Poly(p-benzamide)s 1 bearing a chiral side chain on the nitrogen atom were synthesized by chain-growth polycondensation methodology. The polyamides exhibited well-defined molecular weights with narrow polydispersities. Solutions of the polyamides in several organic solvents (CH(3)CN, CHCl(3), and CH(3)OH) showed dispersion type CD signals characteristic of coupled-oscillator and much larger as compared with the corresponding monomer. The CD signals were dependent on the temperature and molecular weight of the polyamides but independent of the solvent, as far as examined. An exciton model analysis of the absorption and CD spectra provided a clear-cut picture for the secondary structure of these polyamides in solution that the N-alkylated poly(p-benzamide)s possess a right-handed helical conformation ((P)-helix). In the solid states, the results of X-ray crystallographic analysis of 4-(methylamino)benzoic acid oligomers substantiated that they have a helical conformation with three monomer units per turn.

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[reaction: see text] Introduction of an electron-withdrawing group on the aromatic ring of N-methylacetanilide decreased the ratio of the cis conformer, and the ratio correlates well with the Hammett sigma values of the substituents. These steric properties can be applied to achieve amide conformational switching by protonation at the aromatic substituent of 4-[bis(dimethylamino)]-N-methylacetanilide or N-[p-(dimethylamino)phenyl]-N-phenylacetamide.

Control of the spatial organization of proteinogenic side chains is critical for the development of protein mimics with selective recognition properties toward target protein surfaces. We present a novel methodology for producing a linear array of proteinogenic residues based on the incorporation of α-amino acids into sequences of rigid, helically folded oligoamides of 8-amino-2-quinolinecarboxylic acid (Q). When L-leucine (L) was alternated with dimer Q2, the resulting sequence adopted a right-handed helical conformation, as deduced in solution from the CD spectra of L-(LQ2)n (n = 2, 4) and in the solid state from X-ray crystallographic analysis of (±)-(LQ2)4. Each LQ2 segment spanned just one helix turn (pitch of 3.5 Å), and consequently, the four leucine side chains of (LQ2)4 formed a linear array. In solution, NMR analysis showed that both L-(LQ2)2 and L-(LQ2)4 exist as a mixture of two slowly equilibrating folded conformers, the proportion of which strongly varies with the solvent.

The crystal structures of N,N‘-diphenylguanidine (1) and its N-methylated derivatives were investigated, and the conformational properties of these molecules were utilized to construct water-soluble oligomers with multilayered aromatic structures. N,N‘-Diphenylguanidine (1) afforded two types of crystals, chiral (P212121) and racemic (P21/c), upon recrystallization from EtOH. In both crystals, 1 exists in the (E,Z) conformation, in which one C−N bond (length:  1.28−1.30 Å) attached to a phenyl ring shows double-bond character. In contrast, N,N‘-dimethyl-N,N‘-diphenylguanidine (4a) exists in the (Z,Z) conformation with the two aromatic rings facing each other. As judged from the crystal structures of several N-methylated compounds, the conformational preferences of diphenylguanidines appear to be related to those of aromatic anilides. N,N,N‘,N‘‘-Tetramethyl-N‘,N‘‘-diphenylguanidinium iodide (6) afforded chiral crystals, like 1 and N-methyl-N,N‘-diphenylguanidine (2). The absolute structure of each enantiomeric propeller conformation of 6 was determined by X-ray analysis using the Bijvoet difference method. The Z-conformational preference of 4 allowed us to synthesize oligomeric di- or tetraguanidines (9−12) which have multilayered aromatic structures both as a crystal and in organic and aqueous solvents.

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