Hydroxypurines tautomerism

The lactam-lactim, tautomerism, of hydroxypurines illustrated, for example, for hypoxanthine by the structures 8 and 9. 

O-H bond. Among such properties a prominent one is the ultraviolet absorption spectrum and the theory may therefore be used for the examination of some of the spectroscopic shifts which accompany the lactam-lactim tautomerization. Much caution must, however, be exercised in this respect. Thus, in a recent paper Kwiatkowski135,137 performed Pariser-Parr-Pople-type calculations on the electronic structure of hydroxypurines, essentially to interpret their ultraviolet spectra. In these calculations he assumed that these compounds exist predominantly in their lactim form, and the results of his calculations, at least for 6- and 8-hydroxypurine, did not seem to contradict this assumption. It is only in the case of the 2-hydroxy isomer that a particularly striking disagreement between theory and experiment led him to admit that this last compound may exist in the lactam form. Calculations carried out for this form gave, in fact, a more satisfactory agreement with experiment.138 As we have seen, unambiguous infrared spectroscopy evidence clearly show s that all three isomers exist essentially in the lactam form. This shows that ultraviolet absorption may provide only very uncertain evidence about the lactam-lactim tautomerism in hydroxypurines and related compounds. 

Whatever be the difficulties in dealing satisfactorily with the problem of the lactam-lactim tautomerism in hydroxypurines, the predominance of the lactam tautomer granted, there remains the problem of the detailed structure of the most probable lactam form for each isomer. The problem is essentially that of the site of location of the imidazole proton. From that point of view forms 34-38 have to be considered for 2-hydroxypurine, forms 39—42 for 6-hydroxypurine (hypoxanthine), and forms 43-45 for 8-hydroxypurine. There are, in addition, some betaine tautomeric forms but these are probably of low stability and will not be considered further. Before describing the results of theoretical calculations, it may be useful to indicate that from the experimental point of view we may, in this respect, turn again for significant evidence to infrared spectroscopy... 

In complete agreement with the deductions from infrared data, the calculations estimate the tautomers 37, 40, and 43 as the most stable forms of 2-hydroxypurine, 6-hydroxypurine, and 8-hydroxypurine, respectively, followed very closely, however, by tautomers 34 and 39 for the first two isomers. Their existence as mixtures of tautomeric forms in comparable proportions seems therefore highly probable. On a relative scale the most stable of the three isomers should be the 8-hydroxy one (certainly because of the high content of its 77-electronic delocalization), which should, in fact, be appreciably more stable than the 2- or 6-isomers, which are predicted to be of comparable stability. 

In all three isomers the most stable tautomeric form involves one proton at N-7, the second one being at N-3 in 2-hydroxypurine, at N-l in 6-hydroxypurine, and at N-9 in 8-hydroxypurine. The preferential attachment of a proton at N-7 of these isomers seems thus a general feature of their structure. Although this situation agrees with the probable preeminence of the N(7)H tautomers in solution, it should not be considered as prejudging the nature of the tautomer present in the crystal of these substances, a problem which will be discussed in detail in Section XI. 

Among the poly hydroxypurines the attention of the theoreticians, at least insofar as refined methods of calculation are concerned, has been centered essentially on xanthine and, in particular, on the problem of the N(7)H-N(9)H tautomerism in this compound... 

Because of the difficulties encountered in the study of the Iactam-lactim tautomerism in hydroxypurines, difficulties due to the delicate... 

There are various forms of tautomerism which operate in the different purine species. (1) Prototropy which involves attachment of the proton to any one of the four ring nitrogen atoms (Scheme 5). Corresponding CH tautomers, for example (52), seem to be of little significance. (2) Amine-imine tautomerism which operates in the aminopurines such as adenine (Scheme 6). (3) Lactam-lactim tautomerism as in the hydroxypurines such as hypoxanthine (Scheme 7) and the related thioxo-thiol tautomerism (53) and (54) in the biologically imporfant mercaptopurines (Scheme 8). The subject has recently been discussed in some detail <76AHC(Si)502>. 

The relation between tautomerism and enzymatic oxidation of various hydroxypurines has been discussed by Bergmann and his associates.164... 

Among the species produced upon radiolysis of water, hydroxyl radical ( OH) is the most reactive. Indeed, its reaction rate with the four bases and related nucleosides is diffusion-controlled. The main reactive sites of hydroxyl radicals on nucleobases are the double-bonds of the heterocycles. Accordingly, addition of OH at the C8 position of adenine and guanine yields the corresponding reducing 8-hydroxy-7,8-dihydropurin-7-yl radical (Fig. 2). Oxidation of this intermediate leads to the formation of related 8-hydroxypurines that are in dynamic equilibrium with their more stable 8-oxo-7,8-dihydropurine tautomeric form. Competitive reduction of the latter purine radical gives rise to imidazole ring opened compounds the... 

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