The conformational and structural properties of the inhalational anesthetic isoflurane (1-chloro-2,2,2-trifluoroethyl difluoromethyl ether) have been probed in a supersonic jet expansion using Fourier-transform microwave (FT-MW) spectroscopy. Two conformers of the isolated molecule were identified from the rotational spectrum of the parent and several 37 Cl and 13 C isotopologues detected in natural abundance. The two most stable structures of isoflurane are characterized by an anti carbon skeleton (t(C 1 -C 2 -O-C 3 ) = 137.8(11)1 or 167.4(19)1), differing in the trans (AT) or gauche (AG) orientation of the difluoromethyl group. The conformational abundances in the jet were estimated from relative intensity measurements as (AT)/(AG) E 3 : 1. The structural preferences of the molecule have been rationalized with supporting ab initio calculations and natural-bond-orbital (NBO) analysis, which suggest that the molecule is stabilized by hyperconjugative effects. The NBO analysis of donor-acceptor (LP -s*) interactions showed that these stereoelectronic effects decrease from the AT to AG conformations, so the conformational preferences can be accounted for in terms of the generalized anomeric effect.

Most of the volatile haloorganic compounds used as anesthetics exhibit a heavy-atom frame large enough to allow for conformational changes. Even in the absence of directed intermolecular interactions, only some or just one of the possible conformations might have an appreciable abundance. In this realm, the structure of the anesthetic haloether sevoflurane (CH(2)F-O-CH(CF(3))(2)) has been resolved using Fourier-transform microwave (FT-MW) spectroscopy in a supersonic-jet expansion. In isolated conditions sevoflurane adopts a single conformation characterized by a gauche fluoromethoxy group and a near-symmetric orientation of the isopropyl group with respect to the ether plane (cis H-C(ipr)-O-C(F)). Substitution and effective structures have been calculated from the rotational spectra of all (13)C and (18)O monosubstituted isotopic species observed in natural abundance. The electric dipole moment components were determined from additional Stark effect measurements. The experimental structures and rotational data are compared with those obtained from supporting ab initio predictions using MP2 calculations and the B3LYP hybrid functional.

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The rotational spectra of five isotopologues of the molecular adduct 1,1,1-trifluoroacetone-water have been assigned using pulsed-jet Fourier-transform microwave spectroscopy. All rotational transitions appear as doublets, due to the internal rotation of the methyl group. Analysis of the tunneling splittings allows one to determine accurately the height of the 3-fold barrier to internal rotation of the methyl group and its orientation, leading to V(3) = 3.29 kJ·mol(-1) and ∠(a,i) = 67.5°, respectively. The water molecule is linked to the keton molecule on the side of the methyl group through a O-H···O hydrogen bond and a C-H···O intermolecular contact, lying in the effective plane of symmetry of the complex.

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