Souza and Nome
JOCArticle
to move the acetoxy group, for the equilibration of confor-
mers, via rotation in the direction -80° f -180° f 80°, with
a small barrier of 3.8 kcal mol-1 and a rate of interconversion
of 1.0 ꢁ 1010 s-1, which is ca. 20-fold faster than the rate of
interconversion in the direction -80° f 0° f 80°, which as
described above favors the nucleophilic attack. Rotation in
the direction -80° f -180° f 80° increases the distance
between the reacting groups and helps to position a water
molecule in the correct conformation for the general base
catalysis reaction.
negative mode, mobile phase H2O/CH3CN 1:9): 270 (17.80%,
M - H þ CH3CN), 229 (25%, M - H), 187 (100%, M -
CH3CO). The complete FTIR, ESI-MS, and 1H NMR (400
MHz, acetone-d6) spectral data for both 1AC2NA and 3AC2NA
are given in Supporting Information.
Kinetics. Reactions followed spectrophotometrically were
started by adding 20 μL of a stock solution of the substrate
(0.01 M in acetonitrile) to a buffered aqueous solution (3 mL) at
the appropriate pH. Kinetics were followed, at constant tem-
perature and ionic strength 1.0 M (KCl), for at least five half-
lives, by monitoring the appearance of 1OH2NA (344 nm for pH
values smaller than 3.40 and 314 nm for pH values higher than
3.40) or 3OH2NA (350 nm) on a spectrophotometer equipped
with a thermostatted cell holder. Activation parameters were
calculated by using the Eyring equation from rate constants at
pH 6.65 (phosphate buffer, 0.01 M, μ = 1.0M). The pH values
of the reaction mixtures were measured at the end of each run.
Observed first order rate constants (kobs) were calculated by
nonlinear least-squares fitting of the absorbance versus time;
correlation coefficients were 0.998 or better. Buffers were HCl/
KCl (pH e 2), chloroacetate (pH 2.0-3.5), formate (pH 3.0-
4.0), acetate (pH 4.0-5.5), phosphate (pH 5.5-7.0), bis-TRIS
(pH 7.0-9.0), carbonate (pH 9.5-11.0), and NaOH (pH g 12).
Data from kinetic measurements are summarized in Tables
S1-S2 in Supporting Information. The solvent isotope effect
was calculated from the ratio of kobs in H2O and D2O in
phosphate buffer at pH 7.0 or pD = 7.3,12 μ = 1.0 M (KCl),
and 45 °C.
Labeling Experiments. Hydrolysis of 1AC2NA and 3AC2NA
in the presence of 18O-isotope labeled water was performed as
described elsewhere.2a A 1-mL glass ampule containing 5 mg of
1AC2NA or 3AC2NA, 82 mg of sodium acetate, 0.2 mL of THF,
0.1 mL of HCl 1 M, and 0.6 mL of 20 atom % enriched H218O
was sealed and incubated at 45.00 °C for 5t1/2 (at pH 5.00). The
products were analyzed by ESI-MS in negative mode using
H2O/CH3CN 1:9 as mobile phase, and the reaction was also
carried out in unlabeled water following the same procedure
with no significant m/z 189 peak.
Conclusions
These closely related compounds show how subtle struc-
tural differences may lead to major changes in reaction
mechanism that, although kinetically equivalent, could be
distinguished by means of isotopic labeling, kinetic isotope
effects, and activation parameters. Such differences in
mechanisms are certainly present in many enzymatic reactions,
where reaction mechanism may well be controlled by con-
formational effects, which are optimized to have an appro-
priate time window for the reaction to proceed. In the
reaction of the conformationally unrestrained 3-acetoxy
compound, there is intramolecular general base catalysis.
Conversely, for the 1-acetoxy derivative, a conformational
constraint due to peri-interactions forces the reacting car-
boxylate and ester pair to remain longer in conformations
that favor a reaction route proceeding via intramolecular
nucleophilic attack. The results highlight the importance
of the role of the dynamics of equilibrium between most
stable conformers in the control of the reaction mechanism,
(i) promoting the nucleophilic attack in 1AC2NA by allowing
the most stable conformers to equilibrate only via rotation in
a direction that intercepts the reaction coordinate and (ii)
favoring a general base-catalyzed water attack in 3AC2NA
by favoring equilibration via rotation that allows inclusion
of a water molecule in a proper position for reaction.
Mass Spectrometry. Mass spectroscopic identifications were
performed in a low-resolution instrument with the direct injec-
tion mode of 10-5 M sample solutions as carried out in other
studies.13 The interface, CDL, and block temperatures were set
at 250, 250, and 200 °C, respectively. The detector was main-
tained at 1.50 kV, the flow of N2 was 1.5 L min-1, and the mobile
phase was 1:9 H2O/CH3CN
Experimental Section
Materials. 1-Acetoxy-2-naphthoic acid (1AC2NA) was pre-
pared by a procedure similar to that reported by Bergeron
et al.11 Concentrated sulfuric acid (10 drops) was added to a
refluxing mixture of 1-hydroxy-2-naphthoic acid (3.50 g, 18.6
mmol) in acetic anhydride (8 mL, 89.7 mmol). The mixture was
kept under reflux for 10 additional minutes, and after cooling to
room temperature, the pale solid was filtered off and recrystal-
lized in aqueous ethanol. The pale crystals melt at 138-139 °C.
1H NMR (400 MHz, acetone-d6, TMS): δ 8.16 (1H, d, J = 8.26);
8.07 (1H, d, J = 8.67); 8.03 (1H, d, J = 7.97); 7.91 (1H, d, J =
8.67); 7.70 (1H, t, J = 7.43); 7.65 (1H, t, J = 7.65), 2.46 (3H, s).
νmax (KBr) 3080-2600, 1766, 1683, 1296, and 1207 cm-1. m/z
(ESI-MS, negative mode, mobile phase H2O/CH3CN 1:9): 270
(4,60%, M - H þ CH3CN), 229 (32,5%, M - H), 187 (100%,
M - CH3CO). The isomer 3-acetoxy-2-naphthoic acid (3AC2NA)
was prepared following the same procedure used to prepare
1AC2NA using 3-hydroxy-2-naphthoic (3OH2NA) acid instead
of 1-hydroxy-2-naphthoic acid (1OH2NA). Slightly yellow
crystals, mp 183-184 °C. 1H NMR (400 MHz, acetone-d6,
TMS): δ 8.69 (1H, s); 8.11 (1H, d, J = 8.12); 7.97 (1H, d, J =
8.17); 7.68 (2H, m); 7.61 (1H, t, J = 7.37), 2.30 (3H, s). νmax
(KBr) 3084-2800, 1764, 1700, 1294, 1207 cm-1. m/z (ESI-MS,
1
NMR Spectroscopy. All H spectra were monitored at 400
MHz, 25 °C, in acetone-d6. The 1H chemical shifts are referred to
internal TMS.
Computational Methods. All computational calculations were
performed using Gaussian 0314 at the DFT level employing the
hybrid B3LYP15 functional. Global minima structures were
optimized using the 6-311þþG(2df,p) basis set and properly
characterized in force constant calculations by the absence of a
single negative eigenvalue. The construction of the RPESs was
performed using the 6-31þG(d) basis set using the “Scan”keyword,
which requests that a potential energy surface (PES) scan be
done over a rectangular grid involving selected internal coordi-
nates. The selected variables were the mean ring plane/ester
(12) Fife, T. H.; Bruice, T. C. J. Phys. Chem. 1961, 65, 1079–1080.
(13) Kirby, A. J.; Medeiros, M.; Oliveira, P. S. M.; Brandao, T. A. S.;
Nome, F. Chem.;Eur. J. 2009, 15, 8475–8479.
(14) Frisch, M. J., et al. Gaussian 03, revision D.01; Gaussian, Inc.:
Pittsburgh, PA, 2004.
(15) (a) Becke, A. D. J. Chem. Phys. 1993, 98, 5648–5652. (b) Stephens,
P. J.; Devlin, F. J.; Chabalowski, C. F.; Frisch, M. J. J. Phys. Chem. 1994, 98,
11623–11627. (c) Vosko, S. H.; Wilk, L.; Nusair, M. Can. J. Phys. 1980, 58,
1200–1211. (d) Lee, C. T.; Yang, W. T.; Parr, R. G. Phys. Rev. B 1988, 37,
785–789.
(11) Bergeron, R. J.; Wiegand, J.; Wollenweber, M.; McManis, J. S.;
Algee, S. E.; Ratliff-Thompson, K. J. Med. Chem. 1996, 39, 1575–1581.
7192 J. Org. Chem. Vol. 75, No. 21, 2010