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Thesis (Ph. D. in Chemistry)--Vanderbilt University, Dec. 2005. / Title from title screen. Includes bibliographical references.

No description available.

In quantum chemistry, scientists aim to solve the time-independent Schrödinger equation by employing a variety of approximation techniques whose accuracy are typically inversely proportional to their computational cost. This problem is amplified when it comes to chiral molecules, whose stereochemical assignments and associated chiroptical properties can be incredibly sensitive to small changes in their three-dimensional structure, requiring highly accurate theoretical methods. On the other hand, due to the polynomial scaling with system size, it is sometimes impractical to apply such methods to chemical compounds of broad scientific interest, especially when a multitude of low-energy conformations have to be accounted for as well. As a result, the assignment of absolute configurations to chiral compounds remains a tedious task. However, the characterization of these compounds is something that many different scientists are significantly invested in. The ultimate goal, then, is twofold: to gain useful insight by utilizing the electronic structure methods at your disposal while simultaneously developing new approximation techniques that can be used to push the boundaries on what is currently capable in computational chemistry. Therefore, we start by applying widely accepted density functional theory methods to predict optical rotations and electronic circular dichroism for naturally occurring antiplasmodial and anticancer drug candidates. We find that by comparing the computational results directly with those obtained through experimental measurement, we can provide reliable absolute config- uraitonal assignments to a variety of chiral compounds with numerous stereogenic centers. We also present the first ever prediction of vibrational circular dichroism with second-order Møller-Plesset perturbation theory. This extension opens the door to systematically improvable correlated wave function methods that can be employed when density functional theory fails or when higher accuracy results are required. / Doctor of Philosophy / Theoretical chemistry aims to draw a line from a molecule's three-dimensional structure to a set of physical observables, allowing for the efficient prediction of such properties. One family of chemical compounds for which this task becomes increasingly difficult is known as chiral molecules. A chiral compound is defined as one that has a non-superimposable mirror image. The concept of chirality is most tangibly seen with a pair of human hands, which demonstrate this same mirror-like behavior. In the same way that a person has left and right hands, a three-dimensonal handedness can be used to characterize many compounds that are essential to life including enzymes, sugars, and proteins. Although procedures have been developed to consistently isolate pure samples of such compounds, the correct identification of each hand poses a much larger task and costs the global pharmaceutical industry tens to hundreds of millions of dollars every year. As such, gaining insight about these incredibly valuable compounds and their associated properties is a never ending goal for many scientists. One such way to gain insight is through the direct comparison of experimental and calculated properties, namely chiroptical properties. These unique properties define how chiral compounds interact with light. While experimental scientists are limited in the degree to which they can probe a molecule's structure, theoretical chemists have the advantage of knowing the exact three-dimensional structure for the compound they are studying. On the other hand, theoretical chemists rely on comparison to experimental results to develop new methods or apply the available techniques to predict molecular properties. This work begins by attempting to match calculated properties to experimentally measured ones in order to confirm the detailed molecular structure of natural product drug candidates. Through multiple such computational studies, it is shown that the current methods are sometimes limited in the knowledge that they can provide. As a result, it is absolutely necessary to continue to improve on the existing methods. We go on to provide a first-of-its-kind implementation that allows for theoretical chemists to compare their results to experiment in a way that was not previously possible.

Determinar la configuración absoluta de las moléculas quirales representa un gran reto para los químicos orgánicos. Para conseguir este objetivo existen diversas técnicas, las cuales se describen en el presente trabajo, así como ejemplos de cómo han sido utilizadas para la determinación de la configuración absoluta de productos naturales. / Methods for the assignment of the absolute configuration of an organic molecule: The assignment of the absolute configuration of chiral molecules represents a great challenge for organic chemists. There are several techniques in order to establish it, and they are described in this work, as well as examples of how they can be applied in the assignment of the absolute configuration of natural products.

Ce travail est consacré à l’étude des effets de chiralité dans des dipeptides cycliques construits sur un cycle dikétopiperazine (DKP) et comportant deux résidus de chiralités identiques ou opposées, LL et LD. Les mêmes systèmes sont étudiés dans différents environnements par spectroscopie optique couplée à des calculs de chimie quantique. Les molécules neutres sont isolées et refroidies en jet supersonique et caractérisées par spectroscopie laser UV et IR sélective en conformère. La structure des systèmes protonés, isolés dans un spectromètre de masse ICR, est déterminée par spectroscopie de dissociation induite par absorption de multiples photons IR. Enfin, le dichroïsme circulaire vibrationnel (VCD) est appliqué aux échantillons en phase solide. Les systèmes étudiés comportent un résidu aromatique tyrosine (cyclo Tyr-Pro) ou phénylalanine (cyclo Phe-Phe et Phe-His). Le diastéréomère LD est en général moins stable et plus flexible que LL, et ils ne diffèrent structurellement que par des interactions faibles de type NH…π ou CH…π. Le conformère le plus stable correspond en général à une structure où le chromophore aromatique est replié sur le cycle peptidique, l’autre partie étant étendue. Un effet très important de la chiralité est observé dans certains dimères protonés. Enfin, les expériences de VCD en phase condensée montrent que la phase cristalline de cyclo LPhe-DPhe formée par déshydratation du dipeptide linéaire en phase solide est chirale à cause de la synchronisation des chiralités transitoires des monomères. / This work focuses on the study of chirality effects on the structure of cyclic dipeptides built on a diketopiperazine (DKP) ring with residues of identical (LL) or opposite (LD) chirality. The same systems are studied in different environments by means of optical spectroscopy coupled to quantum chemical calculations. The neutral molecules are isolated and cooled down to a few K in a supersonic expansion and characterized by UV and conformer-specific IR laser spectroscopy. The structure of the protonated systems, isolated in an ICR mass spectrometer, is determined by infrared multiple photon dissociation spectroscopy. Last, vibrational circular dichroism (VCD) is applied to the solid-state samples.The studied systems possess an aromatic residue, either tyrosine (cyclo Tyr-Pro) or phenylalanine (cyclo Phe-Phe and Phe-His). The LD diastereomer is in most of the cases less stable and more flexible than LL. LL and LD differ from each other by weak interactions like NH…π or CH…π interactions. The most stable conformer usually corresponds to a structure with the aromatic chromophore folded over the DKP ring, the other part being extended. A dramatic effect of chirality is observed for some of the protonated dimers. Last, VCD experiments in the condensed phase show that the crystal phase of LPhe-DPhe formed by solid-state dehydration of the linear dipeptide is chiral due to synchronization of the transient chirality of the monomers.

The thesis aims at the study of conformation of a dimethyl tartrate molecule using the methods of vibrational optical activity (VOA), namely vibrational circular dichroism (VCD) and Raman optical activity (ROA). Based on the theoretical background of both VOA methods and current state of research of the studied molecule there was a sample of dimethyl tartrate dissolved in different solvents and its properties were measured using VCD and ROA spectrometers. In addition to the experiment, ab initio calculations were carried out in order to compare calculated and experimental spectra. Based on the comparison, the possible conformations present in water solution of the studied molecule are described in detail.

L'objectif principal de cette thèse est l’étude spectroscopique de molécules ou de complexes portant plusieurs centres chiraux en phase gazeuse, pour comprendre les effets de la stéréochimie sur leurs propriétés structurales. Des alcaloïdes dérivés de la Cinchonine ont été introduits intacts en phase gazeuse par ablation laser. Ils ont été étudiés en combinant un jet supersonique avec de la spectroscopie laser. Les deux pseudo-énantiomères Quinine et Quinidine ont montré des spectres électroniques et vibrationnels similaires, en accord avec leur structure similaire. Leurs propriétés en solution diffèrent davantage, comme le montrent les expériences de dichroïsme circulaire vibrationnel (VCD). Cette différence est encore plus marquée dans l’Hydroquinine et l’Hydroquinidine. Enfin la reconnaissance chirale a été étudiée dans des complexes ioniques dans un piège à ions. La stabilité des complexes formés entre S-camphre et les R et S-Alanine protonées indique une préférence homochirale. Cependant, l'énergie d'interaction calculée ainsi que les spectres IRMPD dans la région des empreintes digitales sont identiques. Le rôle des conformères plus hauts en énergie dans la reconnaissance chirale a été discuté. / The main objective of this thesis is a spectroscopic study of molecules or complexes bearing multiple chiral centres in the gas phase, to understand the effects of stereochemistry on their structural properties. Neutral cinchona alkaloids have been introduced intact in gas phase by laser-ablation. They have been studied by combining supersonic expansion with laser spectroscopy. The two pseudo-enantiomers Quinine and Quinidine show similar electronic and vibrational spectra, in line with similar structure. Their properties in solution differ more, as shown by Vibrational Circular Dichroism (VCD) experiments. This difference is further enhanced in Hydroquinine and Hydroquinidine. Lastly chiral recognition has been studied in ionic complexes in an ion trap. A homochiral preference has been shown in the stability of the complexes formed between S-Camphor and R and S protonated Alanine. However, the calculated interaction energy as well as the IRMPD spectrum in the fingerprint region are identical. The role of higher energy conformers in chiral recognition has been discussed.

Les huiles essentielles sont connues pour leur richesse en molécules chirales. L'identification et la caractérisation de ces différentes molécules en termes de la configuration absolue des énantiomères majoritaires représente un important pas dans la compréhension des actions thérapeutiques des huiles essentielles. Dans le cadre de cette thèse, une étude est réalisée sur la composition chimique des huiles essentielles de quelques plantes aromatiques du Sahara algérien (l'Artemisia herba-alba, le Bubonium graveolens et l'Artemisia arborescens) ayant un usage fréquent dans la pharmacopée traditionnelle. Différentes techniques analytiques chromatographiques telles que la CG-SM classique et chirale, la CLHP chirale et spectroscopiques comme l'IR et le VCD seront mises en œuvre afin d’étudier les constituants chiraux de ces HE pour la connaissance de leurs signatures chiroptiques qui peuvent être des paramètres essentiels pour leurs caractérisations. En associant la performance du traitement chimiométrique, la fiabilité des techniques spectroscopiques et le potentiel discriminant de la signature chirale, nous avons développé des outils de caractérisation, de contrôle qualité et de traçabilité des HE. Les configurations absolues de la (-)-α-thujone, la (+)-β-thujone, l'acetate de (-)-cis-chrysanthenyl, le (+)-oxocyclonerolidol et l'acetate de (-)-cis-acetoxychrysanthenyl ont été obtenues par la comparaison des spectres VCD expérimentaux et calculés et on a montré qu'on peut utiliser le VCD pour l'étude et la modélisation des matrices complexes. / Essential oils are known for their richness in Chiral molecules. Identification and characterization of these different molecules in terms of absolute configuration of the majors enantiomers represents an important step in the understanding of the therapeutic actions of essential oils. In this thesis, a study was done to investigate the chemical composition of the essential oils of some aromatic plants of the Algerian Sahara (Artemisia herba-alba, Bubonium graveolens and Artemisia arborescens) frequently used in the traditional pharmacopoeia. Different chromatographic analytical techniques such as classic and chiral GC-MS, chiral HPLC and spectroscopic techniques as IR and VCD will be implemented to study the chiral constituents in these EO for the knowledge of their chiroptical signatures which can be essential parameters for their characterizations. Combining chemometrics processing performance, reliability of spectroscopic techniques and potential discriminating chiral signature, we have developed tools for the characterization, quality control and traceability of EO. Absolute configuration of (-)-α-thujone, (+)-β-thujone, (-)-cis-chrysanthenyl acetate, (+)-oxocyclonerolidol and (-)-cis-acetoxychrysanthenyl acetate were obtained by comparison of calculated and experimental VCD spectra and we demonstrated that VCD can be used for the study and modeling of complex matrices.

Cette thèse porte sur l'étude des interactions faibles et de la spectroscopie vibrationnelle en phase condensée à partir d'un développement théorique basé sur la théorie de la perturbation de la fonctionnelle de densité. D'une part des corrections de la fonction d'onde Born-Oppenheimer ont été calculées pour déterminer le moment magnétique induit par les vibrations et ainsi calculer des spectres de dichroïsme circulaire vibrationnel. D'autre part, une modélisation des effets de polarisation est réalisée à l'aide d'une nouvelle représentation de la susceptibilité électronique non-locale. / This thesis deals with the development and application of computational methods for the efficient and accurate calculation of spectroscopic parameters and non-covalent inter-molecular interactions in condensed-phase systems from quantum chemical methods. Specifically, electronic current densities and polarizability effects are computed using density functional perturbation theory. The nuclear velocity perturbation theory is rigorously derived from the exact factorization of the electron-nuclear wave function. Its implementation within a large-scale electronic structure program package is reported and the calculation of dynamical vibrational circular dichroism in the condensed phase is demonstrated. A position-dependent mass of nuclei in molecules is derived, addressing the fundamental questions as to how masses move in a molecule. First steps towards a density-based modeling of inter-molecular interactions using a compact representation of the electronic susceptibility are devised.