3-Amino-2-piperidinone-6-carboxylic acid: molecular structures of cis and trans benzoyl derivatives

The cis (2a) and trans (2b) isomers of methyl 3-benzamido-2-piperidinone-6-carboxylate (Apca) were prepared and separated by fractional recrystallizations. Proton n.m.r. studies in dimethylsulfoxide solution indicate that the six-membered lactam ring adopts a distorted chair conformation with an equatorially oriented benzamido substituent in both 2a and 2b. The carboxyl function also is equatorially oriented in the trans isomer 2b, but is disposed axially in the cis isomer 2a. In the crystal structure, the six-membered lactam ring of 2a is clearly in a boat conformation with the benzamido and carboxyl functions attached to the two apex carbon atoms equatorially. The trans isomer, 2b, exists as two crystallographically independent, conformationally distinct molecules in one unit cell. The lactam ring in both molecules adopts a distorted chair conformation, as is the case in solution, with both the benazamido and carboxyl functions attached equatorially. The rotameric orientation for the endocyclic lactam differs between the two molecules. Both structures show evidence of C-H...O hydrogen bond formation intermolecularly in the solid state. This ability, along with the distinctive conformational features of Apca, may be exploitable in the design of unique features of polypeptides.