Correlation of solvent effects on rates of solvolysis and SN2 reactions

A thermodynamic approach to analyzing relative permittivity and solvent mole fraction models, and application to SN1 reactions

The standard methods for analyzing solvent effects on chemical reactions largely include linear free energy relations that relate kinetic and spectroscopic terms to solvent interactive parameters. The number of these parameters has grown over the years in order to make linear free energy techniques more accurate and cover a wider range of reaction systems. However, even with the myriad of parameters, the details of specific reaction systems make the application of these techniques sometimes unreliable. On the other hand, a thermodynamic approach provides a more precise analysis, and has proven particularly useful for reactions in multi-component solvent systems. In this article we present the mathematical formalism for relating the activation free energy to the bulk thermodynamic properties for a binary (cosolvent) system. We then use this thermodynamic approach, coupled with selected solvent models, to analyze the hydrolysis rates of tert-butyl chloride in the acetonitrile/water solvent system under iso-mole fraction, isodielectric, and isothermal conditions. These analyses allow us to differentiate and quantify bulk electrostatic effects and the effects of close-range solute-solvent interactions.

Solvent and solvation effects on reactivities and mechanisms of phospho group transfers from phosphate and phosphinate esters to nucleophiles

Organophosphorus esters fulfil many industrial, agricultural, and household roles. Nature has deployed phosphates and their related anhydrides as energy carriers and reservoirs, as constituents of genetic materials in the form of DNA and RNA, and as intermediates in key biochemical conversions. The transfer of the phosphoryl (PO₃) group is thus a ubiquitous biological process that is involved in a variety of transformations at the cellular level such as bioenergy and signals transductions. Significant attention has been paid in the last seven decades to understanding the mechanisms of uncatalyzed (solution) chemistry of the phospho group transfer because of the notion that enzymes convert the dissociative transition state structures in the uncatalyzed reactions into associative ones in the biological processes. In this regard, it has also been proposed that the rate enhancements enacted by enzymes result from the desolvation of the ground state in the hydrophobic active site environments, although theoretical calculations seem to disagree with this position. As a result, some attention has been paid to the study of the effects of solvent change, from water to less polar solvents, in uncatalyzed phospho transfer reactions. Such changes have consequences on the stabilities of the ground and the transition states of reactions which affect reactivities and, sometimes, the mechanisms of reactions. This review seeks to collate and evaluate what is known about solvent effects in this domain, especially their effects on rates of reactions of different classes of organophosphorus esters. The outcome of this exercise shows that a systematized study of solvent effects needs to be undertaken to fully understand the physical organic chemistry of the transfer of phosphates and related molecules from aqueous to substantially hydrophobic environments, since significant knowledge gaps exist.

Charge polarity-dependent ion-insertion asymmetry during electrochemical doping of an ambipolar π-conjugated polymer

Electrochemical doping is central to a host of important applications such as bio-sensing, neuromorphic computing and charge storage. However, the mechanisms that enable electrochemical dopability and the various parameters that control doping efficiencies are poorly understood. Here, employing complementary electrochemical and spectroelectrochemical measurements, we report a charge-polarity dependent ion insertion asymmetry in a diketopyrrolopyrrole-based ambipolar π-conjugated polymer. We argue that electrostatic interactions are insufficient to fully account for the observed charge-specific ion insertion into the polymer matrix. Using polymer side-chain dependent electrochemical doping studies, we show that electron density donating and accepting tendencies of polymer side-chains sufficiently describe the observed charge-polarity dependent electrochemical doping. Our observations are akin to the solvation of dopant ions by polymer side-chains. We propose that Gutmann donor/acceptor number framework qualifies the 'solvent-like' properties of polymer side-chains and provides a rational basis for designing π-conjugated polymers with favorable mixed ionic electronic transport properties.

High-yielding, automated radiosynthesis of [11 C]martinostat using [11 C]methyl triflate

Histone deacetylases (HDACs) mediate epigenetic mechanisms implicated in a broad range of central nervous system dysfunction, including neurodegenerative diseases and neuropsychiatric disorders. [¹¹ C]Martinostat allows in vivo quantification of class I/IIb HDACs and may be useful for the quantification of drug-occupancy relationship, facilitating drug development for disease modifying therapies. The present study reports a radiosynthesis of [¹¹ C]martinostat using [¹¹ C]methyl triflate in ethanol, as opposed to the originally described synthesis using [¹¹ C]methyl iodide and DMSO. [¹¹ C]Methyl triflate is trapped in a solution of 2 mg of precursor 1 dissolved in anhydrous ethanol (400 μl), reacted at ambient temperature for 5 minutes, and purified by high-performance liquid chromatography. 1.5-1.8 GBq (41-48 mCi; n=3) of formulated [¹¹ C]martinostat was obtained from solid phase extraction using a hydrophilic-lipophilic cartridge in a radiochemical yield of 11.4 ± 1.1% (non-decay corrected to trapped [¹¹ C]MeI), with a molar activity of 369 ± 53 GBq/μmol (9.97 ± 1.3 Ci/μmol) at the end of synthesis (40 min) and validated for human use. This methodology was used at our production site to produce [¹¹ C]martinostat in sufficient quantities of activity to scan humans, including losses incurred from decay during pre-release quality control testing.

Properties of the tert-butyl halide solvolysis transition states

We have obtained properties (or descriptors) of the transition states in the solvolysis of tert-butyl chloride, bromide and iodide. We show that all three transition states, in both protic and in aprotic solvents, are highly dipolar and are strong hydrogen bond acids and strong hydrogen bond bases, except for the tert-butyl iodide transition state in aprotic solvents, which has a rather low hydrogen bond acidity. Thus, the transition states are stabilized by solvents that are hydrogen bond bases (nucleophiles) and are hydrogen bond acids (electrophiles). We show also that the partition of the transition states between water and solvents is aided by both nucleophilic and electrophilic solvents and conclude that the rate of solvolysis of the three halides is increased by both nucleophilic and electrophilic solvents.

A General Acid-Mediated Hydroaminomethylation of Unactivated Alkenes and Alkynes

In comparison to the extensively studied metal-catalyzed hydroamination reaction, hydroaminomethylation has received significantly less attention despite its considerable potential to streamline amine synthesis. State-of-the-art protocols for hydroaminomethylation of alkenes rely largely on transition-metal catalysis, enabling this transformation only under highly designed and controlled conditions. Here we report a broadly applicable, acid-mediated approach to the hydroaminomethylation of unactivated alkenes and alkynes. This methodology employs cheap, readily available, and bench-stable reactants and affords the desired amines with excellent functional group tolerance and impeccable regioselectivity. The broad scope of this transformation, as well as mechanistic investigations and in situ domino functionalization reactions are reported.

Origin of Asymmetric Solvation Effects for Ions in Water and Organic Solvents Investigated Using Molecular Dynamics Simulations: The Swain Acity-Basity Scale Revisited

The asymmetric solvation of ions can be defined as the tendency of a solvent to preferentially solvate anions over cations or cations over anions, at identical ionic charge magnitudes and effective sizes. Taking water as a reference, these effects are quantified experimentally for many solvents by the relative acity (A) and basity (B) parameters of the Swain scale. The goal of the present study is to investigate the asymmetric solvation of ions using molecular dynamics simulations, and to connect the results to this empirical scale. To this purpose, the charging free energies of alkali and halide ions, and of their hypothetical oppositely charged counterparts, are calculated in a variety of solvents. In a first set of calculations, artificial solvent models are considered that present either a charge or a shape asymmetry at the molecular level. The solvation asymmetry, probed by the difference in charging free energy between the two oppositely charged ions, is found to encompass a term quadratic in the ion charge, related to the different solvation structures around the anion and cation, and a term linear in the ion charge, related to the solvation structure around the uncharged ion-sized cavity. For these simple solvent models, the two terms are systematically counteracting each other, and it is argued that only the quadratic term should be retained when comparing the results of simulations involving physical solvents to experimental data. In a second set of calculations, 16 physical solvents are considered. The theoretical estimates for the acity A are found to correlate very well with the Swain parameters, whereas the correlation for B is very poor. Based on this observation, the Swain scale is reformulated into a new scale involving an asymmetry parameter Σ, positive for acitic solvents and negative for basitic ones, and a polarity parameter Π. This revised scale has the same predictive power as the original scale, but it characterizes asymmetry in an absolute sense, the atomistic simulations playing the role of an extra-thermodynamic assumption, and is optimally compatible with the simulation results. Considering the 55 solvents in the Swain set, it is observed that a moderate basity (Σ between -0.9 and -0.3, related to electronic polarization) represents the baseline for most solvents, while a highly variable acity (Σ between 0.0 and 3.0, related to hydrogen-bond donor capacity modulated by inductive effects) represents a landmark of protic solvents.

Ionization basis for activation of enzymes soluble in ionic liquids

BACKGROUND

The complex interactions between electrolytes and proteins have been studied for more than a century. However, understanding is not yet complete and does not provide a basis for predicting the activity of enzymes in ionic media. The use of ionic liquids (ILs) as reaction medium has opened up new opportunities for better understanding of the mechanism of enzymatic catalysis. Although a number of properties of ILs have been correlated with enzyme function, these relationships are not completely understood at a molecular level.

METHODS

We propose that ILs must be able to promote ionization of protein ionizable groups in order to dissolve active enzymes. The biocompatible IL need to possess a functional group with large donor number and acceptor number in both cationic and anionic units, each of which is based on a high dielectric constant lead structure. We designed and synthesized two series of ILs and determined their ionizing-dissociating abilities and activities of lipases soluble in these new ILs.

RESULTS

The results showed that the ionizing-dissociating abilities of ILs paralleled the catalytic activity trend of lipases dissolved in the ILs. The activities of lipases soluble in the newly designed ILs were comparable to those in water.

CONCLUSIONS

We can conclude that ionizing-dissociating abilities of an IL can be used as a basis for predicting the activity of enzymes soluble in the IL. General significance Ionization basis for activation of enzymes gives a deeper understanding of the behavior of enzymes in non-aqueous media at a molecular level.

Thermodynamic and kinetic investigation of monoketo-aldehyde-peroxyhemiacetal (MKA), a stereolabile degradation product of dihydroartemisinin

Theβ⇆αepimerization process ofMKAhas been studied under a thermodynamic and kinetic point of view in several solvents. LSER analyses and molecular modeling calculations allowed an effective rationalization of the findings.

Reaction of lithium diethylamide with an alkyl bromide and alkyl benzenesulfonate: origins of alkylation, elimination, and sulfonation

A combination of NMR, kinetic, and computational methods are used to examine reactions of lithium diethylamide in tetrahydrofuran (THF) with n-dodecyl bromide and n-octyl benzenesulfonate. The alkyl bromide undergoes competitive S(N)2 substitution and E2 elimination in proportions independent of all concentrations except for a minor medium effect. Rate studies show that both reactions occur via trisolvated-monomer-based transition structures. The alkyl benzenesulfonate undergoes competitive S(N)2 substitution (minor) and N-sulfonation (major) with N-sulfonation promoted at low THF concentrations. The S(N)2 substitution is shown to proceed via a disolvated monomer suggested computationally to involve a cyclic transition structure. The dominant N-sulfonation follows a disolvated-dimer-based transition structure suggested computationally to be a bicyclo[3.1.1] form. The differing THF and lithium diethylamide orders for the two reactions explain the observed concentration-dependent chemoselectivities.

Investigation on infrared spectra of androsterone in single solvents

The infrared absorption spectra of the androsterone in 19 pure organic solvents have been investigated. The carbonyl stretching vibration frequencies of androsterone observed in the solvents were correlated with the empirical parameters G, Swain parameters (A(j) and B(j)) and the linear solvation energy relationships (LSER). The applicabilities of different parameters were discussed and the solute-solvent interactions in single solvents were studied in detail. The correlation results indicated that the LSER is optimal for a complete description of solute-solvent interactions while G-values and Swain parameters are unilateral.

The rates of S(N)2 reactions and their relation to molecular and solvent properties

The energy barriers of symmetrical methyl exchanges in the gas phase have been calculated with the reaction path of the intersecting/interacting-state model (ISM). Reactive bond lengths increase down a column of the Periodic Table and compensate for the decrease in the force constants, which explains the near constancy of the intrinsic barriers in the following series of nucleophiles: F(-) approximately Cl(-) approximately Br(-) approximately I(-). This compensation is absent along the rows of the Periodic Table and the trend in the reactivity is dominated by the increase in the electrophilicity index of the nucleophile in the series C<N<O<F. Solvent effects have been quantitatively incorporated into the ISM model through a correlation between electrophilicity and the solvent acceptor number. This correlation is transferable between nucleophiles and solvents and allows the methyl transfer rate constants in solution to be calculated with remarkable simplicity and accuracy. The relationship between the S(N)2 and electron-transfer mechanisms is clarified and it is shown that smaller solvent static effects should be expected for electron transfer in the absence of a thermodynamic driving force.

Preparation of a fludarabine intermediate via selective alkylation of 2-fluoroadenine

The reaction between 2-fluoroadenine (3) and 1,3,5-tri-O-benzyl-1-alpha-D-chloroarabinofuranose (4) with potassium t-amylate was evaluated in various solvents to afford 9-beta-D-(2,3,5-tri-O-benzyl-arabinofuranosyl)-2-fluoroadenine (5) and the corresponding alpha-anomer (6). In addition, 7-beta-D-(2,3,5-tri-O-benzyl-arabinofuranosyl)-2-fluoroadenine (7) and an unusual "bis-fluoroadenine" nucleoside (8) were isolated as byproducts. The highest anomeric ratio (beta/alpha > 10) and conversion (> 80%) were observed with the highly polar solvent sulfolane. This reaction was demonstrated on gram scale as a practical laboratory synthesis of 5, a known intermediate in the synthesis of fludarabine.

Synthesis and structure of the first 1,2sigma5-selenaphosphirane

A 1,2sigma5-selenaphosphirane bearing the Martin ligand was synthesized. Its structure in both the solid and the solution state was established by X-ray crystallographic analysis and NMR measurements, respectively. The selenaphosphirane has a polar P-Se bond, and the selenium atom is negatively charged. In the solution state, the degree of polarization of the P-Se bond depends on the acceptor number of the solvents.