Imidazoles protonation, basicity

Very recently, the kinetics and thermodynamics of a variety of axial ligation reactions have been investigated with Fe11 and Co11 porphyrins involving the small molecules CO, 02, and NO as ligands 27-30, 40, 92, 93). These experiments lead to the conclusion that the dynamic trans effects observed in these systems cannot alone be explained by the interaction models D and F (Fig. 1). Especially imidazole and its derivatives do not hold the place in various series of trans effects that they should take on the ground of their proton basicities. Therefore, besides their usual a-donor-tr-acceptor function, these unsaturated molecules are ascribed an additional 7r-donor function. 

In fact, pyrrole is protonated only in strong acid, and protonation occurs at C(2), not on nitrogen. First, explain why pyridine and imidazole are basic and pyrrole is not. Then, explain why evenm-al protonation of pyrrole is at carbon, not nitrogen. Caution You win have to write full Lewis structures to answer this question. 

The nucleophilicity of the nitrogen atom survives in many different functional groups, although its basicity may be lost. Reactions of non-basic, but nucleophilic urea nitrogens provide, for example, an easy entry to sleeping-pills (barbiturates) as well as to stimulants (caffeine). The nitrogen atoms of imidazoles and indole anions are also nucleophilic and the NH protons can be easily substituted. 

Which nitrogen in each molecule is more basic Compare energies of the alternative conjugate acids (Nprotonated imidazole, NH protonated imidazole, N protonated pyrazole and NH protonated pyrazole). Which compound, imidazole or pyrazole, is more basic Compare the energies of protonation (leading to the favored conjugate acid in each case). Rationalize your result. 

The rather high basic strength of 3,5-diazaindole [91] (p/sTa = 6T) is not due to the protonation of the imidazole ring (for benzimidazole p g = 5-53), but rather of the pyridine ring. Cation [92] is formed and this is stabilized by the same kind of resonance as... 

Serine itself would be insufficiently nucleophilic to attack the ester carbonyl, so the reaction is facilitated by participation of the imidazole ring of histidine. The basic nitrogen in this residue is oriented so that it can remove a proton from the serine hydroxyl, increasing nucleophilicity and allowing attack on the ester carbonyl. This leads to formation of the transient acetylated enzyme, and release of choline. Hydrolysis of the acetylated enzyme utilizes water as nucleophile, but again involves the imidazole ring, and regenerates the free enzyme. 

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