Structure elucidation of phenoxathiin-based thiacalix[4]arene conformations using NOE and RDC data

Abstract

Phenoxathiin-based thiacalix[4]arene, obtained by the acid-catalysed rearrangement of the corresponding spirodienone derivative, was immobilized using the alkylation with chloroacetonitrile to yield three (out of four theoretically possible) stereoisomers. As the conformational outcome of the reaction could not be unambiguously assigned using standard NMR techniques, the method of Residual Dipolar Coupling constants (RDCs) was applied. The measuring of an anisotropic through-space dipole-dipole interactions in the lyotropic liquid crystalline alignment medium (PELG, poly-γ-ethyl-l-glutamate, and PBLG, poly-γ-benzyl-l-glutamate) enabled the assignment of the individual conformers. The usefulness of this approach was finally confirmed by the X-ray crystallography data.