Preprint Article Version 1 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

Detection and Verification of a Key Intermediate in an Enantioselective Peptide Catalyzed Acylation Reaction

Version 1 : Received: 18 August 2022 / Approved: 22 August 2022 / Online: 22 August 2022 (04:10:03 CEST)

A peer-reviewed article of this Preprint also exists.

Brauser, M.; Heymann, T.; Thiele, C.M. Detection and Verification of a Key Intermediate in an Enantioselective Peptide Catalyzed Acylation Reaction. Molecules 2022, 27, 6351. Brauser, M.; Heymann, T.; Thiele, C.M. Detection and Verification of a Key Intermediate in an Enantioselective Peptide Catalyzed Acylation Reaction. Molecules 2022, 27, 6351.

Abstract

For more than twenty years chemists use peptidic organocatalysts to transfer acyl groups onto alcohols. The goal was and still is the increase of selectivity towards the substrate of choice. One carefully designed example is a highly enantioselective tetrapeptide organocatalyst for the kinetic resolution of trans-cycloalkane-1,2-diols. Until now, the intermediate responsible for the acyl transfer of this tetrapeptide has never been directly observed. It was proposed computationally that a π-methylhistidine moiety is acylated as an intermediate step in the catalytic cycle. In this study we set out to investigate whether we can detect and characterize this key intermediate using NMR-spectroscopy and mass spectrometry. Different mass spectrometric experiments using a nano-ElectroSpray Ionization (ESI) source and tandem MS-techniques allowed the identification of tetrapeptide acylium ions using different acylation reagents. The complexes of trans-cyclohexane-1,2-diols with the tetrapeptide were also detected. Additionally, we were able to detect acylated tetrapeptides in solution using NMR-spectroscopy and monitor the acetylation reaction of a trans-cyclohexane-1,2-diol. These findings are important steps towards the understanding of this organocatalyst and its high enantioselectivity.

Keywords

acylation; imidazolium ion; mass spectrometry; NMR spectroscopy; organocatalysis

Subject

Chemistry and Materials Science, Analytical Chemistry

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