Title
First-principle studies of intermolecular and intramolecular catalysis of protonated cocaine.
Abstract
We have performed a series of first-principles electronic structure calculations to examine the reaction pathways and the corresponding free energy barriers for the ester hydrolysis of protonated cocaine in its chair and boat conformations. The calculated free energy barriers for the benzoyl ester hydrolysis of protonated chair cocaine are close to the corresponding barriers calculated for the benzoyl ester hydrolysis of neutral cocaine. However, the free energy barrier calculated for the methyl ester hydrolysis of protonated cocaine in its chair conformation is significantly lower than for the methyl ester hydrolysis of neutral cocaine and for the dominant pathway of the benzoyl ester hydrolysis of protonated cocaine. The significant decrease of the free energy barrier, similar to 4 kcal/mol, is attributed to the intramolecular acid catalysis of the methyl ester hydrolysis of protonated cocaine, because the transition state structure is stabilized by the strong hydrogen bond between the carbonyl oxygen of the methyl ester moiety and the protonated tropane N. The relative magnitudes of the free energy barriers calculated for different pathways of the ester hydrolysis of protonated chair cocaine are consistent with the experimental kinetic data for cocaine hydrolysis under physiologic conditions. Similar intramolecular acid catalysis also occurs for the benzoyl ester hydrolysis of (protonated) boat cocaine in the physiologic condition, although the contribution of the intramolecular hydrogen bonding to transition state stabilization is negligible. Nonetheless, the predictability of the intramolecular hydrogen bonding could be useful in generating antibody-based catalysts that recruit cocaine to the boat conformation and an analog that elicited antibodies to approximate the protonated tropane N and the benzoyl O more closely than the natural boat conformer might increase the contribution from hydrogen bonding. Such a stable analog of the transition state for intramolecular catalysis of cocaine benzoyl-ester hydrolysis was synthesized and used to successfully elicit a number of anticocaine catalytic antibodies. (c) 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Year
DOI
Venue
2005
10.1002/jcc.20241
JOURNAL OF COMPUTATIONAL CHEMISTRY
Keywords
Field
DocType
first-principle studies,intermolecular catalysis,intramolecular catalysis,protonated cocaine
Catalysis,Intramolecular force,Tropane,Hydrolysis,Conformational isomerism,Acid catalysis,Chemistry,Stereochemistry,Hydrogen bond,Cyclohexane conformation
Journal
Volume
Issue
ISSN
26
10
0192-8651
Citations 
PageRank 
References 
1
0.48
0
Authors
7
Name
Order
Citations
PageRank
Chang-Guo Zhan1257.03
Shi-Xian Deng210.82
Jaime G Skiba310.48
Beth A Hayes410.48
Sarah M Tschampel541.23
George C Shields653.97
Donald W Landry710.82