Combined NMR and UV-Vis Spectroscopic Studies of Models for the Hydrogen Bond System in the Active Site of Photoactive Yellow Protein: H-Bond Cooperativity and Medium Effects.

Intramolecular hydrogen bonds in aprotic media were studied by combined (simultaneous) NMR and UV-vis spectroscopy. The species under investigation were anionic and featured single or coupled H-bonds between, for example, carboxylic groups and phenolic oxygen atoms (COO···H···OC)-, among phenolic oxygen atoms (CO···H···OC)-, and hydrogen bond chains between a carboxylic group and two phenolic oxygen atoms (COO···H···(OC)···H···OC)-. The last anion may be regarded as a small molecule model for the hydrogen bond system in the active site of wild-type photoactive yellow protein (PYP) while the others mimic the corresponding H-bonds in site-selective mutants. Proton positions in isolated hydrogen bonds and hydrogen bond chains were assessed by calculations for vacuum conditions and spectroscopically for the two media, CD2Cl2 and the liquefied gas mixture CDClF2/CDF3 at low temperatures. NMR parameters allow for the estimation of time-averaged H-bond geometries, and optical spectra give additional information about geometry distributions. Comparison of the results from the various systems revealed the effects of the formation of hydrogen bond chains and changes of medium conditions on the geometry of individual H-bonds. In particular, the proton in a hydrogen bond to a carboxylic group shifts from the phenolic oxygen atom in the system COO-···H-OC to the carboxylic group in COO-H···(OC)-···H-OC as a result of hydrogen bond formation to the additional phenolic donor. Increase in medium polarity may, however, induce the conversion of a structure of a type COO-H···(OC)-···H-OC to the type COO-···H-(OC)···H-OC. Application of these results obtained from the model systems to PYP suggests that both cooperative effects within the hydrogen bond chain and a low-polarity protein environment are prerequisites for the stabilization of negative charge on the cofactor and hence for the spectral tuning of the photoreceptor.

An efficient Perkin synthesis of 13 C-labelled cinnamic acids from acetic acid as the source of the rare isotope.

A variation of the Perkin reaction using a nonenolizable anhydride as the condensation agent allows for the effective conversion of valuable carboxylic acids to the corresponding cinnamates.

Reversible Spatial Control in Aqueous Media by Visible Light: A Thioindigo Photoswitch that is Soluble and Operates Efficiently in Water.

Aiming to extend the scope of indigoid photoswitches to polar protic environments, we have synthesized a sulfonated thioindigo derivative highly soluble in water. Studies by UV/Vis absorption, fluorescence, and NMR spectroscopy indicate that, despite aggregation effects at micromolar concentrations, the novel dye offers satisfactory performance in aqueous solution in the absence of solvation aides. Enrichment of the metastable cis isomer by irradiation may exceed 65 % and its half-life at room temperature may exceed several hours. Degradation after 20 yellow and blue light irradiation cycles within 2 hours is less than 2 %. Performance can be expected to further improve in future molecular designs if the tendency towards self-association is further reduced. Crucially, photoisomerization of indigoids is not necessarily inhibited by water and, thus, the superior spatial control offered by this class of molecular switches may be of great benefit also in biological systems.

Correlating photoacidity to hydrogen-bond structure by using the local O-H stretching probe in hydrogen-bonded complexes of aromatic alcohols.

To assess the potential use of O-H stretching modes of aromatic alcohols as ultrafast local probes of transient structures and photoacidity, we analyze the response of the O-H stretching mode in the 2-naphthol-acetonitrile (2N-CH3CN) 1:1 complex after UV photoexcitation. We combine femtosecond UV-infrared pump-probe spectroscopy and a theoretical treatment of vibrational solvatochromic effects based on the Pullin perturbative approach, parametrized at the density functional theory (DFT) level. We analyze the effect of hydrogen bonding on the vibrational properties of the photoacid-base complex in the S0 state, as compared to O-H stretching vibrations in a wide range of substituted phenols and naphthols covering the 3000-3650 cm(-1) frequency range. Ground state vibrational properties of these phenols and naphthols with various substituent functional groups are analyzed in solvents of different polarity and compared to the vibrational frequency shift of 2N induced by UV photoexcitation to the (1)Lb electronic excited state. We find that the O-H stretching frequency shifts follow a linear relationship with the solvent polarity function F0 = (2ε0 - 2)/(2ε0 + 1), where ε0 is the static dielectric constant of the solvent. These changes are directly correlated with photoacidity trends determined by reported pKa values and with structural changes in the O···N and O-H hydrogen-bond distances induced by solvation or photoexcitation of the hydrogen-bonded complexes.

Proton transfer in a short hydrogen bond caused by solvation shell fluctuations: an ab initio MD and NMR/UV study of an (OHO)(-) bonded system.

We present a joint experimental and quantum chemical study on the influence of solvent dynamics on the protonation equilibrium in a strongly hydrogen bonded phenol-acetate complex in CD2Cl2. Particular attention is given to the correlation of the proton position distribution with the internal conformation of the complex itself and with fluctuations of the aprotic solvent. Specifically, we have focused on a complex formed by 4-nitrophenol and tetraalkylammonium-acetate in CD2Cl2. Experimentally we have used combined low-temperature (1)H and (13)C NMR and UV-vis spectroscopy and showed that a very strong OHO hydrogen bond is formed with proton tautomerism (PhOH···(-)OAc and PhO(-)···HOAc forms, both strongly hydrogen bonded). Computationally, we have employed ab initio molecular dynamics (70 and 71 solvent molecules, with and without the presence of a counter-cation, respectively). We demonstrate that the relative motion of the counter-cation and the "free" carbonyl group of the acid plays the major role in the OHO bond geometry and causes proton "jumps", i.e. interconversion of PhOH···(-)OAc and PhO(-)···HOAc tautomers. Weak H-bonds between CH(CD) groups of the solvent and the oxygen atom of carbonyl stabilize the PhOH···(-)OAc type of structures. Breaking of CH···O bonds shifts the equilibrium towards PhO(-)···HOAc form.

Solvent and H/D isotope effects on the proton transfer pathways in heteroconjugated hydrogen-bonded phenol-carboxylic acid anions observed by combined UV-vis and NMR spectroscopy.

Heteroconjugated hydrogen-bonded anions A···H···X(-) of phenols (AH) and carboxylic/inorganic acids (HX) dissolved in CD2Cl2 and CDF3/CDF2Cl have been studied by combined low-temperature UV-vis and (1)H/(13)C NMR spectroscopy (UVNMR). The systems constitute small molecular models of hydrogen-bonded cofactors in proteins such as the photoactive yellow protein (PYP). Thus, the phenols studied include the PYP cofactor 4-hydroxycinnamic acid methyl thioester, and the more acidic 4-nitrophenol and 2-chloro-4-nitrophenol which mimic electronically excited cofactor states. It is shown that the (13)C chemical shifts of the phenolic residues of A···H···X(-), referenced to the corresponding values of A···H···A(-), constitute excellent probes for the average proton positions. These shifts correlate with those of the H-bonded protons, as well as with the H/D isotope effects on the (13)C chemical shifts. A combined analysis of UV-vis and NMR data was employed to elucidate the proton transfer pathways in a qualitative way. Dual absorption bands of the phenolic moiety indicate a double-well situation for the shortest OHO hydrogen bonds studied. Surprisingly, when the solvent polarity is low the carboxylates are protonated whereas the proton shifts toward the phenolic oxygens when the polarity is increased. This finding indicates that because of stronger ion-dipole interactions small anions are stabilized at high solvent polarity and large anions exhibiting delocalized charges at low solvent polarities. It also explains the large acidity difference of phenols and carboxylic acids in water, and the observation that this difference is strongly reduced in the interior of proteins when both partners form mutual hydrogen bonds.

N-H stretching excitations in adenosine-thymidine base pairs in solution: pair geometries, infrared line shapes, and ultrafast vibrational dynamics.

We explore the N-H stretching vibrations of adenosine-thymidine base pairs in chloroform solution with linear and nonlinear infrared spectroscopy. Based on estimates from NMR measurements and ab initio calculations, we conclude that adenosine and thymidine form hydrogen bonded base pairs in Watson-Crick, reverse Watson-Crick, Hoogsteen, and reverse Hoogsteen configurations with similar probability. Steady-state concentration and temperature dependent linear FT-IR studies, including H/D exchange experiments, reveal that these hydrogen-bonded base pairs have complex N-H/N-D stretching spectra with a multitude of spectral components. Nonlinear 2D-IR spectroscopic results, together with IR-pump-IR-probe measurements, as also corroborated by ab initio calculations, reveal that the number of N-H stretching transitions is larger than the total number of N-H stretching modes. This is explained by couplings to other modes, such as an underdamped low-frequency hydrogen-bond mode, and a Fermi resonance with NH(2) bending overtone levels of the adenosine amino-group. Our results demonstrate that modeling based on local N-H stretching vibrations only is not sufficient and call for further refinement of the description of the N-H stretching manifolds of nucleic acid base pairs of adenosine and thymidine, incorporating a multitude of couplings with fingerprint and low-frequency modes.

N-H stretching modes of adenosine monomer in solution studied by ultrafast nonlinear infrared spectroscopy and ab initio calculations.

The N-H stretching vibrations of adenine, one of the building blocks of DNA, are studied by combining infrared absorption and nonlinear two-dimensional infrared spectroscopy with ab initio calculations. We determine diagonal and off-diagonal anharmonicities of N-H stretching vibrations in chemically modified adenosine monomer dissolved in chloroform. For the single-quantum excitation manifold, the normal mode picture with symmetric and asymmetric NH(2) stretching vibrations is fully appropriate. For the two-quantum excitation manifold, however, the interplay between intermode coupling and frequency shifts due to a large diagonal anharmonicity leads to a situation where strong mixing does not occur. We compare our findings with previously reported values obtained on overtone spectroscopy of coupled hydrogen stretching oscillators.

Hydrogen bond geometries and proton tautomerism of homoconjugated anions of carboxylic acids studied via H/D isotope effects on 13C NMR chemical shifts.

Ten formally symmetric anionic OHO hydrogen bonded complexes, modeling Asp/Glu amino acid side chain interactions in nonaqueous environment (CDF(3)/CDF(2)Cl solution, 200-110 K) have been studied by (1)H, (2)H, and (13)C NMR spectroscopy, i.e. intermolecularly H-bonded homoconjugated anions of acetic, chloroacetic, dichloroacetic, trifluoroacetic, trimethylacetic, and isobutyric acids, and intramolecularly H-bonded hydrogen succinate, hydrogen rac-dimethylsuccinate, hydrogen maleate, and hydrogen phthalate. In particular, primary H/D isotope effects on the hydrogen bond proton signals as well as secondary H/D isotope effects on the (13)C signals of the carboxylic groups are reported and analyzed. We demonstrate that in most of the studied systems there is a degenerate proton tautomerism between O-H···O(-) and O(-)···H-O structures which is fast in the NMR time scale. The stronger is the proton donating ability of the acid, the shorter and more symmetric are the H-bonds in each tautomer of the homoconjugate. For the maleate and phthalate anions exhibiting intramolecular hydrogen bonds, evidence for symmetric single well potentials is obtained. We propose a correlation between H/D isotope effects on carboxylic carbon chemical shifts and the proton transfer coordinate, q(1) = ½(r(OH) - r(HO)), which allows us to estimate the desired OHO hydrogen bond geometries from the observed (13)C NMR parameters, taking into account the degenerate proton tautomerism.

Reaction pathways of proton transfer in hydrogen-bonded phenol-carboxylate complexes explored by combined UV-vis and NMR spectroscopy.

Combined low-temperature NMR/UV-vis spectroscopy (UVNMR), where optical and NMR spectra are measured in the NMR spectrometer under the same conditions, has been set up and applied to the study of H-bonded anions A··H··X(-) (AH = 1-(13)C-2-chloro-4-nitrophenol, X(-) = 15 carboxylic acid anions, 5 phenolates, Cl(-), Br(-), I(-), and BF(4)(-)). In this series, H is shifted from A to X, modeling the proton-transfer pathway. The (1)H and (13)C chemical shifts and the H/D isotope effects on the latter provide information about averaged H-bond geometries. At the same time, red shifts of the π-π* UV-vis absorption bands are observed which correlate with the averaged H-bond geometries. However, on the UV-vis time scale, different tautomeric states and solvent configurations are in slow exchange. The combined data sets indicate that the proton transfer starts with a H-bond compression and a displacement of the proton toward the H-bond center, involving single-well configurations A-H···X(-). In the strong H-bond regime, coexisting tautomers A··H···X(-) and A(-)···H··X are observed by UV. Their geometries and statistical weights change continuously when the basicity of X(-) is increased. Finally, again a series of single-well structures of the type A(-)···H-X is observed. Interestingly, the UV-vis absorption bands are broadened inhomogeneously because of a distribution of H-bond geometries arising from different solvent configurations.

Trimethylglycine complexes with carboxylic acids and HF: solvation by a polar aprotic solvent.

A series of strong H-bonded complexes of trimethylglycine, also known as betaine, with acetic, chloroacetic, dichloroacetic, trifluoroacetic and hydrofluoric acids as well as the homo-conjugated cation of betaine with trifluoroacetate as the counteranion were investigated by low-temperature (120-160 K) liquid-state NMR spectroscopy using CDF(3)/CDF(2)Cl mixture as the solvent. The temperature dependencies of (1)H NMR chemical shifts are analyzed in terms of the solvent-solute interactions. The experimental data are explained assuming the combined action of two main effects. Firstly, the solvent ordering around the negatively charged OHX region of the complex (X = O, F) at low temperatures, which leads to a contraction and symmetrisation of the H-bond; this effect dominates for the homo-conjugated cation of betaine. Secondly, at low temperatures structures with a larger dipole moment are preferentially stabilized, an effect which dominates for the neutral betaine-acid complexes. The way this second contribution affects the H-bond geometry seems to depend on the proton position. For the Be(+)COO(-)···HOOCCH(3) complex (Be = (CH(3))(3)NCH(2)-) the proton displaces towards the hydrogen bond center (H-bond symmetrisation, O···O contraction). In contrast, for the Be(+)COOH···(-)OOCCF(3) complex the proton shifts further away from the center, closer to the betaine moiety (H-bond asymmetrisation, O···O elongation). Hydrogen bond geometries and their changes upon lowering the temperature were estimated using previously published H-bond correlations.

Geometries and tautomerism of OHN hydrogen bonds in aprotic solution probed by H/D isotope effects on (13)C NMR chemical shifts.

The (1)H and (13)C NMR spectra of 17 OHN hydrogen-bonded complexes formed by CH(3)(13)COOH(D) with 14 substituted pyridines, 2 amines, and N-methylimidazole have been measured in the temperature region between 110 and 150 K using CDF(3)/CDF(2)Cl mixture as solvent. The slow proton and hydrogen bond exchange regime was reached, and the H/D isotope effects on the (13)C chemical shifts of the carboxyl group were measured. In combination with the analysis of the corresponding (1)H chemical shifts, it was possible to distinguish between OHN hydrogen bonds exhibiting a single proton position and those exhibiting a fast proton tautomerism between molecular and zwitterionic forms. Using H-bond correlations, we relate the H/D isotope effects on the (13)C chemical shifts of the carboxyl group with the OHN hydrogen bond geometries.

Photochemistry of anthracene-9,10-endoperoxide.

The wavelength dependence of the photochemistry of anthracene-9,10-endoperoxide (APO) in acetonitrile was quantitatively investigated at 5 degrees C, with excitation varied from 240 to 450 nm. Anthracene (AC) and a diepoxide (DE) were identified as the main primary photoproducts. After short exposure times DE was at all wavelengths the dominating photoproduct, while AC was only formed for lambda