Interactions of N-acetyl-l-cysteine with metals (Ni2+, Cu2+ and Zn2+): an experimental and theoretical study

In recent years, interactions of metal ions with amino acid derivatives have been studied extensively due to their immense importance in the life-supporting processes. Here, we report the synthesis of three metal (Ni²⁺, Cu²⁺, and Zn²⁺) complexes of N-acetyl-l-cysteine (NAC) using a solvent-free solid-state method. Characterization of the complexes by elemental analyses, molar conductance, SEM, infrared and electronic absorption spectra reveals that the metal ions bind to the NAC molecules in 1:2 molar ratio (metal:ligand) via the S-atoms. Theoretical calculations are carried out using the B3LYP hybrid functional in combination with 6-31++G(d,p) and LANL2DZ basis sets to investigate the effects of metal coordination on the backbone structural features of NAC and geometry about the α-carbon atom. The molecular geometries of NAC as well as its metal complexes are fully optimized in gas phase without applying any geometrical constraint, and a second derivative analysis confirms that all the optimized geometries are true minima. TD-DFT single-point calculations are performed in aqueous phase to obtain the theoretical λ _max values. The gas-phase interaction enthalpies (metal ion binding affinities), Gibbs energies, HOMO/LUMO energies as well as their energy gaps, rotational constants, dipole moments, and theoretically predicted vibrational spectra of all the reaction species are also calculated and thoroughly analyzed. Most of the experimental results are well reproduced by the B3LYP level of calculations. Metal ion coordination to NAC modifies its backbone structural features as well as the geometry about the α-carbon atom.