Fluoroimines from the reaction of fluoro amino acids or fluoroketo acids with the aldehyde or amine form of vitamin B6: 2—Stereochemical aspects of their formation from β-fluoroaspartates or β-fluorooxaloacetate,using 19F NMR

The fluorine NMR spectra of systems initially containing 0.05–0.1 M of pyridoxal 5′-phosphate and erythro-β-fluoroaspartate (or threo-β-fluoroaspartate) in D₂O solution were examined over the pD range 1–12. The formation of the aldimine Schiff base gave only one stereoisomer, whcih was trapped with sodium borohydride. Reactions of pyriodoxamine 5′-phosphate and fluorooxaloacetate were examined under the same conditions. A mixture of two products was given, identified as two ketimine Schiff bases (E and Z isomers) with well characterized fluorine chemical shifts and ²J(DF) values. This mixture, trapped with sodium borohydride, gives the two reduced erythro and threo aldimines. The configurations and conformations of all reaction products were determined using the ³J(HF) values and their correlation with the fluorine chemical shift. The role of the 3-phenolate oxygen of the pyridine ring, of the conjugate acid of the iminium nitrogen and of the carboxylate oxygen in ionic or hydrogen bond interactions in the determination of the stereochemistry is discussed.