Nitrogen imidazole

The shape of a large protein is influenced by many factors including of course Its primary and secondary structure The disulfide bond shown m Figure 27 18 links Cys 138 of carboxypeptidase A to Cys 161 and contributes to the tertiary structure Car boxypeptidase A contains a Zn " ion which is essential to the catalytic activity of the enzyme and its presence influences the tertiary structure The Zn ion lies near the cen ter of the enzyme where it is coordinated to the imidazole nitrogens of two histidine residues (His 69 His 196) and to the carboxylate side chain of Glu 72... 

Azoles containing a free NH group react comparatively readily with acyl halides. N-Acyl-pyrazoles, -imidazoles, etc. can be prepared by reaction sequences of either type (66) -> (67) or type (70)->(71) or (72). Such reactions have been carried out with benzoyl halides, sulfonyl halides, isocyanates, isothiocyanates and chloroformates. Reactions occur under Schotten-Baumann conditions or in inert solvents. When two isomeric products could result, only the thermodynamically stable one is usually obtained because the acylation reactions are reversible and the products interconvert readily. Thus benzotriazole forms 1-acyl derivatives (99) which preserve the Kekule resonance of the benzene ring and are therefore more stable than the isomeric 2-acyl derivatives. Acylation of pyrazoles also usually gives the more stable isomer as the sole product (66AHCi6)347). The imidazole-catalyzed hydrolysis of esters can be classified as an electrophilic attack on the multiply bonded imidazole nitrogen. 

The BOC group has been introduced onto the imidazole nitrogen of histidine with BOCF (pH 7-8), BOCN3, MgO, and (B0C)20. ° It can be introduced onto pyrroles and indoles with phenyl /-butyl carbonate and NaH, 67-91% yield, or with NaH, BOCN3. ... 

The THP derivative of the imidazole nitrogen in purines has been prepared by treatment with dihydropyran (TsOH, 55°, 1.5 h, 50-85% yield). It is cleaved by acid hydrolysis. ... 

The structure of the diamagnetic, cherry-red vitamin B12 is shown in Fig. 26.6 and it can be seen that the coordination sphere of the cobalt has many similarities with that of iron in haem (see Fig. 25.7). In both cases the metal is coordinated to 4 nitrogen atoms of an unsaturated macrocycle (in this case part of a corrin ring which is less symmetrical and not so unsaturated as the porphyrin in haem) with an imidazole nitrogen in the fifth position. A major... 

Substitution of somewhat more complex side chains on the imidazole nitrogen of the purines leads to CNS stimulant drugs that have also been used as vasodilators and antispasmodic agents. Thus, alkylation of theophyline (2) with ethyl bromoacetate followed by saponification of the product gives acephylline (9). Alkylation with l-bromo-2-chloroethane gives the 2-chloroethyl derivative (10). Reaction of that intermediate with amphetamine yields fenethylline (11). ... 

As described previously, lipophilic monoimidazole ligands form 2 1 complexes with the Zn2 + ion (n = 2 in Scheme 2) as active catalysts except for some sterically hindered ligands (Table 3, 5, 7), and bisimidazole ligands form 1 1 complexes (n = 1 in Scheme 2, Table 5). In this chiral system, the latter 1 1 complex accords with kinetic analyses for both L-47 and L,L-49 ligands as shown in Fig. 12 and Table 11. These conclusions seem to be reasonable since monoimidazole derivatives have only one imidazole nitrogen, while the other bisimidazole and chiral ligands have more than two nitrogen atoms which can effectively coordinate to the Zn2 + ion. 

Problem 24.21 What is the percent protonation of the imidazole nitrogen atom in histidine at a physiological pH of 7.3 (See Section 24.5.)... 

Natural a-amino acids provide a moderately effective N,OJ chelating donor set derived from carboxylate and amino groups, respectively. Several side-chain donor atoms may also be involved in metal ion coordination, especially those of Cys (thiol sulfur) and His (imidazole nitrogen(s)). (Abbreviations for amino acid residues are those recommended by IUPAC-IUB.1702)... 

Reactive halogen crosslinkers are mainly specific for sulfhydryl groups at physiological pH, however at more alkaline pH values they can readily cross-react with amines and the imidazole nitrogens of histidine residues. Some reactivity with hydroxyl-containing compounds also may be realized, particularly with dichloro-s-triazine derivatives under alkaline conditions. 

Fig. 9.7 Crystal structure of the H2-antagonist metiamide with an intramolecular hydrogen bond (yellow dots) between the imidazole nitrogen and an NH group of the side chain.

The low reactivity of both Cyt111 and Cyt11 toward NO can be attributed to occupation of the heme iron axial coordination sites by an imidazole nitrogen and by a methionine sulfur of the protein (28). Thus, unlike other heme proteins where one axial site is empty or occupied by H20, formation of the nitrosyl complex not only involves ligand displacement but also significant protein conformational changes which inhibit the reaction with NO. However, the protein does not always inhibit reactivity given that Cat and nNOS are more reactive toward NO than is the model complex Fem(TPPS)(H20)2 (Table II). Conversely, the koS values... 

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