Imidazole reaction mechanism

DET calculations on the hyperfine coupling constants of ethyl imidazole as a model for histidine support experimental results that the preferred histidine radical is formed by OH addition at the C5 position [00JPC(A)9144]. The reaction mechanism of compound I formation in heme peroxidases has been investigated at the B3-LYP level [99JA10178]. The reaction starts with a proton transfer from the peroxide to the distal histidine and a subsequent proton back donation from the histidine to the second oxygen of the peroxide (Scheme 8). 

Following the disclosure of the outstanding catalytic ability of imidazole compared to other bases, the catalysis of the POCL reaction by imidazole was studied in more detail [163], and it was concluded that the POCL reaction mechanism included the concurrent catalysis by two imidazole molecules, by what was described as general-base and nucleophilic pathways, respectively. The mechanism for this was suggested to be a base catalysis of imidazole catalysis by imidazole itself as previously reported for imidazole-catalyzed reaction of esters [164, 165], Despite this, it was not until the introduction [151] of 1,1 -oxalyldiimidazole (ODI) as a chemiluminescence reagent, and the postulation of its intermediate appearance in the imidazole-catalysed POCL reaction, that the... 

Increased understanding of reaction mechanisms in the 1940s and 1950s pinpointed general acid or base catalysis as likely to be of importance in many hydrolytic reactions. The imidazole nucleus in histidine was the obvious center in proteins to donate or accept protons at physiological pH. The involvement of histidine was shown by photochemical oxidation in the presence of methylene blue (Weil and Buchert, 1951) which destroyed histidine and tryptophan and inactivated chymotrypsin and trypsin. 

Since its discovery by Chandross and to this day, peroxy-oxalate chemiluminescence has been controversial because of its enormous complexity in view of the many alternative steps involved in this process. The principal mechanistic feature of the peroxy-oxalate chemiluminescence pertains to the base-catalyzed (commonly imidazole) reaction of an activated aryl oxalate with hydrogen peroxide in the presence of a chemiluminescent activator, usually a highly fluorescent aromatic hydrocarbon with a low oxidation potential . A variety of putative high-energy peroxide intermediates have been proposed for the generation of the excited states . In the context of the present chapter, it is of import to mention that recent work provides experimental evidence for the intervention of the 1,2-dioxetanedione 18 (Scheme 11) as the high-energy species responsible for the chemiexcitation. Furthermore, clear-cut experimental data favor the CIEEL mechanism as a rationalization of the peroxy-oxalate chemiluminescence . 

The reaction of 2-aminobenzyl alcohol 376 with 2-chloro-4,5-dihydroimidazole afforded [2-(4,5-dihydro-177-imidazol-2-ylideneamino)phenyl]methanol hydrochloride 377, which upon treatment with carbon disulfide gave l-(477-3,l-benzoxazin-2-yl)imidazolidine-2-thione 378 (Scheme 71). The assumed reaction mechanism involved the initial formation of the dithiocarbamate 379, which underwent intramolecular nucleophilic addition to furnish the unstable thiazetidine 380. By nucleophilic attack of the hydroxy group on the carbon atom of the thiazetidine ring, thiocarbamate derivative 381 was formed, which gave the final 3,1-benzoxazine 378 by an intramolecular cyclocondensation with the evolution of H2S <2006H(68)687>. 

The reaction of 14 may remind one of the well-established reaction mechanism for chymotrypsin (Fig. 5) (20). By comparing the acyl-trans-fer reaction of complex 14 with that of chymotrypsin 17, we find that the alcoholic nucleophiles in 14 and 17 are activated by Zn11—OH- and imidazole (in a triad), respectively. Several common features should be pointed out (i) Both reactions proceed via two-step reaction (i.e., double displacement), (ii) The basicity of Zn11—OH (pKa = 7.7) is somewhat similar to that of imidazole (plfa = ca. 7). (iii) The initial acyl-transfer reactions to alcoholic OH groups are rate determining, (iv) In NA hydrolysis with chymotrypsin, the pH dependence of both the acylation (17 — 18) and the deacylation (19 — 17) steps point to the involvement of a general base or nucleophile with a kinetically revealed piFCa value of ca. 7. A major difference here is that while the... 

Fig. 6. Reaction mechanism for 4-nitrophenyl acetate hydrolysis by imidazole.

Bienayme34 reported the formation of substituted isonitriles by treatment of a dialkyl amine with imidazole diethylacetal and methyl isocyanoacetate. This forms dialky-lamino propenoates via a three-component cascade reaction mechanism (Scheme 5.18). 

Figure 5.3 Reaction mechanism of the strictly alternating copolymerization of phenyl glycidyl ether (PGE, 2) and phthalic anhydride (PA, 3) initiated by imidazoles (la-c). (Leukel et al., 1996. Copyright 2001. Reprinted by permission ofWiley-VCH)...

Abstract The complex tetra(imidazole)chlorocopper(II) chloride, [Cu(imidazole)4Cl]Cl, has been synthesized, and the structure has heen determined at the Small Crystal X-ray Crystallography Beamline (11.3.1) of the Advanced Light Source (ALS) at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), USA. Structural parameters of the parent complex are compared to similar materials previously reported in the literature. The particles in the present study can be used to prepare nanoparticle materials, or, by controlled growth, can be formed as nanoparticles initially. The structural data are important for making detailed calculations, models, and deriving reaction mechanisms involving metal ion-based biochemical systems. 

An interesting photochemical approach to 4,5-disubstituted N-alkylimidazoles consists of the photolysis of 2,3-dihydro-5,6-disubstituted-pyrazines that can be easily prepared from 1,2-diketones and 1,2-diamino-alkanes. For example, the preparative-scale photolysis, in absolute EtOH with high-pressure Hg lamp (Pyrex filter), of 5,6-dimethyl- or 5,6-diphenyl-2,3-dihydropyrazines 54, yields the corresponding N-methyl-imidazoles 57 in high yields (Scheme 12.16). The reaction mechanism involves the formation of an enediimine intermediate 55, followed by cyclization and re-aromatization [41]. 

A closed-system microwave plasma reactor was used to react imidazole molecules to PVC surfaces. Newly created surfaces were analysed using ATR FTIR spectroscopy. Surface reactions on PVC were heavily dependent on a prior thermal history of the PVC substrate. A mechanism for the PVC-imidazole reactions was also presented. The PVC was useful as an implant for biomedical applications. 10 refs. 

The reaction mechanism is similar to the one employed by Raubenheimer el al. for their chromium(O) thiazol-2-ylidene complex [48], In the case of the ruthenium imidazol-2-ylidene complexes, 4,5-dimethylimidazole stabilised the carbene complex compared with unsubstituted imidazole. Likewise, the carbonyl ligand in trans position was necessary to isolate and crystallise the complex. This can be expected, when an excellent o-donor (NHC) is trans to an excellent tr-acceptor (CO). 

Kumar BRP, Sharma GK, Srinath S et al (2009) Microwave-assisted, solvent-free, parallel syntheses and elucidation of reaction mechanism for the formation of some novel tetraaryl imidazoles of biological interest. J Heterocycl Chem 46 278-284... 

In addition to its utility for structure elucidation, and in tautomerism studies, H NMR has found applications for analysis in kinetic studies, in conformational studies (e.g. 1-arylimidazoles and reduced imidazoles), for the determination of product ratios in isomerization reactions, and in reaction mechanism studies. Thus the technique was able to show that deuterium exchange at the 2-position of imidazoles can occur either in the presence or absence of added base (Section 4.07.1.6.2). 

Attempts to correlate reaction mechanisms, electron density calculations and experimental results have met with only limited success. As mentioned in the previous chapter (Section 4.06.2), the predicted orders of electrophilic substitution for imidazole (C-5 > -2 > -4) and benzimidazole (C-7>-6>-5>-4 -2) do not take into account the tautomeric equivalence of the 4- and 5-positions of imidazole and the 4- and 7-, 5- and 6-positions of benzimidazole. When this is taken into account the predictions are in accord with the observed orientations of attack in imidazole. Much the same predictions can be made by considering the imidazole molecule to be a combination of pyrrole and pyridine (74) — the most likely site for electrophilic attack is C-5. Furthermore, while sets of resonance structures for the imidazole and benzimidazole neutral molecules (Schemes 1 and 2, Section 4.06.2) suggest that all ring carbons have some susceptibility to electrophilic attack, consideration of the stabilities of the expected tr-intermediates (Scheme 29) supports the commonly observed preference for 5- (or 4-) substitution. In benzimidazole attack usually occurs first at C-5 and a second substituent enters at C-6 unless other substituent effects intervene. 

In the photoaddition of acetone and other ketones to 1-, 2- and 1,2-di-methylimidazoles the products sire a-hydroxyalkylimidazoles (153) which are derived from the selective attack of excited carbonyl oxygen at C-5. In the case of 2-methylimidazole the products are the 4-mono- (8%) and 4,5-di- (14.5%) substituted compounds, but imidazole itself does not react. The suggestion that it is not a sufficiently electron-rich substrate is not particularly convincing. The reaction mechanism (Scheme 72) may reflect the greater radicd reactivity at C-5, and the comparative stabilities of the radical intermediates derived from carbonyl attack at this position. Hiickel calculations of radical reactivity indices show that, indeed, C-5 is more reactive, and the radical intermediate at C-5 is more stable than that at C-4, but a concerted cycloaddition could also give rise to the oxetane (152). Such an oxetane can be isolated in the photochemical addition of benzophenone to 1-acetylimidazole. 

This classification is illustrated in Scheme 317. Imidazole synthesis under this category is uncommon, as noted in CHEC(1984) and CHEC-II(1996). One example, in which secondary amino-AT-carbothioic acid (phenyl- -tolylimino-methyl)amides 1258 react with dimethyl acetylenedicarboxylate to form 4-aminoimidazoles 1259, has been reported. A reaction mechanism including the formation of a seven-membered cyclic intermediate followed by the extmsion of thioglyoxylic ester has been proposed (Scheme 318) <2004TL8945>. 

This classification is illustrated in Scheme 365. The synthesis of imidazoles under this classification is rare mainly due to the difficulty of C-C bond formation. A palladium-catalyzed coupling of imines 1415, 1417 and acid chloride 1416 to synthesize substituted imidazoles 1418 belongs to this category of ring formation. AT-Alkyl and AT-aryl imines can be used, as can imines of aryl and even nonenolizable alkyl aldehydes. A plausible reaction mechanism involving 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition with miinchnones is illustrated in Scheme 366 <2006JA6050>. 

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