Assignment of absolute configurations of permethrin and its synthon 3-(2,2-dichlorovinyl)-2,2-dimethylcyclopropanecarboxylic acid by electronic circular dichroism, optical rotation, and X-ray crystallography

Abstract

The availability of single stereoisomers of biologically/toxicologically relevant chiral compounds such as the pyrethroid-type insecticide permethrin (PM) and the reliable determination of their absolute configurations are of central importance for the detailed investigation and correct assignment of stereoselective effects. In this context, single stereoisomers of 3-(2,2-dichlorovinyl)-2,2-dimethylcyclopropanecarboxylic acid (DCCA), a precursor, metabolite, and environmental degradation product of PM, were isolated from a mixture of all four stereoisomers in enantiomeric excesses of >99% via a two-step chromatographic process combining a diastereoselective reversed-phase separation in the first step with a direct enantiomer separation in the second step. Esterification of DCCA stereoisomers with 3-phenoxybenzyl alcohol yielded PM. Electronic circular dichroism (ECD) spectra of DCCA and PM stereoisomers were measured in non-polar (cyclohexane containing 5% v/v 1,2-dichloroethane) and non-protic polar (acetonitrile) solvents. Cotton effects suitable to distinguish the four stereoisomers of each DCCA and PM were obtained. Absolute configurations of DCCA were determined by confrontation of calculated (time-dependent density-functional theory using B3LYP hybrid functional) and experimental ECD and optical rotation (OR) data. Fully convergent results between ECD and X-ray diffractometry (analysis of DCCA isomers co-crystallized with O-9-(2,6-diisopropylphenylcarbamoyl)quinine), which was employed as a reference method, were obtained. The importance of considering dimer formation of DCCA in solution for the computational delineation of absolute configurations was demonstrated by (1 R,3 R)- cis-DCCA for which the Δ G Boltzmann averaged calculated monomeric form delivered the opposite sign of OR compared to the dimeric form and the value determined experimentally in dichloromethane. For (1 S,3 R)- trans-DCCA both monomer and dimer delivered the identical sign of OR and this was in agreement with the experimental measurement. In contrast to OR, the calculated ECD spectra of these two DCCA stereoisomers were less sensitive toward intermolecular association.