Conformational analysis techniques

Most drug-like molecules adopt a number of conformations through rotations about bonds and/or inversions about atomic centers, giving the molecules a number of different three-dimensional (3D) shapes. To obtain different energy minimized structures using a force field, a conformational search technique must be combined with the local geometry optimization described in the previous section. Many such methods have been formulated, and they can be broadly classified as either systematic or stochastic algorithms. 

Systematic searches exhaustively sample conformational space by sequentially incrementing the torsional angles of aU of the rotatable bonds in a given molecule. This conceptually simple approach is straightforward to implement, but scales exponentially with respect to the number of rotatable bonds. To control the exponential increase in the number of potential conformers obtained, systematic searches are usually combined with tree-based search techniques taken from computer science. Even the best implementations of systematic searches become impractical beyond several rotatable bonds (typically greater than 10). Stochastic searches are based on probabiHstic theories and are better suited to calculations 

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A number of polyorganophosphazanes are studied by conformational analysis techniques with the use of intramolecular nonbonding 6-12-Lennard-Jones and Coulombic potentials. 

Usually the 3-D structure of the enzyme/receptor is not known. In this case, receptor mapping techniques such as CoMFA and conformational analysis techniques such as systematic search and distance geometry are applied to a series of active and inactive structures to obtain a pharmacophore model for use in 3-D database searching. 

Other methods which are applied to conformational analysis and to generating multiple conformations and which can be regarded as random or stochastic techniques, since they explore the conformational space in a non-deterministic fashion, arc genetic algorithms (GA) [137, 1381 simulation methods, such as molecular dynamics (MD) and Monte Carlo (MC) simulations 1139], as well as simulated annealing [140], All of those approaches and their application to generate ensembles of conformations arc discussed in Chapter II, Section 7.2 in the Handbook. 

A molecular dynamics simulation samples the phase space of a molecule (defined by the position of the atoms and their velocities) by integrating Newton s equations of motion. Because MD accounts for thermal motion, the molecules simulated may possess enough thermal energy to overcome potential barriers, which makes the technique suitable in principle for conformational analysis of especially large molecules. In the case of small molecules, other techniques such as systematic, random. Genetic Algorithm-based, or Monte Carlo searches may be better suited for effectively sampling conformational space. 

The physical, chemical cind biological properties of a molecule often depend critically upo the three-dimensional structures, or conformations, that it can adopt. Conformational analysi is the study of the conformations of a molecule and their influence on its properties. Th development of modem conformational analysis is often attributed to D H R Bcirton, wh showed in 1950 that the reactivity of substituted cyclohexanes wcis influenced by th equatoricil or axial nature of the substituents [Beirton 1950]. An equcilly important reaso for the development of conformatiorml analysis at that time Wcis the introduction c analytic il techniques such as infreired spectroscopy, NMR and X-ray crystaillograph] which actucilly enabled the conformation to be determined. 

Application of NMR spectroscopy to heterocyclic chemistry has developed very rapidly during the past 15 years, and the technique is now used almost as routinely as H NMR spectroscopy. There are four main areas of application of interest to the heterocyclic chemist (i) elucidation of structure, where the method can be particularly valuable for complex natural products such as alkaloids and carbohydrate antibiotics (ii) stereochemical studies, especially conformational analysis of saturated heterocyclic systems (iii) the correlation of various theoretical aspects of structure and electronic distribution with chemical shifts, coupling constants and other NMR derived parameters and (iv) the unravelling of biosynthetic pathways to natural products, where, in contrast to related studies with " C-labelled precursors, stepwise degradation of the secondary metabolite is usually unnecessary. 

J. M. CODDINCTON and M. J. Taylor, J. Coord. Chem. 20, 27-38 (1989), and references cited therein, including those which describe its application to conformational analysis of carbohydrates and its use in separation and chromatographic techniques. 

Dolata, D. P., Carter, R. E. WIZARD applications of expert system techniques to conformational analysis. 1. The basic algorithms exemplified on simple hydrocarbons. J. Chem. Inf. Comp. Sci. 1987, 27, 36-47. 

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is, next to X-ray diffraction, the most important method to elucidate molecular structures of small molecules up to large bio macromolecules. It is used as a routine method in every chemical laboratory and it is not the aim of this article to give a comprehensive review about NMR in structural analysis. We will concentrate here on liquid-state applications with respect to drugs or drug-like molecules to emphasize techniques for conformational analysis including recent developments in the field. 

Applications The general applications of XRD comprise routine phase identification, quantitative analysis, compositional studies of crystalline solid compounds, texture and residual stress analysis, high-and low-temperature studies, low-angle analysis, films, etc. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction has been used for detailed structural analysis of many pure polymer additives (antioxidants, flame retardants, plasticisers, fillers, pigments and dyes, etc.) and for conformational analysis. A variety of analytical techniques are used to identify and classify different crystal polymorphs, notably XRD, microscopy, DSC, FTIR and NIRS. A comprehensive review of the analytical techniques employed for the analysis of polymorphs has been compiled [324]. The Rietveld method has been used to model a mineral-filled PPS compound [325]. 

Hofer, O., The Lanthanide Induced Shift Technique Applications in Conformational Analysis, 9, 111. 

The accurate spatial location of these atoms generally needs a sophisticated approach, for example, the study of a complete deuterated set of isotopic derivatives in microwave spectroscopy or the use of neutron diffraction techniques. We shall see below that a set of CNDO/2 calculations combined with suitable experiments (microwave spectroscopy and/or electron diffraction) may help to solve the geometrical and conformational analysis of compounds containing many hydrogen atoms. 

We have illustrated the efficiency of the original CNDO/2 formalism for the conformational analysis of nonmetallic compounds and briefly indicated in Section III that an extension of this quantum technique, designed to be applicable to transition-... 

The theoretical conformational analysis of a molecule, whatever the quantum technique used, provides quantities related to the free molecule at 0°K and within ideal standard entropy conditions. It follows that such results must be compared with experimental results obtained in conditions as close as possible to these. Obviously, any study in the gas phase will be preferable to corresponding ones performed on liquid or solid states. The most suitable experimental approaches will thus be electron diffraction and microwave spectroscopy. 

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