Calculating Free Energy Changes in Continuum Solvation Models

We recently showed for a large data set of p<i>K</i>_as and reduction potentials that free energies calculated directly within the SMD continuum model compares very well with corresponding thermodynamic cycle calculations in both aqueous and organic solvents [Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 2015, 17, 2859]. In this paper, we significantly expand the scope of our study to examine the suitability of this approach for calculating <i>general</i> solution phase kinetics and thermodynamics, in conjunction with several commonly used solvation models (SMD-M062X, SMD-HF, CPCM-UAKS, and CPCM-UAHF) for a broad range of systems. This includes cluster-continuum schemes for p<i>K</i>_a calculations as well as various neutral, radical, and ionic reactions such as enolization, cycloaddition, hydrogen and chlorine atom transfer, and SN2 and E2 reactions. On the basis of this benchmarking study, we conclude that the accuracies of both approaches are generally very similarthe mean errors for Gibbs free energy changes of neutral and ionic reactions are approximately 5 and 25 kJ mol^–1, respectively. In systems where there are significant structural changes due to solvation, as is the case for certain ionic transition states and amino acids, the direct approach generally afford free energy changes that are in better agreement with experiment

Quantum Chemical Prediction of the Acidities of Sulfonamide Inhibitors of Carbonic Anhydrase

This study examined two pKa calculation approaches (direct and proton exchange schemes) that employ high-level quantum chemical methods and implicit solvent models to predict aqueous Brønsted acidities of a large set of sulfonamides. For gas-phase deprotonation energies, the DSD-PBEP86-D3(BJ) double-hybrid functional provided the best agreement with the LNO-CCSD(T)/CBS benchmark with a mean absolute deviation less than 2 kJ mol–1 when the aug-cc-pVTZ or larger basis sets are used. For a large test set of 54 primary and secondary sulfonamides, the use of the DSD-PBEP86-D3(BJ)/aug-cc-pVTZ level of theory in conjunction with SM12 solvation free energies predict their pKa values with a mean accuracy of 0.9 units. In comparison, the SMD and ADF-COSMO-RS models have slightly higher mean errors of 1.4 and 1.1 pKa units provided that the proton exchange scheme was employed to cancel the systematic errors in these models. The performance of these protocols was less ideal when applied to sulfonic acids, sulfamates, and N-substituted sulfonamides, indicating that the degree of error cancellation is sensitive to the chemical environment around the −NH2 head group. The validated protocols were then used to estimate the pKa values of arylsulfonamide carbonic anhydrase inhibitors, which are used to correct their experimentally measured binding free energies to account for deprotonation of the sulfonamide group upon binding to the enzyme. These corrected values did not have a significant impact on the correlation with MMGBSA binding free energies obtained from classical MD simulations where the ligand is usually considered in the deprotonated form

Quantum Chemical Prediction of the Acidities of Sulfonamide Inhibitors of Carbonic Anhydrase

This study examined two pKa calculation approaches (direct and proton exchange schemes) that employ high-level quantum chemical methods and implicit solvent models to predict aqueous Brønsted acidities of a large set of sulfonamides. For gas-phase deprotonation energies, the DSD-PBEP86-D3(BJ) double-hybrid functional provided the best agreement with the LNO-CCSD(T)/CBS benchmark with a mean absolute deviation less than 2 kJ mol–1 when the aug-cc-pVTZ or larger basis sets are used. For a large test set of 54 primary and secondary sulfonamides, the use of the DSD-PBEP86-D3(BJ)/aug-cc-pVTZ level of theory in conjunction with SM12 solvation free energies predict their pKa values with a mean accuracy of 0.9 units. In comparison, the SMD and ADF-COSMO-RS models have slightly higher mean errors of 1.4 and 1.1 pKa units provided that the proton exchange scheme was employed to cancel the systematic errors in these models. The performance of these protocols was less ideal when applied to sulfonic acids, sulfamates, and N-substituted sulfonamides, indicating that the degree of error cancellation is sensitive to the chemical environment around the −NH2 head group. The validated protocols were then used to estimate the pKa values of arylsulfonamide carbonic anhydrase inhibitors, which are used to correct their experimentally measured binding free energies to account for deprotonation of the sulfonamide group upon binding to the enzyme. These corrected values did not have a significant impact on the correlation with MMGBSA binding free energies obtained from classical MD simulations where the ligand is usually considered in the deprotonated form

Quantum Chemical Prediction of the Acidities of Sulfonamide Inhibitors of Carbonic Anhydrase

This study examined two pKa calculation approaches (direct and proton exchange schemes) that employ high-level quantum chemical methods and implicit solvent models to predict aqueous Brønsted acidities of a large set of sulfonamides. For gas-phase deprotonation energies, the DSD-PBEP86-D3(BJ) double-hybrid functional provided the best agreement with the LNO-CCSD(T)/CBS benchmark with a mean absolute deviation less than 2 kJ mol–1 when the aug-cc-pVTZ or larger basis sets are used. For a large test set of 54 primary and secondary sulfonamides, the use of the DSD-PBEP86-D3(BJ)/aug-cc-pVTZ level of theory in conjunction with SM12 solvation free energies predict their pKa values with a mean accuracy of 0.9 units. In comparison, the SMD and ADF-COSMO-RS models have slightly higher mean errors of 1.4 and 1.1 pKa units provided that the proton exchange scheme was employed to cancel the systematic errors in these models. The performance of these protocols was less ideal when applied to sulfonic acids, sulfamates, and N-substituted sulfonamides, indicating that the degree of error cancellation is sensitive to the chemical environment around the −NH2 head group. The validated protocols were then used to estimate the pKa values of arylsulfonamide carbonic anhydrase inhibitors, which are used to correct their experimentally measured binding free energies to account for deprotonation of the sulfonamide group upon binding to the enzyme. These corrected values did not have a significant impact on the correlation with MMGBSA binding free energies obtained from classical MD simulations where the ligand is usually considered in the deprotonated form

Molecular Geometries and Vibrational Contributions to Reaction Thermochemistry Are Surprisingly Insensitive to the Choice of Basis Sets

Calculation of molecular geometries and harmonic vibrational frequencies are pre-requisites for thermochemistry calculations. Contrary to conventional wisdom, this paper demonstrates that quantum chemical predictions of the thermochemistry of many gas and solution phase chemical reactions appear to be very insensitive to the choice of basis sets. For a large test set of 80 diverse organic and transition-metal-containing reactions, variations in reaction free energy based on geometries and frequencies calculated using a variety of double and triple-zeta basis sets from the Pople, Jensen, Ahlrichs, and Dunning families are typically less than 4 kJ mol–1, especially when the quasiharmonic oscillator correction is applied to mitigate the effects of low-frequency modes. Our analysis indicates that for many organic molecules and their transition states, high-level revDSD-PBEP86-D4 and DLPNO-CCSD(T)/(aug-)cc-pVTZ single-point energies usually vary by less than 2 kJ mol–1 on density functional theory geometries optimized using basis sets ranging from 6-31+G(d) to aug-pcseg-2 and aug-cc-pVTZ. In cases where these single-point energies vary significantly, indicating sensitivity of molecular geometries to the choice of basis set, there is often substantial cancellation of errors when the reaction energy or barrier is calculated. The study concludes that the choice of basis set for molecular geometry and frequencies, particularly those considered in this study, is not critical for the accuracy of thermochemistry calculations in the gas or solution phase

N‑Heterocyclic Olefin Catalyzed Silylation and Hydrosilylation Reactions of Hydroxyl and Carbonyl Compounds

N-Heterocyclic olefins (NHOs), the alkylidene derivatives of N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs), have recently emerged as a new family of promising organocatalysts with strong nucleophilicity and Brønsted basicity. The development of a novel method is shown using NHOs as efficient promoters for the direct dehydrogenative silylation of alcohols or hydrosilylation of carbonyl compounds. Preliminary results of the first NHO-promoted asymmetric synthesis are also discussed

Molecular Geometries and Vibrational Contributions to Reaction Thermochemistry Are Surprisingly Insensitive to the Choice of Basis Sets

Calculation of molecular geometries and harmonic vibrational frequencies are pre-requisites for thermochemistry calculations. Contrary to conventional wisdom, this paper demonstrates that quantum chemical predictions of the thermochemistry of many gas and solution phase chemical reactions appear to be very insensitive to the choice of basis sets. For a large test set of 80 diverse organic and transition-metal-containing reactions, variations in reaction free energy based on geometries and frequencies calculated using a variety of double and triple-zeta basis sets from the Pople, Jensen, Ahlrichs, and Dunning families are typically less than 4 kJ mol–1, especially when the quasiharmonic oscillator correction is applied to mitigate the effects of low-frequency modes. Our analysis indicates that for many organic molecules and their transition states, high-level revDSD-PBEP86-D4 and DLPNO-CCSD(T)/(aug-)cc-pVTZ single-point energies usually vary by less than 2 kJ mol–1 on density functional theory geometries optimized using basis sets ranging from 6-31+G(d) to aug-pcseg-2 and aug-cc-pVTZ. In cases where these single-point energies vary significantly, indicating sensitivity of molecular geometries to the choice of basis set, there is often substantial cancellation of errors when the reaction energy or barrier is calculated. The study concludes that the choice of basis set for molecular geometry and frequencies, particularly those considered in this study, is not critical for the accuracy of thermochemistry calculations in the gas or solution phase

Molecular Geometries and Vibrational Contributions to Reaction Thermochemistry Are Surprisingly Insensitive to the Choice of Basis Sets

Calculation of molecular geometries and harmonic vibrational frequencies are pre-requisites for thermochemistry calculations. Contrary to conventional wisdom, this paper demonstrates that quantum chemical predictions of the thermochemistry of many gas and solution phase chemical reactions appear to be very insensitive to the choice of basis sets. For a large test set of 80 diverse organic and transition-metal-containing reactions, variations in reaction free energy based on geometries and frequencies calculated using a variety of double and triple-zeta basis sets from the Pople, Jensen, Ahlrichs, and Dunning families are typically less than 4 kJ mol–1, especially when the quasiharmonic oscillator correction is applied to mitigate the effects of low-frequency modes. Our analysis indicates that for many organic molecules and their transition states, high-level revDSD-PBEP86-D4 and DLPNO-CCSD(T)/(aug-)cc-pVTZ single-point energies usually vary by less than 2 kJ mol–1 on density functional theory geometries optimized using basis sets ranging from 6-31+G(d) to aug-pcseg-2 and aug-cc-pVTZ. In cases where these single-point energies vary significantly, indicating sensitivity of molecular geometries to the choice of basis set, there is often substantial cancellation of errors when the reaction energy or barrier is calculated. The study concludes that the choice of basis set for molecular geometry and frequencies, particularly those considered in this study, is not critical for the accuracy of thermochemistry calculations in the gas or solution phase

Corey–Chaykovsky Reactions of Nitro Styrenes Enable <i>cis</i>-Configured Trifluoromethyl Cyclopropanes

Trifluoromethyl-substituted cyclopropanes are an attractive family of building blocks for the construction of pharmaceutical and agrochemical agents. This work demonstrated the utilization of fluorinated sulfur ylides as versatile reagents for Corey–Chaykovsky cyclopropanation reactions of nitro styrenes. This protocol favored the synthesis of <i>cis</i>-configured trifluoromethyl cyclopropanes for a broad range of substrates with excellent yields and good diastereoselectivities

Iron-Catalyzed C—H Insertions: Organometallic and Enzymatic Carbene Transfer Reactions

<p>C—H insertion reactions with organometallic and enzymatic catalysts based on earth-abundant iron complexes remain one of the major challenges in organic synthesis. In this report, we describe the development and application of these iron-based catalysts in the reaction of two different carbene precursors with <i>N-</i>heterocycles for the first time. While FeTPPCl showed excellent reactivity in the Fe(III) state with diazoacetonitrile, the highest activities of the YfeX enzyme could be achieved upon heme-iron reduction to Fe(II) with both diazoacetonitrile and ethyl diazoacetate. This highlights unexpected and subtle differences in reactivity of both iron catalysts. Deuterium labeling studies indicated a C—H insertion pathway and a marked kinetic isotope effect. This transformation features mild reaction conditions, excellent yields or turnover numbers with broad functional group tolerance, including gram-scale applications giving a unique access to functionalized <i>N</i>-heterocycles.</p