Acid-dissociation constant effect

If a methyl group replaces a hydrogen atom on the carbon of the C==N bond across which addition of water occurs, a considerable reduction in the extent of water addition is observed. Conversely, the existence of such a blocking effect can be used as a provisional indication of the site at which addition of water occurs, while the spectrum and acid dissociation constant of the methyl derivative provide a useful indication of the corresponding properties of the anhydrous parent substance. Examples of the effect of such a methyl group on equilibria are given in Table IV. 

Superior antimicrobial activity in alkaline pH (seawater is always above pH 8), in the presence of nitrogenous organic matter, and due to lower volatility has been documented for bromine antimicrobials3 4. The pKa acid dissociation constants for HOC1 and HOBr are 7.4 and 8.7, respectively the dissociated acids are less effective antimicrobials4,5. Undissociated hypohalous acids are more effective because they are far better halogenating agents compared to the dissociated anion (hypohalite). Table 1 shows the effect of acid dissociation on antimicrobial performance in well-controlled laboratory experiments. 

Most acid dissociation constants pKa exceed environmental pH values, the exceptions being the highly chlorinated phenols. As a result, these substances tend to have higher apparent solubilities in water because of dissociation. The structure-property relationships apply to the un-ionized or protonated species thus, experimental data should preferably be corrected to eliminate the effect of ionization, thus eliminating pH effects. 

The isotope effect on the acid dissociation constants for H20 and D20 has been carefully measured by many workers, most notably Paabo and Bates working at the US Bureau of Standards. Comparing the reactions 2 H20 = H30+ + OH- and 2 D20 = D30+ + OD they found... 

The p/<, of a base is actually that of its conjugate acid. As the numeric value of the dissociation constant increases (i.e., pKa decreases), the acid strength increases. Conversely, as the acid dissociation constant of a base (that of its conjugate acid) increases, the strength of the base decreases. For a more accurate definition of dissociation constants, each concentration term must be replaced by thermodynamic activity. In dilute solutions, concentration of each species is taken to be equal to activity. Activity-based dissociation constants are true equilibrium constants and depend only on temperature. Dissociation constants measured by spectroscopy are concentration dissociation constants." Most piCa values in the pharmaceutical literature are measured by ignoring activity effects and therefore are actually concentration dissociation constants or apparent dissociation constants. It is customary to report dissociation constant values at 25°C. 

The equilibrium constant for the isotope-exchange equilibrium can be expressed (6) in terms of the solvent isotope effects on the acid-dissociation constants and of the monocarboxylic acid and dicarboxylic acid monoanion, respectively. It follows that a lower value for the fractionation factor of the hydrogen-bonded proton means that the solvent isotope effect on the acid-dissociation constant will be lower for the dicarboxylic acid monoanion than for the monocarboxylic acid. 

The earliest LFER, advanced by Bronsted, correlates the acid dissociation constant and base strength (1/A h) of species with its effectiveness as a catalyst in general acid (At h) and base (Atgl-catalyzed reactions respectively. The relationships take the form... 

The most widely studied physical property of carbanions is their basicity, which of course is a direct measure of the acidity of the parent carbon acid. Carbon acidity measurements date back to the early part of the twentieth century and a myriad of techniques have been employed for the measurements. Although early measurements were only able to provide semiquantitative data, more recent ones have resulted in accurate acidity measurements across a vast range of effective acid dissociation constants, Ka values. This section will begin with a brief description of definitions and methodologies followed by representative data as well as applications of those data. 

In addition to inductive effects, and the possibility that the position of attack may be different for one complex than for another, steric effects are also undoubtedly a factor. The acid dissociation constants shew that HCC>2 is less basic than CH.3C02-, but the rate of reduction of the forma to complex is much faster than that of the acetato. Enough effects exist to explain almost any result qualitatively, but they are not well enough understood to sustain even qualitative predictions. 

The neutral carboxyl group is not very effective in increasing the reduction rate of the complex. However, when the proton is removed from the carboxyl, the effect can increase and is greatest when the carboxyl ion is in a configuration favorable to chelation. Thus, the inverse (H+) path is not even observable for acid succinate in the same acidity range as that for which this path is important in the acid malonato reaction. The acid dissociation constants are known well enough so that the behavior difference between acid malonato and acid succinato can not be entirely ascribed to different acidities of the complexes. The results obtained with the acid malonate complexes, as reported in Table II, incidentally provide no support for the hypothesis (22) that electron transfer takes place by remote attack across hydrogen bonds. 

The characteristics of acid-base reactions in dipolar aprotic solvents, compared to those in dipolar amphiprotic solvents, are the easy occurrence of homo- and heteroconjugation reactions [2, 3, 5]. However, before discussing the homo- and heteroconjugations, we first discuss the solvent effects on the acid dissociation constants in dipolar aprotic solvents. 

Organic functional groups exert characteristic electronic effects upon other groups to which they are attached. The quantitative expression of such effects can sometimes be correlated by linear Gibbs energy relationships. The best known of these is the Hammett equation, which deals with the transmission of electronic effects across a benzene or other aromatic ring. Consider the acid dissociation constants of three classes of compounds ... 

For the complex /ac,/ac-(H20)2(NH3)3Cr(0H)Cr(NH3)3(H20)25+ the first acid dissociation constant clearly shows that the singly deprotonated species must be hydrogen bond stabilized (Table XIX). However, the fact that the difference between the first and the second acid dissociation constants for this system is relatively small is consistent with stabilization also of the doubly deprotonated species (by two intramolecular hydrogen bonds) as shown in Fig. 15. A similar effect is expected for the cations (H20)5Cr(0H)Cr(H20)55+ and (H20)5Ir(0H)Ir(H20)55+. 

The inductive effect of one carboxyl group is expected to enhance the acidity of the other. In Table 18-4 we see that the acid strength of the dicarboxylic acids, as measured by the first acid-dissociation constant, K1, is higher than that of ethanoic acid (Ka = 1.5 X 10-5) and decreases with increasing number of bonds between the two carboxyl groups. The second acid-dissociation constant, K2, is smaller than Ka for ethanoic acid (with the exception of oxalic acid) because it is more difficult to remove a proton under the electrostatic attraction of the nearby carboxylate anion (see Section 18-2C). 

In acetic acid it is possible to measure separately the equilibrium constant of proton transfer to form an ion pair and the constant for dissociation of ion pairs to form free ions. [I. M. Kolthoff and S. Bruckenstein, J. Amer. Chem. Soc., 78, I (1956) S. Bruckenstein and I. M. Kolthoff, J. Amer. Chem. Soc., 78, 10 (1956)]. G. W. Geska and E. Grunwald, J. Amer. Chem. Soc., 89, 1371, 1377 (1967) applied this technique to a number of substituted anilines and concluded that the equilibrium constant of the ionization step, rather than the overall acid dissociation constant, is the quantity that should be considered in discussions of effects of structural changes on acidity. 

The value of m reflects medium effects on the acid dissociation constant under study, as represented in Equation (14). 

The acid dissociation constant (pKa) of an organic compound is useful in assessing its environmental fate. The pKa value can be used to define the degree of ionization of a compound at a given pH and the potential for sorption to surfaces by cation exchange. The extent to which a compound is sorbed can have a significant effect on its bioavailability, transport, photolysis, and biodegradability. 

As discussed in Section 3.10.3, in the gas phase the basicity of simple amines follows the order NMe3 > NHMe2 > NH2Me > NH3 because of the electron donating effect of the methyl (Me) groups. In solution, however, we can define a basicity constant as the equilibrium constant for the reaction shown in Equation 3.4. Note it is important to specify temperature, solvent (usually water) and solution ionic strength, 1 Basicity constants are related to the acid dissociation constants (/Q of the base s conjugate acid via the dissociation constant of water, K = 10 14 at 25 °C. Thus Kbx K = Kw. 

Kresge, A.J. (1997) Electrostatic effects on acid dissociation constants. Importance of lysine 116 in determining the p /<, of lysine 115 in the active site of acetoacetate decarboxylase. Chemtracts, 10, 27. 

In this chapter we have seen that acid dissociation constants are needed to calculate the dependence of apparent equilibrium constants on pH. In Chapter 3 we will discuss the calculation of the effects of ionic strength and temperature on acid dissociation constants. The database described later can be used to calculate pKs of reactants at 298.15 K at desired ionic strengths. Because of the importance of pKs of weak acids, Table 1.3 is provided here. More experimental measurements of acid dissociation constants and dissociation constants of complex ions with metal ions are needed because they are essential for the interpretation of experimental equilibrium constants and heats of reactions. A major database of acid dissociation constants and dissociation constants of metal ion complexes is provided by Martell, Smith, and Motekaitis (2001). 

Before discussing the effect of pH on protein-ligand equilibria, it is necessary to discuss an aspect of acid dissociations that was too advanced for Chapter 1. Consider a protein A that has two acid groups. The acid dissociation constants are defined by... 

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