Rotational Isomers Research Articles

New antimicrobial compounds produced by endophytic Penicillium janthinellum isolated from Panax notoginseng as potential inhibitors of FtsZ

A total of 180 fungal isolates, belonging to 20 genera and 47 species, were obtained from the roots, stems and leaves of Panax notoginseng. One isolate, the endophytic fungus Penicillium janthinellum SYPF 7899, displayed the strongest antibacterial activity and was studied for its production of secondary metabolites. In total, three new compounds, including rotational isomers 1a, 1b and 2 were isolated from the solid cultures of P. janthinellum, as well as eight known compounds (3−10). These structures were determined on the basis of 1D, 2D NMR and electronic circular dichroism (ECD) spectroscopic analyses as well as theoretical calculations. Compound 1 exhibited significant inhibitory activities against Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus aureus with MIC values of 15 and 18 μg/ml, respectively. The other compounds showed moderate or weak activities. In addition, morphological observation showed the rod-shaped cells of B. subtilis growing into long filaments, which reached 1.5- to 2-fold of the length of the original cells after treatment with compound 1. The coccoid cells of S. aureus exhibited a similar response and swelled to a 2-fold volume after treatment with compound 1. In silico molecular docking was explored to study the binding interactions between the compounds and the active sites of filamentous temperature-sensitive protein Z (FtsZ) from B. subtilis and S. aureus. Compound 1a, 1b and 2 showed high binding energies, strong H-bond interactions and hydrophobic interactions with FtsZ. Based on the antimicrobial activities, cellular phenotype observation and docking studies, compound 1 is considered to be a promising antimicrobial inhibitor of FtsZ.

Fluorinated Prolines as Conformational Tools and Reporters for Peptide and Protein Chemistry.

Amide bonds at the proline nitrogen are particularly susceptible to rotation, affording cis and trans isomers. Installation of a stereochemically defined electron-withdrawing fluorine atom or fluorinated groups has the power to influence the cis- trans conformational preferences of the amide bond in X-(F)Pro (where X = any other amino acid). Advantageously, this also provides a sensitive reporter for 19F nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) studies of protein conformation, interactions, and dynamics. We deliberately use the term "fluorinated prolines" as an all-encompassing term to describe proline analogues containing one or more fluorine atoms and to avoid confusion with the more well-known 4-fluoroprolines. This review presents a critical discussion of the growing repertoire of fluorinated prolines that have been described and, importantly, provides a comparison of their uses and relative influence on amide-bond conformation and discusses the significant potential of using 19F NMR as a tool to probe conformational changes in polypeptides.

Three new C-glycosyflavones with acetyl substitutions from Swertia mileensis.

Three new acetylated C-glycosylflavones, 3″,6″-di-O-acetylswertiajaponin (1), 4″,6″-di-O-acetylswertiajaponin (2), and 6″-O-acetylswertiajaponin (3), together with six known compounds were isolated from the whole herb of Swertia mileensis. Their structures were elucidated on extensive NMR experiments and mass spectrometry studies. 1H and 13C NMR data exhibited doublet signals at room temperature. Variable temperature 1H NMR experiments were carried out to investigate the presence of rotational isomerism of C-glycosylflavones. All compounds showed potential antioxidant activities against apoptosis of H2O2-induced human embryo liver L02 cells.

Two-Dimensional Infrared Spectra of Cationic Dopamine under Different Electric Fields: Theoretical Studies from the Density Function Theory Anharmonic Potential

The geometry optimizations and vibrational frequencies of cationic dopamine (DAH+) under different intensity of electric fields (IEFs) are investigated using density function theory (DFT)/B3LYP/6-311G(d,p) and two-dimensional infrared spectra are pictured based on anharmonic approximation. In spite of some differences, the optimized structural parameters calculated by DFT/B3LYP/6-311G(d,p) can well reproduce the experimental ones. Anharmonic approximation greatly improves the agreement between experimental and calculated fundamental frequencies. This study mainly focuses on the potential energy distributions and rotational isomerization of DAH+ under different electric fields. The results showed that there were very strong absorption peaks at 3571 and 3683 cm–1 for O–H stretching vibrations. The symmetric and asymmetric peaks of C–H stretching vibrations with benzene ring and amidogen were calculated by anharmonic approximation and observed at 2921, 2904, 2997, and 3007 cm–1. In addition, strong absorption peaks were also observed at 3266, 3313, and 3316 cm–1 for N–H stretching vibrations. For C–H stretching vibrations with amidogen, when IEF is increasing from −30 × 10–4 to 20 × 10–4 a.u., the vibrations of symmetry and asymmetry are coupled. However, the two vibrations were no longer coupled while IEF goes on increasing to 30 × 10–4 a.u.; For C–H stretching vibrations with benzene ring, the vibrations of symmetry and asymmetry were uncoupled when IEFs are −20 × 10–4, −10 × 10–4, 0 × 10–4, and 30 × 10–4 a.u. In addition, DAH+ undergoes rotational isomerization only when IEF ranges from −20 × 10–4 to 10 × 10–4 a.u.

Discovery of 4-Hydroxy-3-(3-(phenylureido)benzenesulfonamides as SLC-0111 Analogues for the Treatment of Hypoxic Tumors Overexpressing Carbonic Anhydrase IX.

Herein we report the 2-aminophenol-4-sulfonamide 1 and its ureido derivatives 2-23 as inhibitors of the carbonic anhydrase (CA, EC 4.2.1.1) enzymes as analogues of the hypoxic tumor phase II entering drug SLC-0111. This scaffold may determine preferential rotational isomers to selectively interact within the tumor-associated CAs. Most of the compounds indeed showed in vitro selective inhibition of the tumor associated CA isoforms IX and XII. The most potent derivative within the series was 11 ( KIs of 2.59 and 7.64 nM on hCA IX and XII, respectively), which shares the 4-fluorophenylureido tail with the clinical candidate. We investigated by means of X-ray crystallographic studies the binding modes of three selected compounds of this series to CA I. The evaluation of therapeutic efficacy of compound 11 in an orthotopic, syngeneic model of CA IX-positive breast cancer in vivo showed close matching antitumoral effects and tolerance with SLC-0111.

Chemistry of 2,4,6-Tri-tert-butylanilides Possessing Isolable Rotational Isomer

Amide C-N bond in 2,6-di-tert-butylanilides has a high rotational barrier and the individual amide rotational isomers can be isolated at ambient temperature. These anilides have been reported by Chupp et al. in 1967, but no systematic study with anilide substrates other than α-haloacetoanilides, or the stereoselective synthesis of anilide rotamers have been reported. In addition, the structural properties of these anilides have not been investigated in detail. We succeeded in the highly selective stereodivergent synthesis of Z- and E-rotamers of various N-allyl-2,4,6-tri-tert-butylanilides through Pd(0) and Pd(II) catalyzed N-allylation of O-allyl-N-(2,4,6-tri-tert-butylphenyl)imidates. Moreover, the relative thermodynamic stabilities of the obtained anilide rotamers were clarified. Specific reactivity of 2,4,6-tri-tert-butylanilide derivatives was also found. For examples, in intramolecular Diels-Alder reaction of N-ally 2-furoyl amides, 2,4,6-tri-tert-butylphenyl group on the nitrogen atom remarkably accelerated the reaction. Although the reaction of ordinal anilide anion with alkyl halide gives N-alkylation product, the alkylation with 2,4,6-tri-tert-butylanilide anion preferentially proceeded on the oxygen atom to give O-alkyl imidate. O-Benzyl imidate, which was obtained by the reaction with benzyl bromide, was used as bezylation reagent of alcohols and carboxylic acids. In contrast to rotational rigidity of 2,4,6-tri-tert-butylanilide, in the anilide enolates, interconversion between the rotamers readily occurs at ambient temperature, and their reaction with electrophiles gave rotamer mixtures of the products in a ratio that depends on the reactivity of the electrophiles. Furthermore, as an application of this isomerization reaction, switching between the anilide rotamers was achieved.

Dipolar Relaxation in Functionalized Poly-p-phenylenes Bearing Ultrastrong Dipoles Perpendicular to the Backbone

Local polymer dynamics are studied in polymers bearing dipoles rigidly attached to the backbone. The compounds are based on cyano-substituted dihydrobenzimidazoles bearing ultrastrong dipole moments (∼12 D per repeat unit) incorporated in a poly-p-phenylene backbone, giving rise to polymers with rigid dipoles perpendicular to the chain. They belong to type B polymers according to the Stockmayer classification. They are ideal model systems for studying rotational isomers in the gas phase and the self-assembly and local dynamics in the solid state. Gas phase calculations (DFT) provided the dipole moments, the energetic barriers, and the backbone conformation as a function of the dipole strength and dipole separation. Calculated dipole moments show an odd–even effect as a function of dipole separation. Specific rotational isomers that maximize the dipole moment are obtained. In the solid state, dielectric spectroscopy and site-specific NMR techniques revealed that packing through intermolecular forces such as van der Waals, π–π, and dipole–dipole interactions dictates the dynamics. Dielectric spectroscopy further identified two modes, both with Arrhenius temperature dependence and activation energies of 20–23 kcal/mol. Combined results attribute the faster process to a libration motion of the highly polar group reorienting only the nonplanar five-membered ring and the slower process to larger amplitude and/or correlated motions of the polar groups. These dynamic results are in agreement with structural investigations (X-ray diffraction) demonstrating that type B polymers in the bulk have rigid backbones.

Kinetics and Mechanism of Oxirane Formation by Darzens Condensation of Ketones: Quantification of the Electrophilicities of Ketones

The kinetics of epoxide formation by Darzens condensation of aliphatic ketones 1 with arylsulfonyl-substituted chloromethyl anions 2 (ArSO2CHCl-) have been determined photometrically in DMSO solution at 20 °C. The reactions proceed via nucleophilic attack of the carbanions at the carbonyl group to give intermediate halohydrin anions 4, which subsequently cyclize with formation of the oxiranes 3. Protonation of the reaction mixture obtained in THF solution at low temperature allowed the intermediates to be trapped and the corresponding halohydrins 4-H to be isolated. Crossover experiments, i.e., deprotonation of the halohydrins 4-H in the presence of a trapping reagent for the regenerated arylsulfonyl-substituted chloromethyl anions 2, provided the relative rates of backward ( k-CC) and ring closure ( krc) reactions of the intermediates. Combination of the kinetic data ( k2exptl) with the splitting ratio ( k-CC/ krc) gave the second-order rate constants kCC for the attack of the carbanions 2 at the ketones 1. These kCC values and the previously reported reactivity parameters N and sN for the arylsulfonyl-substituted chloromethyl anions 2 allowed us to use the linear free energy relationship log k2(20 °C) = sN( N + E) for deriving the electrophilicity parameters E of the ketones 1 and thus predict potential nucleophilic reaction partners. Density functional theory calculations of the intrinsic reaction pathways showed that the reactions of the ketones 1 with the chloromethyl anions 2 yield two rotational isomers of the intermediate halohydrin anions 4, only one of which can cyclize while the other undergoes retroaddition because the barrier for rotation is higher than that for reversal to the reactants 1 and 2. The electrophilicity parameters E correlate moderately with the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital energies of the carbonyl groups, very poorly with Parr's electrophilicity indices, and best with the methyl anion affinities calculated for DMSO solution.

Human Liver Microsomes Atropselectively Metabolize 2,2',3,4',6-Pentachlorobiphenyl (PCB 91) to a 1,2-Shift Product as the Major Metabolite.

Polychlorinated biphenlys (PCBs) and their hydroxylated metabolites (OH-PCBs) have been implicated in neurodevelopmental disorders. Several neurotoxic PCBs, such as PCB 91, are chiral because they form stable rotational isomers, or atropisomers, that are nonsuperimposable mirror images of each other. Because only limited information about the metabolism of these PCBs by human cytochrome P450 (P450) enzymes is available, we investigated the biotransformation of PCB 91 to OH-PCBs by human liver microsomes (HLMs). Racemic PCB 91 was incubated with pooled or individual donor HLMs at 37 °C, and levels and chiral signatures of PCB 91 and its metabolites were determined. Several OH-PCBs were formed in the order 2,2',4,4',6-pentachlorobiphenyl-3-ol (3-100; 1,2 shift product) > 2,2',3,4',6-pentachlorobiphenyl-5-ol (5-91) ≫ 2,2',3,4',6-pentachlorobiphenyl-4-ol (4-91) ≫ 4,5-dihydroxy-2,2',3,4',6-pentachlorobiphenyl (4,5-91). Metabolite formation rates displayed interindividual variability. The first eluting atropisomers of PCB 91, 3-100 and 4-91, and the second eluting atropisomer of 5-91 were enriched in most metabolism studies. The unexpected, preferential formation of a 1,2-shift product and the variability of the OH-PCBs profiles in experiments with individual donor HLMs underline the need for further systematic studies of the atropselective metabolism of PCBs in humans.

Hindered rotation and nuclear spin isomers separation of molecularly chemisorbed H2 on Pd(210)

We investigated the hindered rotation and nuclear spin isomer separation of H2 on Pd(210) for various pre-adsorbed atomic hydrogen coverages (Θ), by total energy calculations based on density functional theory. Our results revealed that H2 is in the molecularly chemisorbed state and the adsorption is characterized by a highly anisotropic potential energy surface. Further, we found that J = 1 degenerate level splitting is insensitive to the increase in Θ from 1 to 2 ML. This is due to the comparable potential strengths hindering/restricting the polar rotations in both coverages. On a fully H passivated (3 ML) Pd(210), H2 is in a weakly physisorbed state with a negligible potential anisotropy. Our findings suggest that the activation barrier for polar rotational motion does not strongly depend on the adsorption energy but rather on the surface-molecule bond. The estimated rotational state desorption energies show a separation of ortho and para isomers by around 7.0 meV.

Rotational Isomers, Intramolecular Hydrogen Bond, and IR Spectra of o-Vinylphenol Homologs

The ν(OH) stretching-mode bands in solution IR spectra of five o-vinylphenol (o-VPh) homologs in the slightly polar solvents CCl4 and n-hexane were studied. Several rotamers with free OH groups were found in solutions of o-VPh and its methyl-substituted derivatives in n-hexane. The proportion of rotamers in o-VPh homologs with intramolecular hydrogen bonds (IHBs) O–H...π varied from 22 to 97% in the gas and cyclohexane according to B3LYP/cc-pVTZ calculations. The theoretically estimated effective enthalpies –ΔH of their IHBs varied in the range 0.20–2.24 kcal/mol.

Mechanistic Unveiling of C═C Double-Bond Rotation and Origins of Regioselectivity and Product E/Z Selectivity of Pd-Catalyzed Olefinic C-H Functionalization of (E)-N-Methoxy Cinnamamide.

Density functional theory (DFT) calculations have been performed to study the Pd-catalyzed C-H functionalization of (E)-N-methoxy cinnamamide (E1), which selectively provides the α-C-H activation products (EP as minor product and its C═C rotation isomer ZP' as major product). Three crucial issues are solved: (i) The detailed mechanism leading to ZP' is one issue. The computational analyses of the mechanisms proposed in previously experimental and theoretical literature do not seem to be consistent with the experimental findings due to the high barriers involved. Alternatively, we present a novel oxidation/reduction-promoted mechanism featuring the Pd(0) → Pd(II) → Pd(0) transformation. The newly proposed mechanism involves the initial coordination of the active catalyst PdL2 (L = t-BuCN) with the C═C bond in EP, followed by the oxidative cyclization/reductive decyclization-assisted C═C double-bond rotation processes resulting in ZP' and regeneration of PdL2. (ii) The origin of the product E/Z selectivity is the second issue. On the basis of the calculated results, it is found that, at the initial stage of the reaction, EP is certainly completely generated, while no ZP' formation occurred. Once E1 is used up, EP immediately acts as the partner of the new catalytic cycle and sluggishly evolves into ZP'. A small amount of generated ZP' would reversibly transform to EP due to the higher barrier involved. (iii) The intrinsic reasons for the regioselectivity are the third issue. The calculated results indicate that the regioselectivity for α-C-H activation is mainly attributed to the stronger electrostatic attraction between the α-C and the metal center.

Rotamer-Specific Photoisomerization of Difluorostilbenes from Transient Absorption and Transient Raman Spectroscopy.

Photoisomerization of 2,2'-, 3,3'-, and 4,4'-difluorostilbene (F2, F3, F4, respectively) in n-hexane, perfluoro-n-hexane, and acetonitrile is studied with broadband transient absorption (TA) and femtosecond stimulated Raman (FSR) spectroscopy and by DFT/TDDFT calculations. F2 and F3 possess three rotamers (rotational isomers) each, while F4 has one single conformation only. These differences are reflected in TA and FSR spectra. Thus F4 reveals a monoexponential decay of TA with τ1 = 172 ps in n-hexane, as expected for a single species. For F2 and F3, the decays are biexponential in all solvents, corresponding to two distinctly discerned rotamers or rotamer fractions. Specifically, for F2 in n-hexane, τ1 = 357 ps (83%) and τ2 = 62 ps (17%), and for F3 in the same solvent, τ1 = 222 ps (57%), and τ2 = 81 ps (43%). The weights in brackets agree with theoretically estimated ground-state abundances of the rotamers. Furthermore, a global fit of the TA and FSR data allows us to extract the spectra of the pure rotamers. The Raman spectra of S0 and S1 are in qualitative agreement with calculations.

Rotational Isomers of Diphenhydramine

Diphenhydramine (DP), an antihistaminic agent, may become colored and daker or more fluorescent during storage. Herein, we spectroscopically examined the causes of this phenomenon under various DP storage conditions and durations. The infrared vibration-rotation spectrum shows multiple Gauche (G)-type conformers with different intramolecular n→π* interaction strengths. The splitting pattern of the dimethylamino group protons in the 1H-NMR spectrum indicates that DP is mainly in the G-type with a small portion in the Trans (T)-type. The correlation between the red-shifted peak intensity in the UV•VIS absorbance spectrum and the coloring progression indicates a decreased intramolecular n→π* interaction of the G-type under elevated temperature during storage. Enhanced fluorescence detected in the Excitation•Fluorescence spectrum demonstrates G-type (quenching) to T-type (fluorescent) conformation conversion, which is due to activated internal rotation of the dimethylamino group under elevated storage temperature and electronic excitation in the phenyl groups under light irradiation during storage. A signal detected in the ESR spectrum corresponds to the G-type charge transfer (CT) structure wherein part of the nonbonding electron pair on the N atom is intramolecularly redistributed to the phenyl groups. The CT structure presents the G-type quenching characteristics, whereas weak CT bonding corresponds to coloring. The results indicate that the quenching G-type is converted to T-type by heat or light to become color faded and bright with enhanced fluorescence and that T-type is reverted to G-type after storage under cool and dark conditions or by vacuum distillation to lose fluorescence.

Quantifying Microsecond Transition Times Using Fluorescence Lifetime Correlation Spectroscopy.

Many complex luminescent emitters such as fluorescent proteins exhibit multiple emitting states that result in rapid fluctuations of their excited-state lifetime. Here, we apply fluorescence lifetime correlation spectroscopy (FLCS) to resolve the photophysical state dynamics of the prototypical fluorescence protein enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP). We quantify the microsecond transition rates between its two fluorescent states, which have otherwise highly overlapping emission spectra. We relate these transitions to a room-temperature angstrom-scale rotational isomerism of an amino acid next to its fluorescent center. With this study, we demonstrate the power of FLCS for studying the rapid transition dynamics of a broad range of light-emitting systems with complex multistate photophysics, which cannot be easily done by other methods.

Isomer activation controls stereospecificity of class I fructose-1,6-bisphosphate aldolases

Fructose-1,6-bisphosphate (FBP) aldolase, a glycolytic enzyme, catalyzes the reversible and stereospecific aldol addition of dihydroxyacetone phosphate (DHAP) and d-glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate (d-G3P) by an unresolved mechanism. To afford insight into the molecular determinants of FBP aldolase stereospecificity during aldol addition, a key ternary complex formed by DHAP and d-G3P, comprising 2% of the equilibrium population at physiological pH, was cryotrapped in the active site of Toxoplasma gondii aldolase crystals to high resolution. The growth of T. gondii aldolase crystals in acidic conditions enabled trapping of the ternary complex as a dominant population. The obligate 3(S)-4(R) stereochemistry at the nascent C3-C4 bond of FBP requires a si-face attack by the covalent DHAP nucleophile on the d-G3P aldehyde si-face in the active site. The cis-isomer of the d-G3P aldehyde, representing the dominant population trapped in the ternary complex, would lead to re-face attack on the aldehyde and yield tagatose 1,6-bisphosphate, a competitive inhibitor of the enzyme. We propose that unhindered rotational isomerization by the d-G3P aldehyde moiety in the ternary complex generates the active trans-isomer competent for carbonyl bond activation by active-site residues, thereby enabling si-face attack by the DHAP enamine. C-C bond formation by the cis-isomer is suppressed by hydrogen bonding of the cis-aldehyde carbonyl with the DHAP enamine phosphate dianion through a tetrahedrally coordinated water molecule. The active site geometry further suppresses C-C bond formation with the l-G3P enantiomer of d-G3P. Understanding C-C formation is of fundamental importance in biological reactions and has considerable relevance to biosynthetic reactions in organic chemistry.

Novel sulfur containing derivatives of carboranes and metallacarboranes

Abstract A series of new closo- and nido-carborane based functional derivatives 1-X(CH2)nS-1,2-C2B10H11 (X=COOH, N3, CH(NH2)COOH) and [7-X(CH2)nS-7,8-C2B9H11]− (X=COOH, N3, NH2, CH(NH2)COOH) was prepared by alkylation of 1-mercapto-ortho-carborane. Dialkylsulfonium derivatives of nido-carborane 9-R(Me)S-7,8-C2B9H11 and 10-R(Me)S-7,8-C2B9H11 with boron-sulfur bond were prepared by alkylation of the corresponding methyl-carboranyl thioether. New types of intramolecular B–H···X and B–H···π(C≡C) interactions were found in nido-carborane alkylmethyl sulfonium derivatives 9-XCH2S(Me)S-7,8-C2B9H11 and 10-RC≡CCH2S(Me)S-7,8-C2B9H11, respectively. Isomeric methylsulfide derivatives of transition metal bis(dicarbollide) complexes [X,Y-(MeS)2-3,3′-M(1,2-C2B9H10)2]− (M=Co, Fe) were prepared starting from the corresponding methylcarboranyl thioethers. The intramolecular CHcarb···S(Me)S hydrogen bonding between the dicarbollide ligands in cobalt bis(dicarbollide) complexes results in stabilization of definite rotational isomers – transoid in the case of the 8,8′-isomer and gauche in the case of the 4,4′- and 4,7′-isomers.

Atropisomers of 2,2',3,3',6,6'-hexachlorobiphenyl (PCB 136) exhibit stereoselective effects on activation of nuclear receptors in vitro.

PCB 136 is an environmentally relevant chiral PCB congener, which has been found in vivo to be present in form of rotational isomers (atropisomers). Its atropselective biotransformation or neurotoxic effects linked with sensitization of ryanodine receptor suggest that it might interact also with other intracellular receptors in a stereospecific manner. However, possible atropselective effects of PCB 136 on nuclear receptor transactivation remain unknown. Therefore, in this study, atropselective effects of PCB 136 on nuclear receptors controlling endocrine signaling and/or expression of xenobiotic and steroid hormone catabolism were investigated. PCB136 atropisomers were found to exert differential effects on estrogen receptor (ER) activation; (+)-PCB 136 was estrogenic, while (-)-PCB 136 was antiestrogenic. In contrast, inhibition of androgen receptor (AR) activity was not stereospecific. Both PCB136 stereoisomers induced the constitutive androgen receptor (CAR)-dependent gene expression; however, no significant stereospecificity of PCB 136 atropisomers was observed. PCB136 was a partial inducer of the pregnane X receptor (PXR)-dependent gene expression. Here, (-)-PCB 136 was a significantly more potent inducer of PXR activity than (+)-PCB 136. Taken together, the present results indicate that at least two nuclear receptors participating in endocrine regulation or metabolism, ER and PXR, could be regulated in an atropselective manner by chiral PCB 136. The enantioselective enrichment of PCB atropisomers in animal and human tissues may thus have significant consequences for endocrine-disrupting effects of chiral ortho-substituted PCB congeners.

Kinetics and mechanism of the condensation of pyridoxal hydrochloride with L-tryptophan and D-tryptophan, and the chemical transformation of their products

The kinetics and mechanism of interaction between pyridoxal and L-tryptophan, D-tryptophan, and their derivatives are studied. It is found that condensation reactions proceed via three kinetically distinguishable stages: (1) the rapid intraplanar addition of the NH2 groups of the amino acids to pyridoxal with the formation of amino alcohols; (2) the rotational isomerism of amino alcohol fragments with their subsequent dehydration and the formation of a Schiff base with a specific configuration; (3) the abstraction of α-hydrogen in the product of condensation of pyridoxal with L-tryptophan, or the abstraction of СО2 in the product of condensation of pyridoxal with D-tryptophan with the formation of quinoid structures, hydrolysis of which results in the preparation of pyridoxamine and keto acid or pyridoxal and tryptamine, respectively. Schiff bases resistant to further chemical transformations are formed in the reaction with tryptophan methyl ester.

Absolute configuration of 2,2',3,3',6-pentachlorinatedbiphenyl (PCB 84) atropisomers.

Nineteen polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners, such as 2,2',3,3',6-pentachlorobiphenyl (PCB 84), display axial chirality because they form stable rotational isomers, or atropisomers, that are non-superimposable mirror images of each other. Although chiral PCBs undergo atropselective biotransformation and atropselectively alter biological processes, the absolute structure of only a few PCB atropisomers has been determined experimentally. To help close this knowledge gap, pure PCB 84 atropisomers were obtained by semi-preparative liquid chromatography with two serially connected Nucleodex β-PM columns. The absolute configuration of both atropisomers was determined by X-ray single-crystal diffraction. The PCB 84 atropisomer eluting first and second on the Nucleodex β-PM column correspond to (aR)-(-)-PCB 84 and (aS)-(+)-PCB 84, respectively. Enantioselective gas chromatographic analysis with the β-cyclodextrin-based CP-Chirasil-Dex CB gas chromatography column showed the same elution order as the Nucleodex β-PM column. Based on earlier reports, the atropisomers eluting first and second on the BGB-172 gas chromatography column are (aR)-(-)-PCB 84 and (aS)-(+)-PCB 84, respectively. An inversion of the elution order is observed on the Cyclosil-B gas chromatography and Cellulose-3 liquid chromatography columns. These results advance the interpretation of environmental and human biomonitoring as well as toxicological studies.