Elucidation of hydrogen-release mechanism from methylamine in the presence of borane, alane, diborane, dialane, and borane–alane

<div><p>The mechanisms of hydrogen release from methylamine with or without borane, alane, diborane, dialane, and borane–alane are theoretically explored. Geometries of stationary points are optimised at the MP2/aug-cc-pVDZ level and energy profiles are refined at the CCSD(T)/aug-cc-pVTZ level based on the second-order Møller–Plesset (MP2) optimised geometries. H₂ elimination is impossible from the unimolecular CH₃NH₂ because of a high energy barrier. The results show that all catalysts can facilitate H₂ loss from CH₃NH₂. However, borane or alane has no real catalytic effect because the H₂ release is not preferred as compared with the B–N or Al–N bond cleavage once a corresponding adduct is formed. The diborane, dialane, and borane–alane will lead to a substantial reduction of energy barrier as a bifunctional catalyst. The similar and distinct points among various catalysts are compared. Hydrogen bond and six-membered ring formation are two crucial factors to decrease the energy barriers.</p></div

Theoretical study on the reactions of CH₃NHNH₂ with ground state O(³P) atom and excited state O(¹D) atom

<p>The reaction mechanisms of methylhydrazine (CH₃NHNH₂) with O(³P) and O(¹D) atoms have been explored theoretically at the MPW1K/6-311+G(d,p), MP2/6-311+G(d,p), MCG3-MPWPW91 (single-point), and CCSD(T)/cc-pVTZ (single-point) levels. The triplet potential energy surface for the reaction of CH₃NHNH₂ with O(³P) includes seven stable isomers and eight transition states. When the O(³P) atom approaches CH₃NHNH₂, the heavy atoms, namely N and C atoms, are the favourable combining points. O(³P) atom attacking the middle-N atom in CH₃NHNH₂ results in the formation of an energy-rich isomer (CH₃NHONH₂) followed by migration of O(³P) atom from middle-N atom to middle-H atom leading to the product P6 (CH₃NNH₂+OH), which is one of the most favourable routes. The estimated major product CH₃NNH₂ is consistent with the experimental measurements. Reaction of O(¹D) + CH₃NHNH₂ presents different features as compared with O(³P) + CH₃NHNH₂. O(¹D) atom will first insert into C–H2, N1–H4, and N2–H5 bonds barrierlessly to form the three adducts, respectively. There are two most favourable paths for O(¹D) + CH₃NHNH₂. One is that the C–N bond cleavage accompanied by a concerted H shift from O atom to N atom (mid-N) leads to the product P_I (CH₂O + NH₂NH₂), and the other is that the N–N bond rupture along with a concerted H shift from O to N (end-N) forms P_IV (CH₃NH₂ + HNO). The similarities and discrepancies between two reactions are discussed.</p

Molecular Dynamics Simulations of the <i>Escherichia coli</i> HPPK Apo-enzyme Reveal a Network of Conformational Transitions

6-Hydroxymethyl-7,8-dihydropterin pyrophosphokinase (HPPK) catalyzes the first reaction in the folate biosynthetic pathway. Comparison of its X-ray and nuclear magnetic resonance structures suggests that the enzyme undergoes significant conformational change upon binding to its substrates, especially in three catalytic loops. Experimental research has shown that even when confined by crystal contacts, loops 2 and 3 remain rather flexible when the enzyme is in its apo form, raising questions about the putative large-scale induced-fit conformational change of HPPK. To investigate the loop dynamics in a crystal-free environment, we performed conventional molecular dynamics simulations of the apo-enzyme at two different temperatures (300 and 350 K). Our simulations show that the crystallographic <i>B</i>-factors considerably underestimate the loop dynamics; multiple conformations of loops 2 and 3, including the open, semi-open, and closed conformations that an enzyme must adopt throughout its catalytic cycle, are all accessible to the apo-enzyme. These results revise our previous view of the functional mechanism of conformational change upon MgATP binding and offer valuable structural insights into the workings of HPPK. In this paper, conformational network analysis and principal component analysis related to the loops are discussed to support the presented conclusions

Catalytic Activity of a Series of Synthesized and Newly Designed Pyridinium-Based Ionic Liquids on the Fixation of Carbon Dioxide: A DFT Investigation

Exploring a high-efficiency catalyst for the coupling reaction of carbon dioxide (CO₂) with epoxide (PO) is still a challenging project. Ionic liquid (IL) is one of the most ideal catalysts since it could catalyze the coupling reaction in a benign environment in the absence of metal and organic solvent. The catalytic activity of a series of pyridinium-based ILs is theoretically investigated. The influences of the nature of cation, methylene chain length, and anion on the catalytic performance are explored. It has been proven that the catalytic activity of pyridinium-based IL is better than that of imidazolium-based and quaternary ammonium-based ILs. Since the properties of IL could be regulated by variation of cation and anion, four new ILs are designed by introduction of the −COOH, −OH, −SO₃H, and −NH₂ functional groups into the traditional pyridinium-based IL, respectively. Subsequently, the catalytic performance of four newly designed functionalized pyridinium-based ILs is compared with that of the traditional pyridinium-based IL. Only the carboxyl-functionalized pyridinium-based IL has better catalytic activity than the traditional pyridinium-based IL. It is expected that the theoretical investigation might provide helpful clues for further experiments

Understanding the Interaction between Valsartan and Detergents by NMR Techniques and Molecular Dynamics Simulation

Valsartan (VST) is one of the Angiotensin II receptor antagonists, which is widely used in clinical hypertension treatment. It is believed that VST incorporates into biological membranes before it binds to AT₁ receptor. Herein the interactions between VST and detergents, mimicking the membrane environment, were investigated by using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) techniques and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. We observed that VST has two conformers (trans and cis) exchanging slowly in DPC (dodecyl-phosphocholine) micelles, a widely used detergent. The changes of chemical shifts, relaxation rates, and self-diffusion coefficients of VST protons indicate that both conformers have strong interactions with DPC. NOE cross peaks and MD simulation reveal that DPC interacts with VST not only through the hydrophobic lipid chain, but also the hydrophilic headgroup, locating VST at the charged headgroup and upper part of the micelles. Our results are in good agreement with the Raman spectroscopic studies of VST in the DPPC (dipalmitoyl-phosphatidylcholine) bilayers by Potamitis et al. (<i>Biochim. Biophys. Acta.</i> <b>2011</b>). The concentration ratio of trans over cis conformers is 0.94, showing that two conformers have the same affinities with the detergent, which is significantly smaller than our previous results obtained in SDS (sodium dodecyl sulfate) micelles. MD simulation suggested that the cis conformer has slightly lower binding free energy than the trans conformer when interacting with DPC. The conformational change of VST was further investigated in two detergents, CTAB (hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide) and Tween-20 (polysorbate 20). Ratios of conformer A and B in the presence of detergents are in the order of DPC, CTAB < Tween-20 < SDS, which is correlated with the charge characters of their head groups. NMR investigations and MD simulations indicate that the electrostatic interaction plays an essential role in the binding process of VST with detergents, and the hydrophobic interaction influences the packing of the drug in the micelles. These results may be of help in understanding delivery processes of sartan drugs in cell membranes