophosphate [Al3P4O16][(CH3)2NHCH2CH2NH(CH3)2][H3O]

A new layered aluminophosphate, denoted AlPO-CJ12, has been synthesized in the system Al(OPrⁱ)₃-H₃PO₄-tetramethylethylenediamine-triethyleneglycol and its structure solved by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. It is further characterized by X-ray powder diffraction, ICP, TG, DTA, and elemental analyses. The compound has an empirical formula of [Al₃P₄O₁₆][(CH₃)₂NHCH₂CH₂NH(CH₃)₂][H₃O], and crystallizes in the triclinic space group P-1 (No. 2) with a=8.9907(6) Å b=9.8359(6) Å, c=14.5566(8) Å, α=75.872(3)°, β=88.616(3)°, γ=63.404(3)°, Z=2, R₁=0.0451, and wR₂=0.1094. The alternation of tetrahedral AlO₄ and PO₃ (=O) units forms a sheet structure with a 4×6×8 network. The inorganic layers stacked in an AAAA sequence are held together by the protonated organic amine and water molecules. The co-templating role of the water molecules is studied by the calculation of the nonbonding host-guest interaction energies through a computational simulation.     

Synthesis,mesomorphic, photophysical and computational studies of new achiral four-ring unsymmetrical bent-core mesogens and their Copper(II) complexes

New achiral four-ring unsymmetrical bent-core mesogens derived from 2,5-dihydroxybenzaldehyde and their copper(II) complexes have been synthesised as a new design with an imine and ester linkage. These new bent-core molecules resemble hockey-stick shape, which possesses 4-n-alkyloxy chain (4-n-hexyloxy and 4-n-decyloxy) at one end and methyl or methoxy group at the other end of the molecule. The synthesis, spectroscopic characterisation, phase transition temperature and characterisation of phase behaviour are reported. The bent-core molecules exhibited monotropic nematic and smectic A phase depending on the terminal chain length. Interestingly, copper(II) complexes of bent-core molecules displayed monotropic nematic phase. This is the first report on copper(II) complexes of bent-core molecules that exhibited nematic phase. The four-ring bent-core molecule exhibited fluorescence with large stoke shift. The density functional theory calculations of bent-core molecules and their copper(II) complexes are carried out using Gaussian 09 program at B3LYP level to obtain the stable molecular conformation, dipole moment, highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO), lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) energies and bending angle of the compounds. The natural atomic charges and electronic configurations of the atoms of free ligands as well as the complexes have been evaluated.     

Basal Histamine H4 Receptor Activation: Agonist Mimicry by the Diphenylalanine Motif

Histamine H₄ receptor (H₄R) orthologues are G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) that exhibit species-dependent basal activity. In contrast to the basally inactive mouse H₄R (mH₄R), human H₄R (hH₄R) shows a high degree of basal activity. We have performed long-timescale molecular dynamics simulations and rigidity analyses on wild-type hH₄R, the experimentally characterized hH₄R variants S179M, F169V, F169V+S179M, F168A, and on mH₄R to investigate the molecular nature of the differential basal activity. H₄R variant-dependent differences between essential motifs of GPCR activation and structural stabilities correlate with experimentally determined basal activities and provide a molecular explanation for the differences in basal activation. Strikingly, during the MD simulations, F169^45.55 dips into the orthosteric binding pocket only in the case of hH₄R, thus adopting the role of an agonist and contributing to the stabilization of the active state. The results shed new light on the molecular mechanism of basal H₄R activation that are of importance for other GPCRs.     

ESI‐QTof‐MS characterization of hirsutinolide and glaucolide sesquiterpene lactones: Fragmentation mechanisms and differentiation based on Na+/H+ adducts interactions in complex mixture

Sesquiterpene lactones (SL) have been reported with various biological effects. Among the described SL skeletons, hirsutinolide and glaucolide have not been extensively studied by mass spectrometry (MS), especially how to distinguish them in organic matrices. Thus, this paper reports (1) a strategy of their differentiation based on MS behavior during the ionization and (2) a proposal of the fragmentation pattern for both SL‐subtypes. ESI(+)‐HRMS data of four isolated SL (hirsutinolides 1 and 3 ; glaucolides 2 and 4 ) were recorded by direct and UPLC water‐sample combined injections. These analyses revealed that hirsutinolides and glaucolides formed [M+Na]⁺ ion during the operation of the direct MS injection, and ([M+Na]⁺ and [M+H‐H₂O]⁺) and [M+H]⁺ ions were respectively observed for hirsutinolides and glaucolides during the operation of combined UPLC water and sample MS injection. Computational simulations showed that the complex hirsutinolide ( 1 )‐Na⁺ formed with a lower preparation energy compared with the complex glaucolide ( 2 )‐Na⁺. However, despite their different behavior during the ionization process, ESI(+)‐HRMS/MS analyses of 1 ‐ 4 gave similar fragmentation patterns at m/z 277, 259, 241, and 231 that can be used as diagnostic ions for both skeletons. Moreover, the differentiation strategy based on the nature of the complex SL‐adducts and their MS/MS fragmentation pattern were successfully applied for the chemical characterization of the extract from Vernonanthura tweedieana using UPLC‐ESI‐HRMS/MS. Among the characterized metabolites, SL with hirsutinolide and glaucolide skeletons showed the aforementioned diagnostic fragments and an ionization behavior that was similar to those observed during the water‐sample combined injection.     

Synthesis,Characterization and Theoretical Study of the Chemical Reactivity of New Cyclic Sulfamides Linked to Tetrathiafulvalene

Abstract

The synthesis of the title compounds has been carried out by condensation via a Wittig-type reaction of a pyridinium hexafluorophosphate with a phosphonate ester to give the desired (4-nitrophenyl)tetrathiafulvalene the nitro group of which was reduced to an amino group. Reaction of the amine with chlorosulfonyl isocyanate and subsequently with tert-butyl alcohol gave the corresponding open-chain sulfamide. Cyclization under basic conditions and de-protection led to 2-[4-(4′,5′-dipropyltetrathiafulvalen-4-yl)]phenyl-1,2,6-thiadiazinane 1,1-dioxide. Finally, N-alkylated and N-acylated cyclic sulfamides linked to tetrathiafulvalene were obtained. Their electron donor ability was measured by cyclic voltammetry. A detailed DFT study based on B3LYP/6–31G (d,p) of electronic properties is also presented. The calculated molecular electrostatic potential shows that, the negative charge covers the nitro and sulfamide function, while positive charge is located at the hydrogen atoms of the amine and sulfamide rings. The calculated HOMO and LUMO energy reveals that charge transfer occurs within the molecule. The chemical reactivity parameters reveal that tetrathiafulvalene 1 is highly reactive, which facilitates the desired formation of the cyclic sulfamide. The first hyperpolarizability β_tot shows that compounds 1 and 5 are good candidates as a NLO material.     

Arylsulfonylacetylenes as alkynylating reagents of Csp2-H bonds activated with lithium bases

Chameleon: a new strategy for the synthesis of a wide variety of alkynyl derivatives by the reaction of substituted arylsulfonylacetylenes with organolithium species is described. The high yields, the simplicity of the experimental procedure, the broad scope of this reaction, and the formation of C(sp)-C(sp2) bonds without using transition metals are the main features of this methodology.