Acyclic terpenes polyisoprenes

The chemical structure of naturally occurring ais polyisoprenes was determined by 13C NMR spectroscopy using acyclic terpenes and polyprenols as model compounds. The arrangement of the isoprene units along the polymer chain was estimated to be in the order dimethylallyl terminal unit, three trans units, a long block of ais units, and ais isoprenyl terminal unit. This result demonstrates that the biosynthesis of cis-polyisoprenes in higher plants starts from trans,trans,trarcs-geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate. ... 

This paper describes the structural analysis of naturally occurring ois-1,4 polyisoprenes using 13C NMR spectroscopy. First, the structural characterization of polyprenols, which are linear isoprenoid compounds containing 30 to 100 carbons, was carried out on the basis of information obtained from acyclic terpenes having various ois and trans isoprene units as model compounds. This method was also applied to the structural analysis of polyisoprenes. The elucidation of the structure of the end groups and the arrangement of isoprene units provides information on the mechanism of the biosynthesis of polyprenyl compounds in nature. 

According to this mechanism, natural rubber chains are expected to have one dimethylallyl terminal unit and one isoprenyl pyrophosphate terminal unit the latter may give rise to a hydroxyl group by hydrolysis. From this point of view, acyclic terpenes in the generalized structure (II) may be appropriate models for the structural characterization of natural polyisoprenes by 13C NMR spectroscopy. 

The chemical shifts of the characteristic carbon signals in acyclic terpenes, polyprenols, and cis-trans isomerized poly-isoprenes are plotted in Fig. 3. Here, the chemical shifts are correlated using the w C-5 methyl carbon signal at 17.66 ppm as an internal standard (except for isomerized polyisoprenes) in order to compensate for the effect of solution concentration. It is clear that these chemical shifts are independent of the chain length of the compounds and can be used for the determination of the arrangement of isoprene units as well as the terminal units in various isoprenoid compounds (8). 

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