Gas-phase Conformations Research Articles

Solvent Interactions and Conformational Choice in a Core N-Glycan Segment: Gas Phase Conformation of the Central, Branching Trimannose Unit and its Singly Hydrated Complex

The intrinsic conformational preferences and structures of the branched trimannoside, alpha-phenyl 3,6-di-O-(alpha-D-mannopyranosyl)-alpha-D-mannopyranoside (which contains the same carbohydrates found in a key subunit of the core pentasaccharide in N-glycans) and its singly hydrated complex, have been investigated in the gas phase isolated at low temperature in a molecular beam expansion. Conformational assignments of their infrared ion dip spectra, based on comparisons between experiment and ONIOM (B3LYP/6-31+G(d):HF/6-31G(d)) and single-point MP2 calculations have identified their preferred structures and relative energies. The unhydrated trimannoside populates a unique structure supported by two strong, central hydrogen bonds linking the central mannose unit (CM), and its two branches (3M and 6M) closely together, through a cooperative hydrogen-bonding network: OH4(CM)-->OH6(3M)-->OH6(6M). A closely bound structure is also retained in the singly hydrated oligosaccharide, with the water molecule bridging across the 3M and 6M branches to provide additional bonding. This structure contrasts sharply with the more open, entropically favored trimannoside structure determined in aqueous solution at 298 K. In principle this structure can be accessed from the isolated trimannoside structure by a simple conformational change, a twist about the alpha(1,3) glycosidic linkage, increasing the dihedral angle psi[C1(3M)-O3(3M)-C3(CM)-C2(CM)] from approximately 74 degrees to approximately 146 degrees to enable accommodation of a water molecule at the centrally bound site occupied by the hydroxymethyl group on the 3M ring and mediation of the water-linked hydrogen-bonded network: OH4(CM) -->OH(W)-->OH6(6M). The creation of a "water pocket" motif localized at the bisecting axis of the trimannoside is strikingly similar to the structure of more complex N-glycans in water, suggesting perhaps a general role for the "bisecting" OH4 group in the central (CM) mannose unit.

Predicting the Spontaneous Chiral Resolution by Crystallization of a Pair of Flexible Nitroxide Radicals

The separation of racemates into pure enantiomers through crystallization is an important industrial process. This study provides further validation of a novel, predictive approach for spontaneous resolution in which crystal structure prediction simulations are used to explore the relative stabilities of racemic solids versus enantiopure solids. 2-(4-Hydroxyphenyl)-2,5,5-trimethylpyrrolidine-1-oxy (compound 1) has previously been shown to be a racemic conglomerate, while a similar compound, 2-(3-hydroxyphenyl)-2,5,5-trimethylpyrrolidine-1-oxy (compound 2), was not. A conformational search using the Dreiding force field revealed 10 conformational minima for compound 1, and 20 for compound 2. Atomic charges were calculated using unrestricted DFT B3LYP 6-311G** optimized structures, and a crystal structure prediction was performed using the Dreiding force field, considering all low-energy gas-phase conformations and all relevant space groups. Analysis of the predicted crystal structures suggests that compoun...

Conformational and electronic interaction studies of some p-substituted α-methylsulfonyl-α-diethoxyphosphorylacetophenones

The analysis of the IR carbonyl band of the α-methylsulfonyl-α-diethoxyphosphoryl p-substituted acetophenones p-Y-Ph-C(O)CH(SO 2Me)[P(O)(OEt) 2] (Y = OMe 1, H 2, F 3, Cl 4, Br 5 and NO 2 6) supported by HF/6-31G(d,p) ab initio calculations of the α-methylsulfonyl-α-diethoxyphosphoryl acetophenone 2, indicated the existence of a single stable c 1 conformer in gas phase and in solvents of increasing polarity, along with the presence of second less stable conformation in gas phase. The c 1 conformer present the (SO 2Me) group and the [P(O)(OEt 2)] groups in a syn-clinal (gauche) geometry and is stabilised through of the O δ− (CO)...P δ+ (PO), O δ− [PO(OEt)]...C δ+ (CO), O δ− (PO)…C δ+ (CO), O δ− (CO)…S δ+ (SO2Me) and O δ− (SO2)...C δ+ (CO) electronic interactions along with H δ+ (SO2Me)…. O δ− (CO), H δ+ (CH2)[POEt]…. O δ− (SO2Me), H δ+ (o-Ph)…. O δ− (CO) and H δ+ (o′-Ph)…. O δ− (PO) intramolecular hydrogen bonds. The almost constant negative carbonyl frequency shifts (Δ ν) for the title compounds 1– 6 with respect to the parent acetophenones 7– 14 corroborates the prevalence of the electronic interactions over the − I σ inductive effect of the α-substituents for the title compounds and gives strong support for the existence of the crossed O δ− (CO)…S δ+ (SO2Me) and O δ− (SO2)...C δ+ (CO) (charge transfer and electrostatic); O δ− (CO)...P δ+ (PO) and O δ− [PO(OEt)]...C δ+ (CO), (electrostatic) interactions.

Detection of Oligonucleotide Gas-Phase Conformers: H/D Exchange and Ion Mobility as Complementary Techniques

Gas-phase hydrogen/deuterium exchange of small oligonucleotides (dTG, dC(6) and C(6)) with CD(3)OD was performed in the second hexapole of a Fourier transform ion-cyclotron resonance (FTICR) mass spectrometer. Ion activation experiments were conducted by accelerating the ions at the entrance of the H/D exchange cell under conditions promoting exclusively collisional isomerization. These experiments allowed us to assess the presence of several conformers, and to probe the height of the isomerization barrier separating these conformers. Ion mobility experiments were also performed. Their results were consistent with the H/D exchange data. A model accounting for the competing isomerization and H/D exchange reactions is proposed. Comparing the ion acceleration experiments for H/D exchange and for ion mobility reveals that the most compact conformer displays the fastest H/D exchange. This observation shows that H/D exchange and ion mobility provide us with complementary information because hydrogen accessibility and macromolecule compactness are not univocally associated.

A semi-empirical and ab initio combined approach for the full conformational searches of gaseous lysine and lysine–H 2O complex

A full structural search of the canonical, zwitterionic, protonated and deprotonated lysine conformers in gas phase is presented. A total of 17,496 canonical, 972 zwitterionic, 11,664 protonated and 1458 trial deprotonated structures were generated by allowing for all combinations of internal single-bond rotamers. All the trial structures were initially optimized at the AM1 level, and the resulting structures were determined at the B3LYP/6-311G ∗ level. A total of 927 canonical, 730 protonated and 193 deprotonated conformers were found, but there were no stable zwitterionic structures in the gas phase. The most stable conformers of the canonical, protonated and deprotonated lysine were further optimized at the B3LYP/6-311++G ∗∗ level. The energies of the most stable structures were determined at the MP2/6-311G(2df,p) level and the vibrational frequencies were calculated at the B3LYP/6-311++G ∗∗ level. The rotational constants, dipole moments, zero-point vibrational energies, harmonic frequencies, vertical ionization energies, enthalpies, Gibbs free energies and conformational distributions of gaseous lysine were presented. Numerous new structures are found and the lowest-energy lysine conformer is more stable than the existing one by 1.1 kcal/mol. Hydrogen bonds are classified and may cause significant red-shifts to the associated vibrational frequencies. The calculated proton affinity/dissociation energy and gas-phase basicity/acidity are in good agreement with the experiments. Calculations are also presented for the canonical lysine–H 2O and zwitterionic lysine–H 2O clusters. Interaction between lysine and H 2O significantly affects the relative conformational stabilities. Only one water molecule is sufficient to produce the stable zwitterionic structures in gas phase. The lowest-energy structure is found to be zwitterions when applying the conductor-like polarized continuum solvent model (CPCM) to the lysine–H 2O complexes.

Tautomeric properties, conformations and structure of 2-hydroxyacetophenone methanesulfonylhydrazone

The compound, 2-hydroxyacetophenone methanesulfonylhydrazone (apmsh) has been synthesized and its crystal structure has been investigated by X-ray analysis. The compound crystallizes in the monoclinic space group P21/ c and the following unit cell parameters: a = 20.9496(15) Å, b = 4.9849(4) Å, c = 10.2300(8) Å; α = 90°, β = 98.2750(10)°, γ = 90°; V = 1057.21(14) Å 3 and Z = 1. The molecular geometry of the apmsh in the ground state has been calculated using the restricted Hartree–Fock with HF/6-31G** and density functional method with B3LYP/6-31G** basis set. The optimized bond lengths and bond angles obtained by using B3LYP/6-31G** are in better agreement with the experimental values than those by using RHF/6-31G**. The conformers located at minima by PM3 semi-empirical calculation were re-optimized by using B3LYP/6-31G** method. Quantum-chemical calculations indicate that enol-imine tautomeric form is favored and the most stable conformer in gas phase is approximately 6 kcal/mol stable than next conformer.

A theoretical study of medium effects on the structure of the glycine analogue aminomethylphosphonic acid

alpha-Aminophosphonic acids are analogues of natural alpha-aminoacids and very promising agents for use in various pharmaceutical applications. However, in contrast to the numerous theoretical investigations on the structure of natural alpha-aminoacids, only very few studies on alpha-aminophosphonic acids have been performed. In the present work, we report a detailed investigation of the simplest compound, the glycine analogue aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA), by means of quantum mechanical calculations at the B3LYP/6-311++G(3df,2p)//B3LYP/6-31+G(d,p) and MP2/6-311++G(3df,2p)//B3LYP/6-31+G(d,p) levels. We focus on the structure of the neutral species looking at the evolution of non-ionized and ionized forms from gas phase to non-polar solvents and aqueous media. Continuum and discrete-continuum solvent models have been employed to account for the effects of the environment. The discussion is centered on: (1) the geometry and relative stability of possible conformers in gas phase and aqueous solution, (2) the free energy of tautomerization in different media, (3) the role of hydrogen bonds in liquid water, and (4) the free energy of transfer from water to a hydrophobic solvent such as cyclohexane. Systematic comparison between AMPA and Gly is performed. Though both systems exhibit many similarities, some important differences have also been found that may be explained, at least in part, by the higher acidity of phosphonic acids compared to carboxylic acids. In particular, in solvents lacking hydrogen-bond formation capability, Gly derivatives should mainly exist as non-ionized molecules while the equivalent AMPA derivatives should adopt a zwitterionic structure in media with dielectric constant above 10. This might have significant environmental or biological consequences that will need to be addressed.

Conformational analysis of protonated cyclo-[(S)-phenylalanyl-(S)-histidyl] and its complex with benzaldehyde within metal-organic frameworks (MOFs)

The conformational analysis of protonated cyclo-[(S)-phenylalanyl-(S)-histidyl], denoted as cyclo-[(S)-Phe-(S)-His-H+], within a cavity of a new IRMOFs-phen (isoreticular metal-organic frameworks with a 2,7-dicarboxylate phenanthrene substituted bridges) porous material was performed with the AM1 quantum chemical method. Two forms of cyclo-[(S)-Phe-(S)-His-H+] were considered: the bound-form, where the peptide is chemically linked to the phenanthrene moiety and the unbound-form where the peptide is free within the cavity. The most probable conformers of cyclo-[(S)-Phe-(S)-His-H+] within the cavity have been compared to the conformers in gas phase and in water, simulated by the implicit solvent SM5.4 model. The preferred conformations within the IRMOF-phen cavity are the (g-, g+) and (t, g+) in contrast to the gas and aqueous phases. The environment within the cavity is also relevant, since the substitution of a hydrogen atom by CH3 (IRMOF-phen-CH3) or Br (IRMOF-phen-Br) lead to new IRMOFs-phen that changes drastically the conformer populations, as well as the adsorption site of the dipeptide. These results have important implications in controlling the stereoselectivity of reactions in the presence of chiral inductors. Indeed, this is the first time that a folded conformation of cyclo-[(S)-Phe-(S)-His-H+] was found, as well as an stable cyclo-[(S)-Phe-(S)-His-H+]-benzaldehyde complex was obtained using the ONIOM(PBE1:AM1) method. This complex is compatible with the proposed structure for the transition state of the hydrocyanation of benzaldehyde that explains the observed enantioselectivity.

Understanding selenocysteine through conformational analysis, proton affinities, acidities and bond dissociation energies

AbstractDensity functional methods have been employed to characterize the gas phase conformations of selenocysteine. The 33 stable conformers of selenocysteine have been located on the potential energy surface using density functional B3LYP/6‐31+G* method. The conformers are analyzed in terms of intramolecular hydrogen bonding interactions. The proton affinity, gas phase acidities, and bond dissociation energies have also been evaluated for different reactive sites of selenocysteine for the five lowest energy conformers at B3LYP/6‐311++G*//B3LYP/6‐31+G* level. Evaluation of these intrinsic properties reflects the antioxidant activity of selenium in selenocysteine. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2008

Ab initio studies of aspartic acid conformers in gas phase and in solution

Systematic and extensive conformational searches of aspartic acid in gas phase and in solution have been performed. For the gaseous aspartic acid, a total of 1296 trial canonical structures and 216 trial zwitterionic structures were generated by allowing for all combinations of internal single-bond rotamers. All the trial structures were optimized at the B3LYP/6-311G* level and then subjected to further optimization at the B3LYP/6-311++G** level. A total of 139 canonical conformers were found, but no stable zwitterionic structure was found. The rotational constants, dipole moments, zero-point vibrational energies, harmonic frequencies, and vertical ionization energies of the canonical conformers were determined. Single-point energies were also calculated at the MP2/6-311++G** and CCSD/6-311++G** levels. The equilibrium distributions of the gaseous conformers at various temperatures were calculated. The proton affinity and gas phase basicity were calculated and the results are in excellent agreement with the experiments. The conformations in the solution were studied with different solvation models. The 216 trial zwitterionic structures were first optimized at the B3LYP/6-311G* level using the Onsager self-consistent reaction field model (SCRF) and then optimized at the B3LYP/6-311++G** level using the conductorlike polarized continuum model (CPCM) SCRF theory. A total of 22 zwitterions conformers were found. The gaseous canonical conformers were combined with the CPCM model and optimized at the B3LYP/6-311++G** level. The solvated zwitterionic and canonical structures were further examined by the discrete/SCRF model with one and two water molecules. The incremental solvation of the canonical and zwitterionic structures with up to six water molecules in gas phase was systematically examined. The studies show that combining aspartic acid with at least six water molecules in the gas phase or two water molecules and a SCRF solution model is required to provide qualitatively correct results in the solution.

Structural NMR and ab Initio Study of Salicylhydroxamic andp-Hydroxybenzohydroxamic Acids: Evidence for an Extended Aggregation

The acid-base behavior and self-aggregation of salicylhydroxamic (SHA) and p-hydroxybenzohydroxamic acids (PHBHA)have been investigated by UV and 1HNMR spectroscopy, respectively. The acid-base parameters, measured in H2O at 25 degrees C and I=0.1 M, were pK1=7.56, pK2=9.85 for SHA and pK1=8.4, pK2=9.4 for PHBHA. The 1H NMR signals for salicylhydroxamic and p-hydroxybenzohydroxamic acids measured in acetone indicate that both acids self-aggregate according to a mechanism where two monomers produce planar E-E dimers stabilized by horizontal H-bonds. Further dimer aggregation yields sandwich-like tetramer structures stabilized by vertical H-bonds and pi-pi interactions. The p-hydroxybenzohydroxamic tetramers, less stable than those of salicylhydroxamic, contain two water molecules in their structures. The gas-phase structures of salicylhydroxamic acid and its anions were investigated by ab initio calculations using the density functional theory at the B3LYP/AUG-cc-pVDZ level. The SHA most stable gas-phase conformer is the A-Z amide, a structure with all three phenolate (OP), carboxylate (OC), and hydroxamate (OH) oxygen atoms in the cis position. The B-Z amide, with the OP oxygen trans to OC, lies 5.4 kcal above the A-Z amide. The most stable monoanion is the N-deprotonated A-Z amide.

Oligonucleotide Gas-Phase Hydrogen/Deuterium Exchange with D2S in the Collision Cell of a Quadrupole-Fourier Transform Ion Cyclotron Resonance Mass Spectrometer

We have implemented gas-phase hydrogen/deuterium exchange (HDX) experiments in the external collision cell of a hybrid quadrupole-Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometer. In this configuration, multiply charged oligonucleotide anions undergo significant exchange with D(2)S at reaction intervals ranging from 0.11 to 60.1 s. For DNA homohexamers, relative exchange rates were dC(6) approximately dA(6) > dG(6) > dT(6), correlating with the gas-phase acidities of nucleobases (C > A > T > G), except for guanine. Our results are consistent with a relay mechanism in which D(2)S interacts with both a backbone phosphate group and a neutral nucleobase through hydrogen bonding. We propose that the faster exchange of polyguanosine compared to polythymidine is due to the larger size of guanine and the orientation of its labile hydrogens, which may result in gas-phase conformations more favorable for forming complexes with D(2)S. Similar trends were observed for RNA homohexamers, although their HDX rates were faster than for DNA, suggesting they can also exchange via another relay process involving the 2'-hydroxyl group. HDX of DNA duplexes further supports the involvement of nucleobase hydrogens because duplexes exchanged slower than their corresponding single strands, presumably due to the intermolecular hydrogen bonds between nucleobases. This work constitutes the first investigation of the mechanisms of oligonucleotide gas-phase HDX. Our results on duplexes show promise for application of this strategy to the characterization of structured nucleic acids.

Trans-Diphenyldiazene oxide

The crystal structure of the title compound (common name: trans-azoxybenzene, t-AXB), C12H10N2O, was determined at 299 ± 0.5 K, i.e. 6 K below its melting point. The az­oxy group has the expected geometry, and the O atom is affected by libration normal to the N=N—O plane. The O atom is disordered over two positions; the site-occupancy ratio is ∼3:2. Phenyl rings are out of the NNO plane, with dihedral angles ranging from 20 (1) to 34 (1)°. The dihedral angle between the two phenyl rings is 46.19 (11)°. This geometry contrasts strongly with the gas-phase conformation of t-AXB, previously determined by electron diffraction combined with ab initio calculations, which showed that the stable conformation is planar. This discrepancy is, however, consistent with low rotational barriers for phenyl rings. These features could be of inter­est in relation to the actual reaction mechanism of the Wallach rearrangement (acid-catalyzed isomerization of t-AXB into 4-hydroxy­azobenzene), which remains a controversial matter.

Computational Study on the Properties and Structure of Methyl Lactate

A theoretical study on the properties and molecular level structure of the very important green solvent methyl lactate is carried out in the gas phase and methanol and water solutions, with the solvent treated both explicitly and as a continuum. Torsional barriers giving rise to different conformers by rotation of the hydroxyl and methyl groups were analyzed using density functional theory (DFT) to establish the most stable conformer both in gas phase and solution. DFT computations on lactate dimers were also done to study short-range features, and the effect of the surrounding solvent on intra- and intermolecular hydrogen bonding was analyzed according to the polarizable continuum model approach. We have also studied lactate/water and lactate/methanol small clusters together with the corresponding binding energies. Moreover, classical molecular dynamics simulations (MD) were carried out to study medium- and large-range effects at lower computational cost. MD simulations at different pressure and temperature conditions on pure lactate were carried out, and mixtures with water and methanol of different compositions were also studied. Structural information, analyzed through the radial distribution functions, together with dynamic aspects of pure and mixed fluids were considered. The intramolecular hydrogen bonding ability of methyl lactate together with the possibility of homo- and hetero-intermolecular association determines the behavior of this molecule in pure fluids or in mixed.

Correlated ab initio quantum chemical calculations of di‐ and trisaccharide conformations

High level correlated quantum chemical calculations, using MP2 and local MP2 theory, have been performed for conformations of the disaccharide, beta-maltose, and the trisaccharide, 3,6-di-O-(alpha-D-mannopyranosyl)-alpha-D-mannopyranose. For beta-maltose, MP2 and local MP2 calculations using the 6-311++G** basis set are in good agreement, predicting a global minimum gas-phase conformation with a counterclockwise hydrogen bond network and the experimentally-observed intersaccharide hydrogen bonding arrangement. For conformations of 3,6-di-O-(alpha-D-mannopyranosyl)-alpha-D-mannopyranose, MP2/6-311++G**, and local MP2/6-311++G** calculations do not provide a consensus prediction of relative energetics, with the MP2 method finding large differences in stability between extended and folded trisaccharide conformations. Local MP2 calculations, less susceptible to intramolecular basis set superposition errors, predict a narrower range of trisaccharide energetics, in line with estimates from Hartree-Fock theory and B3LYP and BP86 density functionals. All levels of theory predict compact, highly hydrogen-bonded conformations as lowest in energy on the in vacuo potential energy surface of the trisaccharide. These high level, correlated local MP2/6-311++G** calculations of di- and trisaccharide energetics constitute potential reference data in the development and testing of improved empirical and semiempirical potentials for modeling of carbohydrates in the condensed phase.

Hydration of Cyclohexylamines: CPCM Calculation of Hydration Gibbs Energy of the Conformers

This work presents a theoretical study on the hydration of cyclohexylamine and isomers of cyclohexyldiamine. All possible conformers were fully optimized in solution using the conductor-like polarizable continuum model (CPCM) and density functional theory. Values of the Gibbs energy of solvation, its respective contributions (electrostatic, nonelectrostatic and conformational change), and the relative Gibbs energy of the conformers in aqueous solution and gas phase are reported. From these values and the Boltzmann populations of the conformers in both phases, the weighted mean values of DeltaG(solv) for the compounds are calculated. Three structural features were found to be important for the hydration of these compounds: the distance between the two NH2 groups (proximity disfavors hydration), their position relative to the ring (equatorial is preferred over axial), and the orientation of the nitrogen lone-pairs (gauche is more favorable to hydration than trans). In the particular case of vicinal cyclohexyldiamines, in addition to these two factors, the relative orientation of one group to the other should also be taken into account.

DFT studies using supercells and projector‐augmented waves for structure, energetics, and dynamics of glycine, alanine, and cysteine

A large variety of gas phase conformations of the amino acids glycine, alanine, and cysteine is studied by numerically efficient semi-local gradient-corrected density functional theory calculations using a projector-augmented wave scheme and periodic boundary conditions. Equilibrium geometries, conformational energies, dipole moments, vibrational modes, and IR optical spectra are calculated from first principles. A comparison of our results with values obtained from quantum-chemistry methods with localized basis sets and nonlocal exchange-correlation functionals as well as with experimental data is made. For conformations containing strong intramolecular hydrogen bonds deviations in their energetic ordering occur, which are traced back to different treatments of spatial nonlocality in the exchange-correlation functional. However, even for these structures, the comparison of calculated and measured vibrational frequencies shows satisfying agreement.

An intermediate structure trapped in solid-state tautomerization process of ( E)-4-[(4-chlorophenylimino)methyl]benzene-1,2,3-triol

An intermediate structure between the benzenoid and cis-quinoid form of the title compound was trapped in solid-state tautomerization with the aid of O H⋯O type intermolecular H-bonds leading to multi-point self-recognition. X-ray crystallographic study reveals that an interesting extended structure, H-bonded polymeric chain, is formed by linking pseudocyclic centrosymmetric R 2 2 ( 10 ) supramolecular synthons between the C s symmetry monomer units. In order to better understand structural features in solid state, ab initio quantum chemical calculations at level of RHF/6-31G ∗ were performed in both gas-phase and the extended structure containing five dimers. The results from the computational studies suggest that the gas-phase conformation of the title compound that closely matches the crystal structure corresponds to a local energy minimum between its benzenoid and cis-quinoid form and the O H⋯O type intermolecular H-bonds are fundamental in determining the crystallographically observed conformation of the intermediate structure.

Gas-Phase Hydrogen/Deuterium Exchange of 5′- and 3′-Mononucleotides in a Quadrupole Ion Trap: Exploring the Role of Conformation and System Energy

Gas-phase hydrogen/deuterium (H/D) exchange reactions for deprotonated 2'-deoxy-5'-monophosphate and 2'-deoxy-3'-monophosphate nucleotides with D(2)O were performed in a quadrupole ion trap mass spectrometer. To augment these experiments, molecular modeling was also conducted to identify likely deprotonation sites and potential gas-phase conformations of the anions. A majority of the 5'-monophosphates exchanged extensively with several of the compounds completely incorporating deuterium in place of their labile hydrogen atoms. In contrast, most of the 3'-monophosphate isomers exchanged relatively few hydrogen atoms, even though the rate of the first two exchanges was greater than observed for the 5'-monophosphates. Mononucleotides that failed to incorporate more than two deuterium atoms under default reaction conditions were often found to exchange more extensively when reactions were performed under higher energy conditions. Integration of the experimental and theoretical results supports the use of a relay exchange mechanism and suggests that the exchange behavior depends highly on the identity and orientation of the nucleobase and the position and flexibility of the deprotonated phosphate moiety. These observations also highlight the importance of the distance between the various participating groups in addition to their gas-phase acidity and basicity.

The molecular structure of N-fluorobis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide, NF(SO2CF3)2, as studied in the gas phase by electron diffraction restrained by ab initio calculations

The structure of N-fluorobis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide, prepared by a relatively safe and easy method, has been determined by gas-phase electron diffraction (GED), employing the SARACEN method, with flexible restraints based on the MP2/6-311G* structure, and by X-ray crystallography at 150 K. The strongly electron-withdrawing CF(3) and SO(2)CF(3) groups make the C-S and N-S distances long, averaging 187.7(3) and 171.7(3) pm, respectively, in the gas phase. The gas consists of two conformers, one (75%) with a CF(3) group on each side of the SNS plane, one anti-periplanar and one syn-periplanar to the further N-S bond (ap, sp), and the other with both CF(3) groups on the same side, i.e. denoted ap, ap. These conformers have very different SNS angles, 126.9(9) degrees and 117.1(17) degrees respectively. In the crystal all molecules have the ap, sp conformation, with parameters similar to those found for this conformer in the gas phase.