The diiodine basicity scale: toward a general halogen-bond basicity scale.

The new diiodine basicity scale pK(BI2) is quasi-orthogonal to most known Lewis basicity scales (hydrogen-bond, dative-bond and cation basicity scales). The diiodine basicity falls in the sequence N>P≈Se>S>I≈O>Br>Cl>F for the iodine-bond acceptor atomic site and SbO≈NO≈AsO>SeO>PO>SO>C=O>-O->SO(2) or PS≫-S->C=S≫N=C=S for the functionality of oxygen or sulfur bases. Substituent effects are quantified through linear free energy relationships, which allow the calculation of individual complexation constants for each site of polybases and thus the classification of aromatic ethers as carbon π bases and of aromatic amines, thioethers and selenoethers as N, S and Se bases, respectively. The pK(BI2) values of nBu(3)N(+)-N(-)C≡N, 2-aminopyridine and 1,10-phenanthroline reveal a superbasic nitrile, a hydrogen-bond-assisted iodine bond and a two-centre iodine bond, respectively. The diiodine basicity scale is a general inorganic but family-dependent organic halogen-bond basicity scale because organic halogen-bond donors such as IC≡N and ICF(3) have a stronger electrostatic character than I(2). The family independence can be restored by the addition of an electrostatic parameter, either the experimental pK(BHX) hydrogen-bond basicity scale or the computed minimum electrostatic potential.

An enthalpic scale of hydrogen-bond basicity. 4. Carbon pi bases, oxygen bases, and miscellaneous second-row, third-row, and fourth-row bases and a survey of the 4-fluorophenol affinity scale.

The thermodynamics of the O-H...B hydrogen bond (HB) has been determined in CCl(4) by FTIR spectrometry for a wide variety of carbon pi bases, oxygen bases, and miscellaneous first- to fourth-row bases, using 4-fluorophenol as a reference hydrogen-bond donor (HBD). After inclusion of previously studied nitrogen, sulfur, and halogen bases, this 4-fluorophenol affinity scale contains 314 varied organic bases and ranges over 40 kJ mol(-1). The 4-fluorophenol affinity scale in CCl(4) is shown to be applicable to most HBDs in most media, provided a small family dependence is taken into account. The HB affinity orders are quantitatively established according to the atomic acceptor site or to its bearing functional group. A comprehensive survey of the influence of substituents on these affinity orders is then achieved, considering electronic and steric effects, as well as effects of vinylogy or iminology. Iminology is found to be more efficient than vinylogy for transmitting resonance effects. Steric effects are shown to be less important in HB affinity than in HB basicity since they mainly act on the HB entropy. The spatial proximity of two acceptor sites can favor complexation through three-center hydrogen bonds, leading to superhydrogen-bond bases on the affinity scale.

A theoretical evaluation of the pKHB and DeltaH[symbol: see text]HB hydrogen-bond scales of nitrogen bases.

The experimental pKHB hydrogen-bond (HB) basicity scale and the corresponding DeltaH[symbol: see text]HB enthalpic scale of nitrogen compounds are extended and analysed in light of simple theoretical descriptors using the B3LYP density functional method and a medium-size basis set (6-31+G(d,p)).The selected training set includes 59 monofunctional unhindered nitrogen bases for which homogeneous and accurate experimental pKHB and DeltaH[symbol: see text]HB data have been determined by means of the association equilibrium of the bases with a reference hydrogen-bond acid, 4-fluorophenol, in CCl4. The three hybridisation states encountered in the nitrogen atom, sp, sp2 and sp3, are equally represented in this data set. A proper estimation of their experimental enthalpy (DeltaH[symbol: see text]HB) is directly attainable from the theoretical enthalpy of the complexation reaction with hydrogen fluoride (DeltaH[symbol: see text](HF)). However, a second parameter is required to calculate with good accuracy the experimental free energy of association represented by pKHB. About 99% of the variance of the pKHB scale is described by a bilinear equation using the minimum electrostatic potential (Vs,min) of the monomer in addition to the interaction energy (D0(HF). The equations are tested for an external set of 99 additional compounds including very different nitrogen bases such as ortho-substituted pyridines, polyazines and azoles.Theoretical calculations give a reliable estimation of hydrogen-bond basicity provided that the populations of the different isomers of the bases are taken into account by using the Boltzmann law, and that a specific halogen-bond interaction with the solvent CCl4 is considered for polybasic molecules.The pKHB scale can thus be extended to important classes of species experimentally inaccessible in CCl4, to polynitrogen compounds and to molecules of biological significance.

The exceptional hydrogen-bond properties of neutral and protonated lobeline.

The X-ray diffraction structure of (-)-lobeline, a high affinity nicotinic ligand, has been determined. A comparison with its hydrobromide and hydrochloride salts shows the great flexibility of the two lateral chains of the N-methylpiperidine ring. Infrared studies carried out on the same species, in the solid state and in solution, reveal the propensity of this molecular framework to accommodate very specific hydrogen bonds (HBs) depending on the state-neutral or protonated-of the molecule. In solution, a strong internal HB between the hydroxyl group and the piperidine nitrogen gives an exceptionally high HB affinity to the hydroxyl oxygen of the lobeline base. In the ionic form, both NH+ and OH groups of the molecule cooperate as HB donors to chelate the counterion. These interactions provide very stable structures and indicate that protonated lobeline can also act as a strong HB donor.

Hydrogen-bond interactions of nicotine and acetylcholine salts: a combined crystallographic, spectroscopic, thermodynamic and theoretical study.

The hydrogen-bond (HB) interactions of the monocharged active forms of nicotine and acetylcholine (ACh) have been compared theoretically by using density functional theory (DFT) calculations and experimentally on the basis of crystallographic observations and the measurement of equilibrium constants in solution. The 2,4,6-trinitrophenolate (picrate) counterion was used to determine the experimental HB basicity of the cations despite its potential multisite HB acceptor properties. The preferred HB interaction site of the ammonium picrate salts was determined from a survey of crystallographic data found in the Cambridge Structural Database (CSD) and is supported by theoretical calculations. Two distinct classes of ammonium groups were characterised depending on the absence (quaternary ammonium) or presence (tertiary, secondary and primary ammoniums) of an N(+)HO hydrogen bond linking the two ions. The crystal structure of nicotinium picrate was determined and compared with that of ACh. This analysis revealed the peculiar behaviour of the ammonium moiety of nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) ligands towards the picrate anion. Dedicated methods have been developed to separate the individual contributions of the anion and cation accepting sites to the overall HB basicity of the ion pairs measured in solution. The HB basicities of the picrate anions associated with the two different ammonium classes were determined in dichloromethane solution by using several model ion pairs with non-basic ammonium cations. The experimental and theoretical studies performed on the nicotine and ACh cations consistently show the significant HB ability of the acceptor site of nAChR agonists in their charged form. Both the greater HB basicity of the pyridinic nitrogen over the carbonyl oxygen and the greater HB acidity of the N(+)H unit relative to N(+)CH could contribute to the higher affinity for nAChRs of nicotine-like ligands relative to ACh-like ligands.

An enthalpic scale of hydrogen-bond basicity. 3. Ammonia, primary, secondary, and tertiary amines.

A reliable enthalpic scale of hydrogen-bond acceptor strength (basicity) is built for aliphatic amines by means of a new infrared method, from the temperature variation of hydrogen-bond equilibrium constants. Enthalpies of hydrogen bonding to a reference hydrogen-bond acceptor, 4-fluorophenol, have been determined in CCl4 and/or C2Cl4 for ammonia and 68 primary, secondary, and tertiary amines. The scale spans from -23.8 kJ mol(-1) for i-Pr2NCH(Et)2 to -39.4 kJ mol(-1) for Et3N. This large variation is mainly explained by the basicity-enhancing electronic effects of alkyl groups, which can be overcompensated by dramatic basicity-decreasing steric effects. Relationships between DeltaH degrees and the change in electronic energy or the infrared shift of the OH stretching upon hydrogen bonding are studied and found useful in the prediction of the hydrogen bond enthalpies of amines with several hydrogen-bond acceptor sites. A careful statistical analysis of the enthalpy-entropy relationship shows an isoentropic tendency. The entropies of 65% of hydrogen-bonding reactions between aliphatic amines and 4-fluorophenol have a mean value of -55.1 +/- 4.2 J K(-1) mol(-1). Amines excluded from the isoentropic set are mainly severely hindered ones. The hydrogen-bond enthalpic scale can be useful in measuring the electrostatic character of Lewis bases.

Hydrogen-bond accepting strength of protonated nicotine.

Recent crystal structures of nicotine bound to the acetylcholine binding protein (AChBP) ended a long debate confirming that the pyridine nitrogen of nicotine is indeed hydrogen-bonded to receptor residues through a bridging water molecule. Here, we describe the first direct experimental evaluation of the hydrogen-bond affinity of the nicotinium pyridine nitrogen. The equilibrium constant of its association with a phenol is 1 order of magnitude greater than the association of the acetylcholine carbonyl oxygen.

Arylsulfonyl acridinyl derivatives acting on Plasmodium falciparum.

Several arylacridinyl sulfones have been synthesized and their antimalarial action was tested on Plasmodium falciparum. PABA (para-aminobenzoic acid) has no antagonistic effect with these compounds as opposed to the observed effect with dapsone and sulfonamides previously studied. A possible relationship between the ability of cleavage of the S-9C acridinic bond and activity is suggested.

The nicotinic pharmacophore: thermodynamics of the hydrogen-bonding complexation of nicotine, nornicotine, and models.

The thermodynamics of the hydrogen-bonding complexation of the acetylcholine agonists nicotine and nornicotine and of model pyridines, pyrrolidines, and N-methylpyrrolidines has been measured in CCl(4) by FTIR spectrometry toward a reference hydrogen-bond donor, 4-fluorophenol. Various methods are devised for measuring separately the hydrogen-bond acceptor strength of each nitrogen of nicotine and nornicotine: variation of the stoichiometry of complexation; correlations with electrostatic potentials on nitrogens and with substituent constants in the series of 3-substituted pyridines, 2-substituted pyrrolidines, and 2-substituted N-methylpyrrolidines; and linear free energy relationships between 4-fluorophenol and hydrogen fluoride hydrogen-bonded complexes. It is consistently found that nicotine and nornicotine have two active hydrogen-bond acceptor sites, the pyridine and pyrrolidine nitrogens, and that ca. 90% (for nicotine) and 80% (for nornicotine) of the 1:1 hydrogen-bonded complexes are formed to the pyridine nitrogen, although the pyrrolidine nitrogen is the first protonation site of nicotine and nornicotine in water. The low hydrogen-bond basicity of the pyrrolidine nitrogen in nicotine is mainly explained by the inductive electron-withdrawing and steric effects of the 2-(3-pyridyl) substituent. The partition of the Gibbs energy of the isomerism of complexation (AH...Nsp(2) <==> AH...Nsp(3)) into enthalpic and entropic contributions shows that the selectivity in favor of the pyridine nitrogen is driven by entropy. It is important to recognize the bifunctionality of nicotine in hydrogen bonding for understanding its lipophilicity and molecular recognition in non protonic media. When monoprotonated on their sp(3) nitrogen, nicotine and nornicotine keep, through their sp(2) nitrogen, a significant hydrogen-bond basicity which is greater than that of the ester group of acetylcholine.

Halogen-bond geometry: a crystallographic database investigation of dihalogen complexes.

X-ray crystal structures of 141 halogen-bonded complexes Y-X.B formed between homo- and heteronuclear dihalogens Cl(2), Br(2), I(2), IBr and ICl with O, S, Se, N, P and As Lewis bases show remarkable and constant geometrical features. The metrics of the halogen bond found in the gas phase for simple complexes [Legon (1999a). Angew Chem. Int. Ed. Eng. 38, 2686-2714] is supported (i). in the solid state, (ii). for new Lewis acids (I(2) and IBr), (iii). for new basic centers (Se, As and =N-) and (iv). for more complicated bases. The Y-X...B arrangement is more linear than the corresponding Y-H...B hydrogen bond and the axis of the Y-X molecule lies in the plane of the B lone pair(s), with a preference for the putative lone-pair direction within that plane. However, exceptions to this lone-pair rule are found for sterically hindered thiocarbonyl and selenocarbonyl bases. A bond-order model of the halogen bond correctly predicts the observed correlation between the shortening of the X...B distance and the lengthening, deltad(Y-X), of the Y-X bond. The expectation that the solid-state geometric parameters d(X...B) and deltad(Y-X) reflect the strength of the interaction is supported by their significant relationships with the solution thermodynamic parameters of Lewis acidity and basicity strength, such as the Gibbs energy of 1:1 complexation of Lewis bases with diiodine. This analysis of halogen-bonded complexes in the solid state reinforces the similarities already known to exist between hydrogen and halogen bonding.

Effects of a series of dihydroanthracene derivatives on drug efflux in multidrug resistant cancer cells.

A set of 9,10-dihydro-9,10-ethano and ethenoanthracene derivatives was tested with the aim to quantify the effect observed on drug efflux. Structure activity relationships and molecular modeling studies allowed to define topological display of pharmacophoric groups for these reversal agents.

Site of protonation of nicotine and nornicotine in the gas phase: pyridine or pyrrolidine nitrogen?

The gas-phase basicities (GBs) of nornicotine, nicotine, and model pyrrolidines have been measured by FT-ICR. These experimental GBs are compared with those calculated (for the two sites of protonation in the case of nicotine and nornicotine) at the B3LYP/6-311+G(3df,2p)//B3LYP/6-31G(d,p) level, or those estimated from substituent effects on the GBs of 2-substituted pyrrolidines, 2-substituted N-methylpyrrolidines, and 3-substituted pyridines. It is found that, in contrast to the Nsp(3) protonation in water, in the gas phase nornicotine is protonated on the pyridine nitrogen, because the effects of an intramolecular CH.Nsp(3) hydrogen bond and of the polarizability of the 3-(pyrrolidin-2-yl) substituent add up on the Nsp(2) basicity, while the polarizability effect of the 2-(3-pyridyl) substituent on the Nsp(3) basicity is canceled by its field/inductive electron-withdrawing effect. The same structural effects operate on the Nsp(3) and Nsp(2) basicities of nicotine, but here, the polarizability effect of the methyl group puts the pyrrolidine nitrogen basicity very close to that of pyridine. Consequently, protonated nicotine is a mixture of the Nsp(3) and Nsp(2) protonated forms.