The effect of chemical structure of different biologically compatible S-nitrosothiols on the solvation environment at catalytic copper sites in a metal organic framework (MOF) suspended in a solution of ethanol is probed using computational methods. The use of a copper based MOF as a storage vehicle and catalyst (copper sites of the MOF) in the controlled and sustained release of chemically stored nitric oxide (NO) from S-nitrosocysteine has been shown to occur both experimentally and computationally [J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2012, 134, 3330-3333; Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2015, 17, 23403]. Previous studies on a copper based MOF, namely HKUST-1, concluded that modifications in the R-group of s-nitrosothiols and/or organic linkers of MOFs led to a method capable of modulating NO release. In order to test the hypothesis that larger R-groups slow down NO release, four different RSNOs (R = cysteine, N-acetylcysteine, N-acetyl-d,l-penicillamine or glutathione) of varying size were investigated, which in turn required the use of a larger copper based MOF. Due to its desirable copper centers and more extensive framework, MOF-143, an analog of HKUST-1 was chosen to further explore both the effect of different RSNOs as well as MOF environments on NO release. Condensed phase classical molecular dynamics simulations are utilized to study the effect of the complex MOF environment as well as the chemical structure and size of the RSNO on the species on the catalytic reaction. The results indicate that in addition to the size of the RSNO species and the organic linkers within the MOF, the reaction rates can be modulated by the molecular structure of the RSNO and furthermore combining different RSNO species can also be used to tune the rate of NO release.
The use of copper based metal organic frameworks as a vehicle for the storage and delivery of chemically stored nitric oxide has been proposed based on recent experiments [J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2012, 134, 3330-3333]. In these experiments copper based metal organic frameworks (MOFs) suspended in ethanol catalytically convert chemically stored nitric oxide (in the S-nitrosothiol or RSNO form) to free nitric oxide at a slow and sustained rate, as compared to a quick release in a solution of ethanol containing free copper ions. In order to gain insight on the effect of the MOF environment on the catalytic activity, a combination of electronic structure calculations on representative clusters and classical simulations using a force-field (partly parameterized on the above calculations) is used to study a simple RSNO species, S-nitrosomethane (CH3SNO) as well as the biologically compatible S-nitrosocysteine, both in the MOF and free copper solution. The free energy profiles of bringing the RSNO species to the catalytic centers have been compared and related to the different solvation environments of the copper catalyst in the complex solvated MOF and in free copper solution. Surprisingly, in the case of the simple CH3SNO moiety as well as the S-nitrosocysteine case, the free energy profile of bringing the first RSNO from the center of one of the pores to the catalytic site in the pore is very similar to the free solution case. On the other hand, bringing a second RSNO molecule to the same catalytic site or to the adjacent catalytic copper site show relatively higher barriers. These studies help shed light on the sustained nitric oxide release in the MOF environment.
Our investigations on the reaction mechanism to account for regioselectivity on the addition of indoles to unsymmetrical silyloxyallyl cations are reported. Using both experimental and computational methods, we confirmed the significance of steric effects from the silyl ether group toward directing the inward approach of indoles, leading to nucleophilic attack at the less substituted electrophilic α′-carbon. The role of residual water toward accelerating the rate of reaction is established through stabilization of the participating silyloxyallyl cation.
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