The research work reported in this thesis is focused on the chiral analysis, quantification of enantiomeric composition, assignment of absolute configuration of molecules with chosen functional groups. The weak intra-molecular hydrogen bonding interactions are detected by exploiting several multinuclear and multi-dimensional techniques. Pulse sequences have been designed to manipulate the spin dynamics to derive specific information from the complex NMR spectra encountered in diverse situations. Broadly, the thesis can be classified in to three sections. The section I containing two chapters reports the introduction of new chiral auxiliaries and protocols developed for enantiomeric discrimination, measurement of enantiomeric contents, assignment of absolute configuration for molecules possessing specific functional groups using chiral solvating and derivatizing agents. The section II, reports NMR experimental evidence for the observation of the rare type of intramolecular hydrogen bonds involving organic fluorine in biologically important organic molecules, that are corroborated by extensive DFT based theoretical calculations. The section II also discusses the H/D exchange mechanism as a tool for quantification of HB strengths in organic building blocks. The section III reports the two different novel NMR methodologies designed for deriving information on the scalar interaction strengths in an orchestrated manner. The designed sequences are able to completely eradicate the axial peaks, prevents the evolution of unwanted couplings and also yields ultrahigh resolution in the direct dimension, permitting the accurate measurement of scalar couplings for a particular spin. The brief summary about each chapter is given below. Chapter 1 provides a general introduction to one and two dimensional NMR spectroscopy. The pedagogical approach has been followed to discuss the conceptual understanding of spin physics and the NMR spectral parameters. The basic introduction to chirality, existing approaches in the literature for discrimination of enantiomers and the assignment of absolute configuration of molecules with chosen functional groups and their limitations are briefly discussed. The brief introduction to hydrogen bond, experimental methods to obtain the qualitative information about the strengths of hydrogen bonds, and the theoretical approaches employed in the thesis to corroborate the NMR experimental findings have been provided. The mechanism of H/D exchange, the utilization of exchange rates to derive strengths of intra-molecular hydrogen bond in small molecules have also been discussed. This chapter builds the bridge for the rest of the chapters. Each of these topics are discussed at length in the corresponding chapters. Part I: NMR Chiral Analysis: Novel Protocols Chapter 2 discusses a simple mix and shake method for testing the enantiopurity of primary, secondary and tertiary chiral amines and their derivatives, amino alcohols. The protocol involves the in-situ formation of chiral ammonium borate salt from a mixture of C2 symmetric chiral BINOL, trialkoxyborane and chiral amines. The proposed concept has been convincingly demonstrated for the visualization of enantiomers of a large number of chiral and pro-chiral amines and amino alcohols. The protocol also permits the precise measurement of enantiomeric composition. The significant advantage of the protocol is that it can be performed directly in the NMR tube, without any physical purification. The structure of the borate complex responsible for the enantiodifferentiation of amines has also been established by employing multinuclear NMR techniques and DFT calculations. From DOSY and 11B NMR experiments it has been ascertained that there are only two possible complexes or entities which are responsible for differentiating enantiomers. From the combined utility of DFT calculations and the 11B NMR chemical shifts, the structure of the borate complex has been determined to be an amine-coordinated complex with the N atom of the amine. Chapter 3 discusses a simple chiral derivatizing protocol involving the coupling of 2-formylphenylboronic acid and an optically pure [1,1-binaphthalene]-2,2-diamine for the rapid and accurate determination of the enantiopurity of hydroxy acids and their derivatives, possessing one or two optically active centers. It is established that this protocol is not only rapid method for discrimination of enantiomers but also highly effective for assigning the absolute configuration of various chiral hydroxy acids and their derivatives. The developed protocol involves the coupling of 2-formylphenylboronic acid with (R)-[1,1-binaphthalene]-2,2-diamine, and 2-formylphenylboronic acid with (S)-[1,1-binaphthalene]-2,2-diamine as chiral derivatizing agents. The absence of aliphatic peaks from the derivatizing agent, large chemical shift separation between the discriminated peaks of diastereomers, and the systematic change in the direction of displacement of peaks for an enantiomer in a particular diastereomeric complex, permitted the unambiguous assignment of absolute configuration. Part II : Rare Type of Intramolecular Hydrogen Bonding In chapter 4 The rare occurrence of intramolecular hydrogen bonds of the type N–H˖˖˖F–C, in the derivatives of imides and hydrazides in a low polarity solvent, is convincingly established by employing multi-dimensional and multinuclear solution state NMR experiments. The observation of 1hJFH, 2hJFN, and 2hJFF of significant strengths, where the spin polarization is transmitted through space among the interacting NMR active nuclei, provided strong and conclusive evidence for the existence of intra-molecular hydrogen bonds. Solvent induced perturbations and the variable temperature NMR experiments unambiguously supported the presence of intramolecular hydrogen bond. The two dimensional HOESY and 15N–1H HSQC experiments reveals the existence of multiple conformers in some of the investigated molecules. The 1H DOSY experimental results discarded any possibility of self or cross-dimerization of the molecules. The results of DFT based calculations, viz., Quantum Theory of Atoms In Molecules (QTAIM) and Non Covalent Interaction (NCI), are in close agreement with the NMR experimental findings. In chapter 5 the rates of hydrogen/deuterium (H/D) exchange determined by 1H NMR spectra have been utilized to derive the strength of hydrogen bonds and to monitor the electronic effects in the site-specific halogen substituted benzamides and anilines. The theoretical fitting of the time dependent variation in the integral areas of 1H NMR resonances to the first order decay function permitted the determination of H/D exchange rate constants (k) and their precise half-lives (t1/2) with high degree of reproducibility. The comparative study also permitted the determination of relative strengths of hydrogen bonds and the contribution from electronic effects on the H/D exchange rates. Part III: Novel NMR Methodologies for the Precise Measurement of 1H-1H Couplings Chapter 6 describes two novel NMR methodologies developed for the precise measurement of 1H-1H couplings. Poor chemical shift dispersion and the pairwise interaction among the entire coupled network of protons results in the severely complex and overcrowded one dimensional 1H NMR spectra, hampering both the resonance assignments and the accurate determination of nJHH. The available two-dimensional selective refocusing (SERF) based experiments suffer from the evolution of magnetization from uncoupled protons as intense uninformative axial peaks. This creates ambiguity in the identification of peaks belonging to the coupled partners of a selectively excited proton, hindering the extraction of their interaction strengths. This challenge has been circumvented by designing two novel experimental technique, cited as “Clean-G-SERF” and “PS-Clean-G-SERF”. The Clean-G-SERF technique completely eradicates the axial peaks and suppresses the evolution of unwanted couplings while retaining only the couplings to the selectively excited proton. The method permits the accurate determination of spin-spin couplings even from a complex proton NMR spectrum in an orchestrated manner. The PS-Clean-G-SERF technique has been designed for the complete elimination of axial peaks and undesired couplings, with a blend of ultra-high resolution achieved by real time broad band homonuclear decoupling has been discussed in this chapter. The spin dynamics involved in both these pulse sequences have been discussed. The diverse applications of both these novel experiments have been demonstrated.

Alkenes can undergo a variety of chemical reactions to form more complex molecules with a range of functional groups. This makes them useful starting materials for synthesizing a wide range of organic compounds. Chapter I provided an overview of the development history of alkenyl C−H bond activation. The early reactions of C−H compounds with metal complexes, as well as stoichiometric activation of the transition metal-activated C–H bond, were discussed. Then the first successful and efficient organometallic-catalyzed transformations of a C−H bond, the first transition metal-catalyzed vinylic C–H functionalization, and the first transition metal-catalyzed olefinic C–H functionalization under mild conditions were demonstrated. Finally, enantioselective vinylic C–H functionalization was discussed. In Chapter II, a method for enantioselective vinylic C(sp2)−H bond activation using a Ru(II) catalyst and a chiral transient directing group was developed. Chiral amine was also utilized to control the Z/E stereoselectivity. The method demonstrated a broad substrate scope with good yield, high Z/E ratio stereoselectivity, and excellent enantioselectivity. Its synthetic utility was demonstrated by the synthesis of key structural motifs of particularly useful natural products and pharmaceutical compounds. Additionally, a rare vinylic C−H bond activated ruthenic complex was isolated and determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The methodology suggested in this work is expected to facilitate the further development of asymmetric vinylic C−H functionalization reactions. In Chapter III, a practical and efficient methodology for Ru(II)-catalyzed enantioselective alkenyl C–H bond functionalization of indole-substituted acrylaldehyde derivatives via the chiral transient directing group (CTDG) strategy to obtain optically active pyrrolo[1,2-a]indole derivatives was suggested. The methodology resulted in a series of optically active products with good yields (up to 80%), good stereoselectivity (up to 25.0:1 Z/E), and excellent enantioselectivity (up to 95% ee). Furthermore, synthetic transformations were explored. Chapter IV presented the first demonstration of a sequentially composed catalytic substitution reaction of alkenes for building multi-amido methylated derivatives while reserving the π- components. The process involved a simple Fe (III)-catalyst and bisamidomethane reagent, which directly and selectively transformed α-substituted styrenes into several biologically and pharmaceutically relevant N-heterocycles through tandem processes.

Användningen av biokatalysatorer, särskilt enzymer, inom kemikalie- och läkemedelsindustrin erbjuder betydande fördelar jämfört med de traditionella kemo-katalytiska metoderna som historiskt har dominerat industrin. En viktig klass av enzymer, transaminaser, spelar en central roll i tillverkningen av kirala aminer, som utgör grundläggande byggstenar i dessa industriella sektorer. Denna studie är inriktad på ett specifikt amin transaminas från Silicibacter pomeroyi. Tidigare har detta enzym visat förmåga att katalysera en mängd olika reaktioner för produktion av kirala aminer, men för att realisera dess fulla potential inom industriella tillämpningar krävs förbättrad stabilitet vid högre temperaturer. I motsats till de vanligt förekommande metoderna för proteinteknik, såsom rationell design och riktad evolution, används i denna studie släktsekvensrekonstruktion för att skapa mer temperaturtåliga varianter av detta enzym. Tidigare användning av denna metod har visat sig kunna generera proteiner med högre temperaturtålighet. Genom denna metod, där förfäder till detta enzym återskapas utifrån bevarade sekvenser, förväntas generering av varianter som kan bibehålla sin funktion vid högre temperaturer under en längre tid. Genom att utforska denna alternativa strategi för proteinteknik strävar studien efter att ge mer robusta biokatalysatorer för industriella tillämpningar. Utfallet från denna studie visade att två förfäder hade ökad termostabilitet. Detta visade sig dels genom analys av T5015 som påvisade en 3.9 och 6 C° förbättring för respektive förfader. Vidare påvisade t1/2 mätningar att dessa enzymer kunde utstå 2.06 till 3.72 gånger så lång tid vid 55 C° innan de inaktiverades. De påvisade dock lägre specifik aktivitet vid rumstemperatur, där en bidragande faktor till detta var att enbart en liten fraktion av förfäderna är korrekt veckade. Detta visar att det är nödvändigt med fortsatta förbättringar och fortsatta studier kring substratacceptans och stabilitet i olika lösningsmedel. Sammanfattningsvis påvisar resultaten att släktsekvensrekonstruktion är en proteinteknik som fungerar för att skapa proteiner med ökad termostabilitet och bör ses som ett mer självklart alternativ till riktad evolution och rationell design. / The utilisation of biocatalysts, particularly enzymes, in chemical and pharmaceutical industries presents significant advantages over the traditional chemocatalytic methods that historically dominated the industry. A crucial class of enzymes, transaminases, play a central role in the production of chiral amines, fundamental building blocks in these industrial sectors. This study focuses on a specific amine transaminase from Silicibacter pomeroyi. While this enzyme has previously demonstrated the ability to catalyse a variety of reactions for chiral amine production, realising its full potential in industrial applications requires enhanced stability at higher temperatures. In contrast to commonly employed protein engineering methods such as rational design and directed evolution, this study utilises ancestral sequence reconstruction to generate more temperature-resistant variants of this enzyme. Previous applications of this method have shown promising results in generating proteins with increased thermal stability. Through this approach, wherein ancestors of this enzyme are recreated from extant sequences, it is expected that variants capable of maintaining function at higher temperatures will be produced. By exploring this alternative strategy for protein engineering, the study aims to provide more robust biocatalysts for industrial applications. The outcome of this study is that two ancestors exhibited increased thermostability. This was evidenced by the analysis of T5015, which showed an improvement of 3.9 and 6 °C for each respective ancestor. Furthermore, t1/2 measurements indicated that they remained active for 2.06 to 3.72 fold longer at 55 °C before becoming inactive. However, they exhibited lower specific activity at room temperature, partially due to only a small fraction of the ancestral protein samples being properly folded. This suggests further improvements and continued investigations into substrate acceptance and stability in different solvents are required. In conclusion, this study demonstrates that ancestral sequence reconstruction is a protein engineering technique effective in enhancing protein thermostability and should be considered a more viable alternative to directed evolution and rational design.

The research work reported in this thesis is focused on the chiral analysis, quantification of enantiomeric composition, assignment of absolute configuration of molecules with chosen functional groups. The weak intra-molecular hydrogen bonding interactions are detected by exploiting several multinuclear and multi-dimensional techniques. Pulse sequences have been designed to manipulate the spin dynamics to derive specific information from the complex NMR spectra encountered in diverse situations. Broadly, the thesis can be classified in to three sections. The section I containing two chapters reports the introduction of new chiral auxiliaries and protocols developed for enantiomeric discrimination, measurement of enantiomeric contents, assignment of absolute configuration for molecules possessing specific functional groups using chiral solvating and derivatizing agents. The section II, reports NMR experimental evidence for the observation of the rare type of intramolecular hydrogen bonds involving organic fluorine in biologically important organic molecules, that are corroborated by extensive DFT based theoretical calculations. The section II also discusses the H/D exchange mechanism as a tool for quantification of HB strengths in organic building blocks. The section III reports the two different novel NMR methodologies designed for deriving information on the scalar interaction strengths in an orchestrated manner. The designed sequences are able to completely eradicate the axial peaks, prevents the evolution of unwanted couplings and also yields ultrahigh resolution in the direct dimension, permitting the accurate measurement of scalar couplings for a particular spin. The brief summary about each chapter is given below. Chapter 1 provides a general introduction to one and two dimensional NMR spectroscopy. The pedagogical approach has been followed to discuss the conceptual understanding of spin physics and the NMR spectral parameters. The basic introduction to chirality, existing approaches in the literature for discrimination of enantiomers and the assignment of absolute configuration of molecules with chosen functional groups and their limitations are briefly discussed. The brief introduction to hydrogen bond, experimental methods to obtain the qualitative information about the strengths of hydrogen bonds, and the theoretical approaches employed in the thesis to corroborate the NMR experimental findings have been provided. The mechanism of H/D exchange, the utilization of exchange rates to derive strengths of intra-molecular hydrogen bond in small molecules have also been discussed. This chapter builds the bridge for the rest of the chapters. Each of these topics are discussed at length in the corresponding chapters. Part I: NMR Chiral Analysis: Novel Protocols Chapter 2 discusses a simple mix and shake method for testing the enantiopurity of primary, secondary and tertiary chiral amines and their derivatives, amino alcohols. The protocol involves the in-situ formation of chiral ammonium borate salt from a mixture of C2 symmetric chiral BINOL, trialkoxyborane and chiral amines. The proposed concept has been convincingly demonstrated for the visualization of enantiomers of a large number of chiral and pro-chiral amines and amino alcohols. The protocol also permits the precise measurement of enantiomeric composition. The significant advantage of the protocol is that it can be performed directly in the NMR tube, without any physical purification. The structure of the borate complex responsible for the enantiodifferentiation of amines has also been established by employing multinuclear NMR techniques and DFT calculations. From DOSY and 11B NMR experiments it has been ascertained that there are only two possible complexes or entities which are responsible for differentiating enantiomers. From the combined utility of DFT calculations and the 11B NMR chemical shifts, the structure of the borate complex has been determined to be an amine-coordinated complex with the N atom of the amine. Chapter 3 discusses a simple chiral derivatizing protocol involving the coupling of 2-formylphenylboronic acid and an optically pure [1,1-binaphthalene]-2,2-diamine for the rapid and accurate determination of the enantiopurity of hydroxy acids and their derivatives, possessing one or two optically active centres. It is established that this protocol is not only rapid method for discrimination of enantiomers but also highly effective for assigning the absolute configuration of various chiral hydroxy acids and their derivatives. The developed protocol involves the coupling of 2-formylphenylboronic acid with (R)-[1,1-binaphthalene]-2,2-diamine, and 2-formylphenylboronic acid with (S)-[1,1-binaphthalene]-2,2-diamine as chiral derivatizing agents. The absence of aliphatic peaks from the derivatizing agent, large chemical shift separation between the discriminated peaks of diastereomers, and the systematic change in the direction of displacement of peaks for an enantiomer in a particular diastereomeric complex, permitted the unambiguous assignment of absolute configuration. Part II : Rare Type of Intramolecular Hydrogen Bonding In chapter 4 The rare occurrence of intramolecular hydrogen bonds of the type N–H˖˖˖F–C, in the derivatives of imides and hydrazides in a low polarity solvent, is convincingly established by employing multi-dimensional and multinuclear solution state NMR experiments. The observation of 1hJFH, 2hJFN, and 2hJFF of significant strengths, where the spin polarization is transmitted through space among the interacting NMR active nuclei, provided strong and conclusive evidence for the existence of intra-molecular hydrogen bonds. Solvent induced perturbations and the variable temperature NMR experiments unambiguously supported the presence of intramolecular hydrogen bond. The two dimensional HOESY and 15N–1H HSQC experiments reveals the existence of multiple conformers in some of the investigated molecules. The 1H DOSY experimental results discarded any possibility of self or cross-dimerization of the molecules. The results of DFT based calculations, viz., Quantum Theory of Atoms In Molecules (QTAIM) and Non Covalent Interaction (NCI), are in close agreement with the NMR experimental findings. In chapter 5 the rates of hydrogen/deuterium (H/D) exchange determined by 1H NMR spectra have been utilized to derive the strength of hydrogen bonds and to monitor the electronic effects in the site-specific halogen substituted Benz amides and anilines. The theoretical fitting of the time dependent variation in the integral areas of 1H NMR resonances to the first order decay function permitted the determination of H/D exchange rate constants (k) and their precise half-lives (t1/2) with high degree of reproducibility. The comparative study also permitted the determination of relative strengths of hydrogen bonds and the contribution from electronic effects on the H/D exchange rates. Part III: Novel NMR Methodologies for the Precise Measurement of 1H-1H Couplings Chapter 6 describes two novel NMR methodologies developed for the precise measurement of 1H-1H couplings. Poor chemical shift dispersion and the pairwise interaction among the entire coupled network of protons results in the severely complex and overcrowded one dimensional 1H NMR spectra, hampering both the resonance assignments and the accurate determination of nJHH. The available two-dimensional selective refocusing (SERF) based experiments suffer from the evolution of magnetization from uncoupled protons as intense uninformative axial peaks. This creates ambiguity in the identification of peaks belonging to the coupled partners of a selectively excited proton, hindering the extraction of their interaction strengths. This challenge has been circumvented by designing two novel experimental technique, cited as “Clean-G-SERF” and “PS-Clean-G-SERF”. The Clean-G-SERF technique completely eradicates the axial peaks and suppresses the evolution of unwanted couplings while retaining only the couplings to the selectively excited proton. The method permits the accurate determination of spin-spin couplings even from a complex proton NMR spectrum in an orchestrated manner. The PS-Clean-G-SERF technique has been designed for the complete elimination of axial peaks and undesired couplings, with a blend of ultra-high resolution achieved by real time broad band mononuclear decoupling has been discussed in this chapter. The spin dynamics involved in both these pulse sequences have been discussed. The diverse applications of both these novel experiments have been demonstrated.