Conformational Preference of Fused Carbohydrate-Templated Proline AnaloguesA Computational Study

The structure of fused C-glucosylproline hybrid (GlcProH) has been studied in detail computationally. A systematic molecular mechanics/Monte Carlo search has been performed in order to cover the entire conformational space of GlcProH. This has been followed by density-functional (DFT B3LYP) calculations in the gas phase and in aqueous solution, using the polarizable continuum model (PCM). In the gas phase, a large excess of the cis conformation with respect to the prolyl amide bond is found. This is reversed in aqueous solution where the calculations show 80% trans conformers, which is in accordance with experimental data. Thus, the PCM model is capable of accurately predicting cis–trans ratios. The free energy of solvation is not correlated with the dipole moment. Hence, a model (such as PCM) is required that takes into account the complete charge distribution. The reversal of the cis–trans ratio between gas phase and solution also emphasizes the effects of different free energies of solvation for the distinct conformers. Nevertheless, the energy difference between the cis and trans conformers is very small in solution (0.18 kcal/mol). Intramolecular hydrogen bonding is found to stabilize the cis conformers exclusively, which is a result of the rigid geometry of the fused rings. This can be contrasted to related more flexible molecules that show hydrogen bonding for both cis and trans isomers. The hydrogen bonding is at least partially responsible for the preferential stabilization of the cis conformers in the gas phase and a very small cis–trans energy difference in solution.