A computational study of the main degradation product of antitumor drug imexon

Abstract

We theoretically study, from the thermodynamic point of view, the possibility of the two degradation pathways of antitumor drug of imexon. According to the theoretical results obtained at DFT level in both gas and aqueous phases, the two degradation pathways of imexon are characterized by negative reaction Gibbs free energies. It has been found that 4-imino-5-methylene-imidazolidin-2-one is the favored degradation product of imexon. Herein, the focus of this work has been on calculating the geometries, relative energies and electronic properties of all possible prototropic tautomers of 4-imino-5-methylene-imidazolidin-2-one using the DFT and MP2 levels. The bulk water environment has been simulated by continuum model using Solvation Model based on Density (SMD). The UV spectra of two dominant tautomers of 4-imino-5-methylene-imidazolidin-2-one are also predicted using time-dependent density functional theory and the results are compared with the available experimental data. The comparison of the simulated and the experimental absorption spectra has allowed us to accurately characterize the predominant tautomer of the degradation product in aqueous medium.