The keto-enol tautomerism of 2-acetylcyclohexanone (ACHE) was studied in water under different experimental conditions. By contrast with other previously studied beta-diketones, the keto-enol interconversion in the ACHE system is a slow process. Under equilibrium conditions, the analysis of the absorbance readings of ACHE aqueous solutions yielded more than 40% of enol content at 25 degrees C; nevertheless, in aprotic solvents such as dioxane, ACHE is almost completely enolized. In alkaline medium, the enolate ion is the only existing species; the study of the effect of pH on the UV-absorption spectrum of ACHE yielded a value of 9.85 for the overall pK(a) of ACHE. Under nonequilibrium conditions, the keto-enol tautomerization was studied in water. Several factors affecting the reaction have been investigated, which include H(+)-catalysis, ionic strength effect, buffer catalysis, deuterium isotope effects, temperature effect, or solvent effects.

The widely studied cyclodextrin-mediated reactions of esters but not those of alkyl nitrites, together with the marked differences between the chemistry of esters and alkyl nitrites, prompted us to investigate the influence of β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) on the reactions of alkyl nitrites. Due to the particular characteristics of alkyl nitrite reactions, the system β-cyclodextrin−alkyl nitrites allows us to explore cyclodextrin's behavior under several experimental conditions, contrary to the case of esters. Therefore, general acid−base-catalyzed hydrolysis and nitrosation of amines by alkyl nitrites are studied. Alkyl nitrites of a particular structure have been chosen to clearly evidence the mimicry of enzyme catalysis by β-CD. Addition of β-CD strongly inhibits the acid hydrolysis of alkyl nitrites (a very fast reaction in water), except in the case of ethoxyethyl nitrite, where no effect is detected. The retardation of the reaction is attributed to a separation of the reagents:  β-CD and alkyl nitrites form host−guest 1:1 inclusion complexes, but simple cations, such as H3O+ in the present case, did not prove to include into the β-CD cavity. In fact, at constant β-CD concentrations, addition of dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide monomers (DTABr), which strongly compete with alkyl nitrites for the hydrophobic β-CD cavity and, thus, expel the alkyl nitrites, catalyzes the reaction. On the contrary, in alkaline medium, when a secondary hydroxy group of β-CD is ionized, addition of β-CD to the reaction medium strongly catalyzes the basic hydrolysis of alkyl nitrites (an extremely slow reaction in water). The degree of catalysis depends on the alkyl nitrite structure, varying from a factor higher than 100 in the case of 3-phenyl-1-propyl nitrite, to 0 (no reaction is observed) in the case of 2-phenyl-2-propyl nitrite. The effective molarities calculated for the catalysis evidence a base-catalyzed mechanism for the reaction. The strong catalysis observed with 1-phenyl-1-propyl nitrite upon the addition of DTABr is indicative of an example of allosteric activation. Finally, the nitrosation of pyrrolidine, piperidine, and cyclohexylamine by ethoxyethyl nitrite is slightly catalyzed by the presence of β-cyclodextrin. The degree of the observed catalysis depends on both the amine concentration and the structure.

The formation of inclusion complexes between beta-cyclodextrin (beta-CD) and the local anesthetic 2-(diethylamino)ethyl-p-amino-benzoate (novocaine) in aqueous solutions under different acidity conditions, using steady-state fluorescence or UV-vis spectroscopies, electrical conductivity, or the kinetic study of both the nitrosation reaction of the primary amine group in a mild acid medium and the hydrolysis of the ester function under an alkaline medium, has been studied. The inclusion complex formation between neutral or protonated novocaine and beta-CD of 1:1 stoichiometry was observed; however, the magnitude of the binding constants depends on the nature of both the guest and the host, and the higher-affinity guest-host was found under conditions when both the novocaine and the beta-CD were neutral molecules.

Both the ester hydrolysis and the nitrosation reactions of the enol tautomer of ethyl cyclohexanone-2-carboxylate (ECHC) are investigated in the absence and presence of beta-cyclodextrin (beta-CD). The ester hydrolysis reaction is studied in dilute H2O and D2O solutions of hydrochloric acid and in aqueous buffered solutions of carboxylic acids (acetic acid and its chloro derivatives). The pseudo-first-order rate constant increases with both the [H+] and the total buffer concentration, indicating that the hydrolysis is subject to acid and general base catalysis. Substantial solvent isotope effects in the normal direction (kH/kD > 1) for the acid-catalyzed hydrolysis was observed. Addition of beta-CD strongly slows the hydrolysis reaction. The variation of the observed rate constant (k(o)) with [beta-CD] exhibits saturation behavior, consistent with 1:1 binding between the enol of ECHC and beta-CD. The binding is quite strong, and bound ECHC-enol is unreactive. The nitrosation reaction of ECHC in aqueous acid medium, using sodium nitrite in great excess over the concentration of ECHC, yields perfect first-order kinetics, indicating that the slow step is the nitrosation of the enol tautomer. This finding suggests that a great percentage of the total ECHC concentration must exist in the enol form. The nitrosation reaction is of first order in [nitrite] and is catalyzed by the presence of Cl-, Br-, or SCN- ions, which indicates that the attack of the nitrosating agent is the slow step. The nitrosation reaction is also strongly inhibited by the presence of beta-CD because of the formation of unreactive inclusion complexes between the host, beta-CD, and the guest, the enol of ECHC. In alkaline medium, the formation of the enolate ion is observed, which absorbs at higher wavelengths (lambda(max) = 256 nm in acid medium shifts to lambda(max) = 288 nm in alkaline medium). This anion also undergoes ester hydrolysis spontaneously, but shows neither specific basic catalysis nor appreciable effect by the presence of beta-CD. From kinetic and spectroscopic measurements the pKa of the enol of ECHC has been determined as 12.35.

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The UV−vis absorption spectra of 1,1,1-trifluoracetylacetone and 1,1,1-trifluoro-3-(2-thenoyl)acetone are studied in water and in aqueous micellar solutions of cationic surfactants forming micelles. In strong acid medium, the presence of micelles does not change the spectra of these trifluoro-diketones; however, in aqueous buffered solutions of acetic acid−acetate, addition of surfactant causes the formation of enolate anions. In strong alkaline medium, or in carbonate−bicarbonate buffer solution, the enolate decomposes. The rate of decomposition is reduced strongly by the presence of cationic micelles. The quantitative treatment of spectral changes measured as a function of pH, in both the absence and presence of surfactants, allows us to determine the keto−enol equilibrium constants, as well as the acidity equilibrium constant of both the enol and keto tautomers. Both 1,1,1-trifluoroacetylacetone and 1,1,1-trifluoro-3-(2-thenoyl)acetone are less than 2% enolized in water. The presence of micelles does not increase the enol content; by contrast, a strong increase of their acidity by approximately two pK a units is observed. The enol of these two trifluoro-diketones is more acidic than the keto tautomer, a common observed phenomenon when the enol content is very low.