Intramolecular Hydrogen Atom Transfer Research Articles

Hydroxyl Radical Reaction with trans-Resveratrol: Initial Carbon Radical Adduct Formation Followed by Rearrangement to Phenoxyl Radical

In the reaction between trans-resveratrol (resveratrol) and the hydroxyl radical, kinetic product control leads to a short-lived hydroxyl radical adduct with an absorption maximum at 420 nm and a lifetime of 0.21 ± 0.01 μs (anaerobic acetonitrile at 25 °C) as shown by laser flash photolysis using N-hydroxypyridine-2(1H)-thione (N-HPT) as a "photo-Fenton" reagent. The transient spectra of the radical adduct are in agreement with density functional theory (DFT) calculations showing an absorption maximum at 442 or 422 nm for C2 and C6 hydroxyl adducts, respectively, and showing the lowest energy for the transition state leading to the C2 adduct compared to other radical products. From this initial product, the relative long-lived 4'-phenoxyl radical of resveratrol (τ = 9.9 ± 0.9 μs) with an absorption maximum at 390 nm is formed in a process with a time constant (τ = 0.21 ± 0.01 μs) similar to the decay constant for the C2 hydroxyl adduct (or a C2/C6 hydroxyl adduct mixture) and in agreement with thermodynamics identifying this product as the most stable resveratrol radical. The hydroxyl radical adduct to phenoxyl radical conversion with concomitant water dissociation has a rate constant of 5 × 10(6) s(-1) and may occur by intramolecular hydrogen atom transfer or by stepwise proton-assisted electron transfer. Photolysis of N-HPT also leads to a thiyl radical which adds to resveratrol in a parallel reaction forming a sulfur radical adduct with a lifetime of 0.28 ± 0.04 μs and an absorption maximum at 483 nm.

Femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy of copper(ii)–curcumin complexes

Ligand-metal interaction between curcumin and Cu(II) in methanol and sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) micelles was investigated using fluorescence spectroscopy and transient absorption spectroscopy. The Cu(II) ion exhibits a high efficiency in quenching the fluorescence of curcumin. By quantifying fluorescence quenching as a function of Cu(II) concentration, the complexation constants, K(1) and K(2), for the formation of the 1 : 1 and 1 : 2 Cu(II)-curcumin complexes, [Cu(II)-Cur](+) and [Cu(II)-Cur(2)], have been determined. In methanol, K(1) and K(2) are (1.33 ± 0.47) × 10(8) M(-1) and (6.79 ± 1.77) × 10(5) M(-1), respectively, whereas those in SDS micelles are (9.90 ± 1.68) × 10(5) M(-1) and (1.70 ± 0.48) × 10(6) M(-1), respectively. The transient absorption spectra of curcumin and the Cu(II)-curcumin complexes from 520 nm to 700 nm show a combination of stimulated emission and excited state absorption (ESA). However, the transient absorption signal at 500 nm corresponds to ESA exclusively. For curcumin, the ESA kinetics exhibit two rising components with time constants of 0.9 ps and 8.2 ps in methanol, and 0.5 ps and 2.5 ps in SDS micelles, which are consistent with solvation dynamics of excited state curcumin in these media. In addition, the ESA kinetics show a decay component with a time constant of 125 ps in methanol and 64 ps in SDS micelles, reflecting the excited state intramolecular hydrogen atom transfer of curcumin in these media. The ESA kinetics of the Cu(II)-curcumin complexes exhibit a sharp rise and a fast decay with a time constant of approximately 1 ps in both media due to the strong interaction between Cu(II) and curcumin.

Intramolecular hydrogen atom migration along the backbone of cationic and neutral radical tripeptides and subsequent radical-induced dissociations

Dissociation of peptide radical ions involves competition between charge-induced and radical-induced reactions that can be preceded by isomerization. The isomeric radical cations of the peptide methyl ester [G˙GR-OMe](+) and [GG˙R-OMe](+) provide very similar collision-induced dissociation (CID) spectra, suggesting that isomerization occurs prior to fragmentation. They undergo characteristic radical-induced bond cleavage of the peptide N-terminal amide bond resulting in the y2(+) ion, and of the arginine side-chain's Cα-Cβ bond giving protonated allylguanidine {[CH2[double bond, length as m-dash]CHCH2NHC(NH2)2](+), m/z 100}. The absence of a y2(+) fragment ion in the CID of the radical cationic tripeptide [ACH3G˙R](+) and of an m/z 100 ion in the spectrum of [G˙ACH3R](+) (where ACH3 is an α-aminoisobutyric acid residue, which cannot form an α-carbon-centered radical through hydrogen atom transfer) establishes the importance of hydrogen atom migration along the peptide backbone prior to specific radical-induced fragmentations. Herein we use density functional theory (DFT) at the B3LYP/6-31++G(d,p) level to evaluate the barriers for interconversion between the α-carbon-centered radicals and for dissociation. The radical cations [G˙GR](+) and [GG˙R](+) have their radicals located on the α-carbon atoms of the peptide backbone and their charge densities largely sequestered on the guanidine groups of the side-chain of arginine residues. This is in contrast to the isomeric radical cations of [GGG]˙(+), in which the charge resides necessarily on the peptide backbone. The lower charge densities on the backbones of [G˙GR](+) and [GG˙R](+) result in greater structural flexibility, decreasing the barrier for interconversion between these α-carbon-centered radicals to 36.2 kcal mol(-1) (cf. 44.7 kcal mol(-1) for [GGG]˙(+)). The total absence of charge, assessed by examining intramolecular hydrogen atom transfers among the three α-carbon centers of the isomeric neutral α-carbon-centered triglycine radicals [GGG-H]˙, leads to an additional but slight reduction in enthalpy, to approximately 34 kcal mol(-1).

ChemInform Abstract: Femtosecond Fluorescence Upconversion Investigations on the Excited‐State Photophysics of Curcumin

AbstractReview: 84 refs.

Intramolecular H-atom transfer reactions in rigid peptides — Correlated solvent and structural effects

The rates and the mechanism of intramolecular hydrogen-atom transfer across the rigid diketopiperazine spacer in two epimeric benzophenone–tyrosine dyads were studied by nanosecond laser flash photolysis in 12 non-protic and protic solvents. Effects of the stereochemistry on the ground-state structures and conformational equilibria and dynamics have been addressed by means of NMR-based population analysis and long-term molecular-dynamics simulations. The excited triplet state of the benzophenone is found to be quenched intramolecularly by the remote phenol moiety with rates that are highly dependent on the solvent and on the relative benzophenone–phenol orientation. In agreement with previous studies, the kinetic diversity, with rates ranging from <105 s−1 to 2 × 107 s−1, can be attributed to retarding effects of the bulk viscosity and to effects of specific solvation, which can be both rate retarding and rate accelerating. As an extension of the previous knowledge, however, the phenomenology of the kinetic solvent effects, that is, the nature of the predominating solvent parameter and its absolute impact on the reactivity, is found to be highly correlated with structural effects.

The Isomerization of Methoxy Radical: Intramolecular Hydrogen Atom Transfer Mediated through Acid Catalysis

The catalytic ability of water, formic acid, and sulfuric acid to facilitate the isomerization of the CH(3)O radical to CH(2)OH has been studied. It is shown that the activation energies for isomerization are 30.2, 25.7, 4.2, and 2.3 kcal mol(-1), respectively, when the reaction is carried out in isolation and with water, formic acid, or sulfuric acid as a catalyst. The formation of a doubly hydrogen bonded transition state is central to lowering the activation energy and facilitating the intramolecular hydrogen atom transfer that is required for isomerization. The changes in the rate constant for the CH(3)O-to-CH(2)OH isomerization with acid catalysis have also been calculated at 298 K. The largest enhancement in the rate, by over 12 orders of magnitude, is with sulfuric acid. The results of the present study demonstrate the feasibility of acid catalysis of a gas-phase radical isomerization reaction that would otherwise be forbidden.

Gas-phase ion-molecule reactions using regioselectively generated radical cations to model oxidative damage and probe radical sites in peptides

Collision induced dissociation (CID) of sodiated peptide derivatives containing a nitrate ester functionality was used to regiospecifically generate three isomeric radicals of the model peptide Bz-Ala-Gly-OMe corresponding to radicals formed at: C(α) of the alanine residue [4+Na](+); C(α) of the glycine residue [5+Na](+); and the side chain of alanine [6+Na](+). The ion-molecule reactions of these peptide radicals were examined to model oxidative damage to peptides and to probe whether the radical sites maintain their integrity or whether they isomerise via intramolecular hydrogen atom transfer (HAT). Only [6+Na](+) is reactive towards O(2), forming the peroxyl radical [7+Na](+), which loses O(2), HO˙ and HO(2)˙ under CID. The radical ion [7 + Na](+) abstracts a hydrogen atom from 4-fluorothiophenol to form the hydroperoxide [8+Na](+), which upon CID fragments via the combined loss of HO˙ and CH(2)O. In contrast, all three of the isomeric sodiated radicals react with NO˙ and NO(2)˙ to form adducts. CID of the NO adducts only regenerates the radicals via NO˙ loss, thus providing no structural information. In contrast, CID of the NO(2) adducts gives rise to a range of product ions and the spectra are different for each of the three adducts, suggesting that the isomeric radicals [4+Na](+), [5+Na](+) and [6+Na](+) are produced as discrete species. Finally, CID of the NO(2) adducts was used to probe the rearrangement of the radicals [4+Na](+), [5+Na](+) and [6+Na](+) prior to their reaction with NO(2)˙: [6 + Na](+) rearranges to a mixture of [4+Na](+) and [5+Na](+) while [5+Na](+) rearranges to [4+Na](+).

Femtosecond Fluorescence Upconversion Investigations on the Excited-State Photophysics of Curcumin

The demonstration of curcumin as a photodynamic therapy agent has generated a high level of interest in understanding the photoinduced chemical and physical properties of this naturally occurring, yellow-orange medicinal compound. Important photophysical processes that may be related to photodynamic therapy effects including excited-state intramolecular hydrogen atom transfer (ESIHT) occur within the femtosecond to picosecond time scales. Femtosecond fluorescence upconversion spectroscopy has sufficient time resolution to resolve and investigate these important photophysical processes. In this review, recent advances in using femtosecond fluorescence upconversion to reveal ultrafast solvation and ESIHT of curcumin are presented. The excited-state photophysics of curcumin has been investigated in alcohols and micellar solutions. The results of curcumin in methanol and ethylene glycol reveal the presence of two decay components in the excited-state kinetics with time scales of 12–20 ps and ∼100 ps. Similarly, in a micellar solution, biphasic kinetics are present with the fast decay component having a time constant of 3–8 ps, the slow decay component 50–80 ps. Deuteration of curcumin in both media leads to a pronounced isotope effect in the slow decay component, which suggests that ESIHT is an important photophysical process on this time scale. The results of multiwavelength fluorescence upconversion studies show that the fast component in the excited-state kinetics is due to ultrafast solvation. These advances form a part of the continuing efforts to elucidate the photodynamic therapy properties of curcumin.

Spectroscopic Properties of Curcumin: Orientation of Transition Moments

Curcumin, a naturally occurring yellow-orange pigment with potent antioxidant and antitumor properties, has been attracting researchers from a wide range of fields including chemistry, spectroscopy, biology, and medicine. Ultrafast excited-state processes such as solvation and excited-state intramolecular hydrogen atom transfer (ESIHT) make curcumin an attractive agent for photodynamic therapy. In this report we present studies of linear dichroism and fluorescence anisotropy in oriented and isotropic media. The results show transition moments (long wavelength absorption and emission) oriented along the long molecular axis. Comparison of linear dichroism and excitation anisotropy in oriented and isotropic media suggests that excited-state intramolecular hydrogen atom transfer is probably associated with intramolecular conformational changes that can be constrained in highly stretched poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) film.

ChemInform Abstract: Flash Vacuum Pyrolysis of Some N-Benzylbenzotriazoles and N-Benzylbenzisoxazolones.

The flash vacuum pyrolysis products of 2-(benzotriazol-1-ylmethyl)benzonitrile, methyl 2-(benzotriazol-1-ylmethyl)benzoate and the corresponding benzisoxazolones have been characterized. The benzotriazoles lose nitrogen to give diradicals which undergo intramolecular hydrogen-atom transfer or cyclization, while the benzisoxazolones rearrange initially to the corresponding benzaldehyde N-(2-carboxyphenyl)imines which undergo subsequent intramolecular addition reactions.

Photochromism of Schiff base compounds derived from N,N′-bis(2-aminophenyl)isophthalamide: Structure and photosensitivity

The photochromic behaviors of four Schiff bases derived from N,N′-bis(2-aminophenyl)isophthalamide were studied to reveal the substituent effect on the photosensitivity. On UV radiation, all of compounds 1– 4 exhibit photochromic behavior in solution through intramolecular hydrogen atom transfer, and the tautomerism equilibrium moved toward the keto-form. The solution and solid state fluorescence were also studied. After irradiated by 254 nm UV light, the solution fluorescence emission of compounds 1 and 4 went down, but the fluorescence emission intensified for compound 3. The solid state fluorescence (ss-FL) emission of compound 1 went down after UV irradiation. However, the ss-FL emission of 3 and 4 did not show any observable difference before and after UV irradiation. The influences of solvent, wavelength of irradiation and acidity on the adsorption spectra of the title compounds were also investigated.

Excited-State Intramolecular Hydrogen Atom Transfer of Curcumin in Surfactant Micelles

Femtosecond fluorescence upconversion experiments were performed on the naturally occurring medicinal pigment, curcumin, in anionic, cationic, and neutral micelles. In our studies, the micelles are composed of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), dodecyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (DTAB), and triton X-100 (TX-100). We demonstrate that the excited-state kinetics of curcumin in micelles have a fast (3-8 ps) and slow (50-80 ps) component. While deuteration of curcumin has a negligible effect on the fast component, the slow component exhibits a pronounced isotope effect of approximately 1.6, indicating that micelle-captured curcumin undergoes excited-state intramolecular hydrogen atom transfer. Studies of solvation dynamics of curcumin in a 10 ps time window reveal a fast component (< or = 300 fs) followed by a 8, 6, and 3 ps component in the solvation correlation function for the TX-100, DTAB, and SDS micelles, respectively.

Intermolecular Photocyclizations of N-(ω-Hydroxyalkyl)tetrachlorophthalimide with Alkenes Leading to Medium- and Large-Ring Heterocycles-Reaction Modes and Regio- and Stereoselectivity of the 1,n-Biradicals

A new photocyclization strategy by using intermolecular tandem reactions between N-(omega-hydroxyalkyl)-4,5,6,7-tetrachlorophthalimides (1, 2, and 3) and a series of acyclic and cyclic alkenes is reported. Electron transfer of the triplet-excited phthalimide with the alkene and regioselective trapping of the alkene cation radical by the hydroxyl group at the phthalimide side chain gives a triplet 1,n-biradical, which after intersystem crossing (ISC) leads to regio- and diastereoselective synthesis of polycyclic heterocycles with an N,O-containing medium to large ring. Regio- and diastereoselectivity in the cyclizations are clarified by unambiguous steric structure assignments of the products by X-ray diffraction or extensive 2D NMR measurements. The diastereoselectivity is decided by the stereochemical course of the ISC process of the triplet 1,n-biradicals. These intermolecular photoreactions also furnish a new strategy to generate triplet 1,n-biradicals. Therefore, in photoreactions of 1 and 2 with phenylcyclohexene, the unprecedented stereoselective formation of products by intramolecular hydrogen-atom transfer in the 1,n-biradical intermediate was found (9 and 23). These facts provide direct verification to the reaction pathways of the 1,n-biradicals and give a new insight into the factors deciding reaction-pathway partitioning and stereoselectivity.

ChemInform Abstract: Synthesis of Oxa‐Aza Spirobicycles by Intramolecular Hydrogen Atom Transfer Promoted by N‐Radicals in Carbohydrate Systems.

AbstractChemInform is a weekly Abstracting Service, delivering concise information at a glance that was extracted from about 200 leading journals. To access a ChemInform Abstract of an article which was published elsewhere, please select a “Full Text” option. The original article is trackable via the “References” option.

Photoinduced Hydrogen-Atom Eliminations of 6-Hydroxyquinoline and 7-Hydroxyquinoline Studied by Low-Temperature Matrix-Isolation Infrared Spectroscopy and Density-Functional-Theory Calculations

Photoreaction mechanisms of 6-hydroxyquinoline (6-HQ) and 7-hydroxyquinoline (7-HQ) in low-temperature argon matrixes have been investigated by Fourier transform infrared (IR) spectroscopy and density-functional-theory (DFT) calculations. A comparison of the observed IR spectra of reactants with the corresponding calculated spectral patterns obtained by the DFT method led to the conclusion that the hydrogen atoms in the O-H group of 6-HQ and in that of 7-HQ are selectively located at the outer position against the quinoline ring. When the matrix samples were irradiated upon UV light around 300 nm, IR spectra of unknown chemical species were observed; they were assigned to the photoreaction intermediates, quinolinoxyl radicals and ketene compounds, produced by eliminations of a hydrogen atom and a hydrogen molecule, respectively. In the photoreaction of 7-HQ, a small amount of keto form was also produced by intramolecular hydrogen-atom transfer from oxygen to nitrogen in an argon cage. Kinetic analyses were made by assuming that 5-ketene and 6-ketene were produced from 6-HQ, while 6-ketene and 7-ketene were produced from 7-HQ. The effective rate constants estimated from the absorbance changes of IR bands against irradiation time revealed that the reaction pathway to produce 6-ketene was minor in both HQs, leading to the conclusion that the conformation of reactants, HQs, plays an important role in the photoproduction of ketenes through biradicals in the Wolff rearrangement.

Solvent Effects on the Intramolecular Hydrogen-Atom Transfer between Tyrosine and Benzophenone. Diverting Reaction Mechanisms in Protic and Nonprotic Media

The intramolecular hydrogen-atom transfer between tyrosine and triplet-excited benzophenone was studied by nanosecond laser-flash photolysis in a number of nonprotic and protic solvents. The reaction rates were found to be strongly solvent dependent with a range from <105 s−1 to 5 × 107 s−1. Eventual contributions from solvent-dependent conformational equilibria on the reaction rates were found to be of minor importance. In contrast, the rate-enhancing and rate-retarding effects of the solvents could be attributed to specific solvent−solute interactions with the hydrogen donor and the hydrogen acceptor. Opposite effects were exerted by nonprotic and protic solvents. The sharp decrease of the reaction rates in nonprotic solvents with the hydrogen-bond acceptor ability of the solvent is referred to hydrogen bonding of the tyrosine to the solvent, TyrOH → S. It could be quantified in terms of an intramolecular kinetic solvent effect model. In turn, a sharp increase of the reaction rates with the hydrogen-bond donor ability of the solvents is observed in protic solvents, which is referred to solvation effects on both chromophores, SH → O(H)Tyr and SH → bp. Implications of these diverting solvent dependencies on the reaction mechanism in protic and nonprotic solvents are discussed.

Synthesis of oxa-aza spirobicycles by intramolecular hydrogen atom transfer promoted by N-radicals in carbohydrate systems

The nitrogen-centred radical generated by reaction of an N-phosphoramidate or N-cyanamide, attached to a tri- or tetramethylene tether extended from the C-1 of a carbohydrate, with (diacetoxyiodo)benzene (DIB) and iodine can undergo a regio- and stereoselective intramolecular hydrogen atom transfer (HAT) reaction to furnish four different oxa-azaspirobicyclic systems: 1-oxa-6-azaspiro[4.4]nonane, 1-oxa-6-azaspiro[4.5]decane, 6-oxa-1-azaspiro[4.5]decane and 1-oxa-7-azaspiro[5.5]undecane. A tandem 1,5- or 1,6-HAT-oxidation-nucleophilic cyclisation mechanism is proposed.

Excited-State Intramolecular Hydrogen Atom Transfer and Solvation Dynamics of the Medicinal Pigment Curcumin

The potential use of the naturally occurring yellow-orange pigment curcumin as a photodynamic therapy agent is one of the most exciting applications of this medicinal compound. Although subnanosecond spectroscopy has been used to investigate the photophysical processes of curcumin, the time resolution is insufficient to detect important and faster photoinduced processes, including solvation and excited-state intramolecular hydrogen atom transfer (ESIHT). In this study, the excited-state photophysics of curcumin is studied by means of ultrafast fluorescence upconversion spectroscopy. The results show two decay components in the excited-state kinetics with time scales of 12-20 ps and approximately 100 ps in methanol and ethylene glycol. The resulting prominent isotope effect in the long component upon deuteration indicates that curcumin undergoes ESIHT in these solvents. The short component (12-20 ps) is insensitive to deuteration, and multiwavelength fluorescence upconversion results show that this decay component is due to solvation of excited-state curcumin.

Photodissociation Dynamics of Alkyl Nitrites at 266 and 355 nm: The OH Product Channel

Photodissociation of methyl nitrite and n-butyl nitrite at 266 and 355 nm has been investigated in the gas phase at room temperature. OH photoproducts were observed, and their internal state distributions were measured by the one-photon laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) technique. It was found that the nascent OH from the 266 nm photolysis of methyl nitrite was vibrationally cold, and its rotational state distribution conformed to a Boltzmann behavior with a rotational temperature of T(rot) = 2200 +/- 150 K. In contrast, the nascent OH from the 266 nm photolysis of n-butyl nitrite was found to be vibrationally excited, and the measured relative population of v'' = 0:1 was 0.78:0.22. The rotational state distribution of the OH v'' = 1 state conformed to Boltzmann behavior, with a rotational temperature of T(rot) = 1462 +/- 120 K. However, a simple Boltzmann distribution was not found for the OH v'' = 0 state. In the photolysis of n-butyl nitrite at 355 nm, the OH fragment was found to be vibrationally cold and its rotational state distribution showed non-Boltzmann behavior. A photodissociation mechanism involving an intramolecular hydrogen atom transfer process is proposed for the OH product pathway for methyl nitrite, which has been compared with the potential energy surfaces obtained from density functional theory (DFT) calculations. A photodissociation mechanism of n-butyl nitrite is also proposed for the OH product pathway, which differs from that of methyl nitrite due to the effects of the different alkoxy substituents.

Red fluorescence from tautomers of 2′-hydroxychalcones induced by intramolecular hydrogen atom transfer

Tautomer fluorescence in the longer wavelength region at 600 nm produced by intramolecular hydrogen atom transfer was observed in several 2′-hydroxychalcones having an electron donating group at the para position of the phenyl ring. The quantum yield of tautomer fluorescence increased by 1000 times upon decreasing the temperature from room temperature to 77 K. The introduction of dendritic substituents also increased the intensity of the tautomer fluorescence. One can control the photochemical and photophysical properties of the olefins by introduction of intramolecular hydrogen bonding and photoinduced hydrogen atom transfer.