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PAPER www.rsc.org/pccp | Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics Dissociations of copper(II)-containing complexes of aromatic amino acids: radical cations of tryptophan, tyrosine, and phenylalaninew Chi-Kit Siu, Yuyong Ke, Yuzhu Guo, Alan C. Hopkinson and K. W. Michael Siu* Received 6th May 2008, Accepted 25th June 2008 First published as an Advance Article on the web 11th August 2008 DOI: 10.1039/b807692h The dissociations of two types of copper(II)-containing complexes of tryptophan (Trp), tyrosine (Tyr), or phenylalanine (Phe) are described. The first type is the bis-amino acid complex, [CuII(M)2] 2+, where M = Trp, Tyr, or Phe; the second [CuII(4Cl-tpy)(M)] 2+, where 4Cl-tpy is the tridendate ligand 4 0 -chloro-2,2 0 :60 ,200 -terpyridine. Dissociations of the Cu(II) bis-amino acid complexes produce abundant radical cation of the amino acid, M +, and/or its secondary products. By contrast, dissociations of the 4Cl-tpy-bearing ternary complexes give abundant M + only for Trp. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations show that for Tyr and Phe, amino-acid displacement reactions by H2O and CH3OH (giving [CuII(4Cl-tpy)(H2O)] 2+ and [CuII(4Cl-tpy)(CH3OH)] 2+) are energetically more favorable than dissociative electron transfer (giving M + and [CuI(4Cl-tpy)]+). The fragmentation pathway common to all these [CuII(4Cl-tpy)(M)] 2+ ions is the loss of NH3. DFT calculations show that the loss of NH3 proceeds via a ‘‘phenonium-type’’ intermediate. Dissociative electron transfer in [CuII(4Cl-tpy)(M–NH3)] 2+ results in [M–NH3] +. The [Phe–NH3] + ion dissociates facilely by eliminating CO2 and giving a metastable phenonium-type ion that rearranges readily into the styrene radical cation. Introduction Protein radicals are important transient intermediates in enzymatic activities in biological systems. Generation of many of these radicals involves oxidation of an amino acid residue by a metal co-factor. The radical generated is commonly centered at a tryptophan (Trp) or tyrosine (Tyr) residue; for examples in ribonucleotide reductases, cytochrome c peroxidase, prostaglandin H synthase, and galactose oxidase.1 The traditional means of producing a radical cation in the gas phase is electron ionization (EI).2 A gas-phase examination is advantageous in that it reveals the intrinsic chemistry of the species, unencumbered by solvation. Efficient EI requires prior evaporation of neutrals into the gas phase, which is difficult, if not impossible, for peptides and proteins.2 Recently, copper(II)-containing ternary complexes [CuII(L)(M)] 2+, where L is typically an amine ligand and M is the peptide or amino acid, have been employed as a source for peptide and amino acid radical cations in the gas phase.3–14 Collision-induced dissociation (CID) of the complex results in dissociative electron transfer, leading to the observation of M + under appropriate conditions. M + is most efficiently formed if it contains or is an amino acid that has a Department of Chemistry and Centre for Research in Mass Spectrometry, York University, 4700 Keele Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M3J 1P3 w Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available: CID spectra (Fig. S1); potential energy scan (Fig. S2); possible reactions of the tyrosine radical cation (Fig. S3); possible reactions of the phenylalanine radical cation (Fig. S4); Cartesian coordinates for the geometries optimised at the UB3LYP/6-31++G(d,p) level Table S1). See DOI: 10.1039/b807692h 5908 | Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2008, 10, 5908–5918 low ionization energy (IE). These amino acids include Tyr and Trp, in which the unpaired electron and charge are stabilized by the aromatic functional groups (phenol and indole, respectively). The dissociative electron transfer reaction is competitive with other processes, including dissociative proton transfer in which a proton migrates either from the auxiliary ligand to the peptide to produce a protonated peptide [M+H]+, or vice versa to produce a protonated ligand [L+H]+.3,4,7,9–13 These competitive dissociations can be controlled and tuned by judicious choice of the auxiliary ligand. For example, dissociative proton transfer from the ligand to the peptide is suppressed when ligands devoid of acidic hydrogens, e.g., 2,2 0 :6 0 ,200 -terpyridine (tpy), are employed.3,9,11 Chu and co-workers12 have shown that certain ligands with considerable steric crowding, including 1,4,7-triazacyclononane and 1,4,7,10-tetraoxacyclododecane (12-crown-4 ether), favor dissociative electron transfer; indeed, formation of M + from peptides with only aliphatic residues has been demonstrated. Recently, Barlow et al.15 reported the CIDs of a large number of amino acids, including the aromatic and basic amino acids. Ke et al.16 described the CIDs of several [CuII(L)n(M)] 2+ of the basic amino acids; a variety of ligands were examined, including diethylenetriamine, 1,4,7-triazacyclononane, tpy, bipyridine, histidine (where L = M = histidine), and acetone. A key finding is that the ratio of the two types of M + that can be generated—Type 1 that is stable on the mass spectrometer time scale and Type 2 that is metastable—is controllable and can be tuned by judicious choice of the auxiliary ligand. The use of a weak ligand, acetone, produces exclusively metastable M +, whereas the use of a strong ligand, tpy, produces primarily ‘‘stable’’ M + that can be isolated for subsequent CID. This is This journal is c the Owner Societies 2008 not the only report that described observation of M + from the CID of a complex that contains only Cu2+ and M; an earlier communication, also by Ke et al.13 had described the observation of M2 + and M + from the CIDs of [CuII(M)n] 2+, where n Z 4 and M was an N-acetyl and C-methyl ester or C-amidated derivative of tryptophan or tyrosine. Here, we report the CIDs of [CuII(M)2] 2+ and [CuII(4Cl-tpy)(M)] 2+, where 4Cl-tpy is 4 0 -chloro-2,2 0 :6 0 ,200 -terpyridine and M is tryptophan, tyrosine or phenylalanine (Phe), that complement and extend the work of Barlow et al.15 and Ke et al.13,16 Experimental Mass spectrometry Experiments were performed on a prototype of a commercially available triple–quadrupole mass spectrometer (MDS SCIEX API 3000) or an ion-trap mass spectrometer (Finnigan-MAT LCQ), both equipped with an ESI source. The typical electrospray voltage was 4.5 kV. Nitrogen was used as the sheath gas at a flow rate of 0.3 L min1, and the capillary temperature was 120–160 1C. The metal complexes were infused at a flow rate of 2–3 mL min1. Ion lineage was determined using the MSn scan functions of the LCQ instrument. Materials Copper complexes were prepared in 1 mL 1 : 1 water/methanol solutions, by mixing copper(II) perchlorate hexahydrate, the auxiliary ligand 4Cl-tpy, and the amino acid Trp, Tyr, or Phe to a final concentration of 100 mM [CuII(L)(M)] 2+. All chemicals and solvents were commercially available from Sigma (St. Louis, MO, USA) and were used as received. Isotopically labeled DL-phenylalanine-a-d1, DL-phenyl-d5alanine, and DL-phenyl-d5-alanine-b,b-d2 were from CDN Isotopes (Pointe-Claire, Quebec, Canada; all 498% purity). Density functional theory (DFT) computations All calculations were performed using the Gaussian03 quantum chemical program.17 The total energies of Cu(II) complexes and radical cations were calculated by the unrestricted open-shell formalism within the framework of Becke’s three-parameter DFT hybrid functional, B3LYP, which is based on a mixture of Hartree–Fock exchange and the Becke and Lee–Yang– Parr exchange–correlation functional.18 The standard Pople Gaussian-type double-zeta basis set including polarization and diffuse functions on all atoms, 6-31++G(d,p), was employed. Local minima and transition structures were optimized and verified by harmonic frequency analyses. Zero-point vibration energies were evaluated directly using the normal-mode frequencies without anharmonic scaling. The local minima associated with each transition structure were identified using the intrinsic reaction coordinates (IRC) method.19 Atomic charges and spin densities have been evaluated using natural population analysis (NPA).20 Results and discussion As described earlier, the two most common and competitive channels in the dissociation of Cu(II)-containing ternary complexes are dissociative electron transfer and dissociative This journal is c the Owner Societies 2008 proton transfer. An intriguing case is one in which the ternary complex contains two molecules of the amino acids (or peptides) as ligands; here, in proton transfer, one amino acid is the proton donor while the other, identical amino acid is the proton acceptor. Fig. 1 shows the dissociation of the 63 Cu(II)-containing bis-complex of (a) tryptophan, (b) tyrosine, and (c) phenylalanine (unspecified Cu isotope will hereafter be understood to be 63Cu; the dissociation chemistries of the 65Cu-containing complexes were used for verification). The CID of [CuII(Trp)2] 2+ (Fig. 1a) reveals only products of dissociative electron transfer, giving Trp + at m/z 204 and [CuI(Trp)]+ at m/z 267. The product ion at m/z 130 is probably the protonated 3-methyleneindolenine cation formed via Ca–Cb bond cleavage7,15,21 with the neutral product being the a-glycyl radical, H2NC HCOOH.21,22 The 70 eV EI mass spectrum of Trp shows only one prominent ion, the protonated 3-methyleneindolenine cation at m/z 130.23 By contrast, the dissociation of [CuII(Phe)2] 2+ (Fig. 1c) displays an abundant dissociative proton-transfer product: the [Phe+H]+ ion at m/z 166. The prominent product ions at m/z 120 and m/z 91 are attributable to the dissociation of [Phe+H]+;24 the former has been assigned as the a1 or iminium ion, H2N+QCHCH2C6H5, the latter the benzyl cation, C6H5CH2+. However, dissociation of [Phe+H]+ is also expected to give a prominent product ion at m/z 103, which is absent; in addition, the abundant ion at m/z 74 in Fig. 1c is non-prominent in the dissociation of [Phe+H]+.24 The three most abundant ions in the 70 eV EI spectrum of phenylalanine are m/z 74, 91, and 120.23 It is noteworthy that the most abundant Cu-containing ion in Fig. 1c is the [CuI(Phe)]+ ion at m/z 228, the complementary ion of Phe +; by contrast, the abundance of the [CuII(Phe–H)] + ion, the complementary product of [Phe+H]+ is small. Taken together, [CuII(Phe)2] 2+ appears to dissociate efficiently to give hot Phe +, which dissociates to give the signature product ions at m/z 120, 91, and 74. The m/z 74 product ion is probably H2N+QCHCOOH with the benzyl radical, C6H5CH2 , being the neutral product. The dissociation of [CuII(Tyr)2] 2+ (Fig. 1b) gives both Tyr + at m/z 181 and [Tyr+H]+ at m/z 182. The abundant product ion at m/z 107, attributable to the p-hydroxybenzyl cation, HOC6H4CH2+, is present both in the 70 eV EI mass spectrum of Tyr23 as well as in the CID spectrum of [Tyr+H]+.24 The ion at m/z 108, the p-cresol radical cation, [HOC6H4CH3] +, is also present in the EI spectrum of Tyr. Both the m/z 107 and 108 product ions were observed in the dissociation of [CuII(L)(Tyr)] 2+.7,15 However, the relative ratio of the m/z 244 and 243 product ions, assigned as [CuI(Tyr)]+ and [CuII(Tyr–H)] +, respectively, strongly suggests that the branching ratio is greatly in favor of the production of Tyr + over that of [Tyr+H]+. A significant fraction of hot Tyr + dissociates to give the signature product ions at m/z 107 and 108. Fig. 2 shows the CID spectra of [CuII(435Cl-tpy)(M)] 2+ where M is (a) Trp, (b) Tyr, and (c) Phe (unspecified Cl isotope hereafter is 35Cl; the chemistries of the 37Cl-containing ions were identical). In all spectra, the most abundant product ion is the [CuI(4Cl-tpy)]+ ion at m/z 330. The radical cation M + is only apparent in (a) for M = Trp, in which the Trp + ion is Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2008, 10, 5908–5918 | 5909 Fig. 1 Product ion spectra of (a) [63CuII(Trp)2] 2+, (b) [63CuII(Tyr)2] 2+, and (c) [63CuII(Phe)2] 2+: collision energies Elab = 4, 8, 10 eV, respectively. fairly abundant and so is its signature product ion, the protonated 3-methyleneindolenine cation, at m/z 130. The relatively low-abundance ion at m/z 258.5 is probably a doubly charged radical cation formed as a result of the loss of ammonia from [CuII(4Cl-tpy)(Trp)] 2+. This product ion, [CuII(4Cl-tpy)(M–NH3)] 2+, is in fact common in the CIDs of all three complexes. In the dissociations of the (b) Tyr- and (c) Phe-containing complexes, the [CuII(4Cl-tpy)(M–NH3)] 2+ ions at m/z 247 and 239, respectively, are even more abundant. These [CuII(4Cl-tpy)(M–NH3)] 2+ ions, in turn, fragment to give secondary product ions: [M–NH3] + at (b) m/z 164 and (c) m/z 148, and the complementary [CuI(4Cl-tpy)]+ ion at m/z 330. The [M–NH3] + ion can subsequently dissociate to give [M–NH3–CO2] + at (b) m/z 120, the 4-hydroxystyrene radical cation; and (c) m/z 104, the styrene radical cation.15 A second prominent dissociation pathway of [CuII(4Cl-tpy)(Phe)] 2+ (Fig. 2c) gives the Phe iminium ion at m/z 120 and the [CuII(4Cl-tpy)(COOH)] + ion at m/z 375, which is fragile and, in turn, fragments to give the abundant [CuII(4Cl-tpy)(OH)] + ion at m/z 347 by eliminating CO. Alternatively, the Phe iminium ion at m/z 120 can also be formed by loss of a CO via the Phe b1 ion at m/z 148,25 which is 5910 | Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2008, 10, 5908–5918 isobaric to the [Phe–NH3] + ion. This m/z 148 ion is a mixture of b1 and [Phe–NH3] + ions, revealed clearly by the CID of [CuII(4Cl-tpy)(15N-Phe)] 2+ from which the two ions appeared at m/z 149 and 148, respectively (see Fig. S1 in the ESI).w These dissociation pathways are also evident for [CuII(4Cl-tpy)(Tyr)] 2+ (Fig. 2b) though less prominently. There is no evidence for dissociative proton transfer—no [M+H]+, no unambiguous products attributable only to [M+H]+, and no [CuII(4Cl-tpy–H)]+—in any of the spectra shown in Fig. 2. Apparently, the absence of acidic hydrogens in 4Cl-tpy effectively suppresses this channel evident in Fig. 1 and in the dissociations of [CuII(diethylenetriamine)(M)] 2+.7 The m/z 174 and 181 ions in Fig. 2b and c are probably [CuII(4Cl-tpy)(H2O)] 2+ and [CuII(4Cl-tpy)(CH3OH)] 2+, respectively, formed by nucleophilic displacement of the amino acid by a solvent molecule. The corresponding ions [CuII(tpy)(H2O)] 2+ and [CuII(tpy)(CH3OH)] 2+ were noted by Barlow et al.15 who attributed these to the solvation products of [CuII(L)] 2+ after the latter was formed from [CuII(L)(M)] 2+ by loss of the amino acid as a neutral. All of the product ions noted in the paragraph above have corresponding ions in the CIDs of the [CuII(tpy)(M)] 2+ This journal is c the Owner Societies 2008 Fig. 2 Product ion spectra of (a) [63CuII(435Cl-tpy)(Trp)] 2+, (b) [63CuII(435Cl-tpy)(Tyr)] 2+, and (c) [63CuII(435Cl-tpy)(Phe)] 2+: relative collision energies, all 10%. complexes examined by Barlow et al.,15 although there are minor differences in interpretations. The [CuII(tpy)] 2+ ion, at m/z 148, is isobaric with the [Phe–NH3] + ion; as no [CuII(4Cl-tpy)] 2+ ion (m/z 165) is evident in Fig. 2, the contribution of [CuII(tpy)] 2+ to the signal observed at m/z 148 was probably minor.15 It may also be of note that the [Tyr–NH3] + at m/z 164 is isobaric with the [CuII(tpy)(CH3OH)] 2+ ion.15 The product assignments in Fig. 2c are supported by CIDs of deuterated [CuII(4Cl-tpy)(Phe)] 2+ in which Phe is d1-Phe[NH2CD(CH2C6H5)COOH], d5-Phe[NH2CH(CH2C6D5)COOH], or d7-Phe[NH2CH(CD2C6D5)COOH]. The product ion spectrum of [CuII(4Cl-tpy)(d5-Phe)] 2+ is shown in Fig. 3. Replacing five hydrogens with deuteriums results in an increase of m/z 2.5 in the mass-to-charge value of the precursor ion from m/z 247.5 to 250.0. The most abundant ion, [CuI(4Cl-tpy)]+, does not contain deuterium and, therefore, remains at m/z 330. El Aribi et al.24 showed that there is considerable scrambling between the aromatic hydrogens and the hydrogens in the NH3+– and –COOH groups in protonated Phe. Similar scrambling in protonated Trp has also been reported by Lioe et al.26 The This journal is c the Owner Societies 2008 m/z 347 and 348 ions in Fig. 3 are, therefore, assigned, respectively, as [CuII(4Cl-tpy)(OH)]+ and [CuII(4Cl-tpy)(OD)]+, the latter having its original hydroxyl hydrogen exchanged with a phenyl deuterium. Likewise, H/D scrambling is also evident in the loss of ammonia: the cluster of m/z 241.5, 241, and 240.5 ions in Fig. 3 (shown more clearly in the relevant inset) are [CuII(4Cl-tpy)(d5-Phe–NH3)] 2+, [CuII(4Cl-tpy)(d5-Phe– NH2D)] 2+, and [CuII(4Cl-tpy)(d5-Phe–NHD2)] 2+, respectively, which in turn undergo dissociative electron transfer to give [d5-Phe–NH3] + (m/z 153), [d5-Phe–NH2D] + (m/z 152), and [d5-Phe–NHD2] + (m/z 151). A similar degree of H/D scrambling is also evident in the cluster of m/z 109, 108, 107, and 106 ions: [d5-Phe–NH3–CO2] +, [d5-Phe–NH2D–CO2] +, [d5-Phe–NHD2–CO2] +, and [d5-Phe–ND3–CO2] +. The m/z 125 and 124 ions are the iminium ions, formally H2N+QCHCH2C6D5 and H2N+QCHCH2C6HD4. Amino-acid binding modes in [CuII(tpy)(M)] 2+ The copper(II) ion has a d9 electronic configuration and forms four strong metal–ligand dative bonds in a square-planar Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2008, 10, 5908–5918 | 5911 Fig. 3 Product ion spectrum of [63CuII(435Cl-tpy)(d5-Phe)] 2+: relative collision energy = 10%. arrangement at the equatorial positions.27,28 Upon binding to tpy, three of the coordination sites of the Cu(II) ion are occupied by three pyridyl nitrogen atoms and one remaining coordination site is available for an electron-rich ligand, assuming a four-coordinate complex; five-coordinate complexes of Cu(II) are known, although the fifth bond is typically quite weak.27,28 For Phe, Tyr and Trp, the probable electrondonating sites are the carboxylic group and the amino group resulting in complex structures 1 and 2, as shown in Fig. 4. The Phe in 1 (Fig. 4a) is in the zwitterionic form with the carboxylic proton having migrated to the amino group and the carboxylate anion is stabilized by the Cu(II). This effect lowers the enthalpy (DH10) of structure 1 by 6.8 kcal mol1 (6.4 kcal mol1 in terms of DG1298) relative to structure 1 0 , the lowest energy form of canonical Phe, where the proton is on the carboxylic oxygen, but forms a strong hydrogen bond to the amino nitrogen with a distance of 1.651 Å (versus the H O distance of 1.949 Å in 1). The transition structure 1TS1 0 that separates the two minimum structures is only at 5.6 kcal mol1 (1.2 kcal mol1 lower than 1 0 ), which means that 1 0 is at a minimum on the electronic energy surface (DE = 8.1 kcal mol1 compared to DE = 8.4 kcal mol1 for 1TS1 0 ); however, when zero-point energy is included, it collapses to 1 without a barrier. Structures 2 and 2 0 have NH2 in the fourth equatorial position of [CuII(tpy)] 2+; in addition, the carbonyl or hydroxyl oxygen can bind to one of the axial positions to form 2 or 2 0 , respectively. This fifth coordination, however, is weak and cannot compensate for loss of the strong coordination between Cu(II) and the carboxylate of the zwitterionic Phe that exists in 1. DFT calculations show that 2 and 2 0 lie 9.4 and 17.7 kcal mol1, respectively, above 1, the structure at the global minimum. Elimination of neutral Phe from [CuII(tpy)(Phe)] 2+, determined by taking the difference between the energy of structure 1 (Fig. 4a) and the sum of the energies of [CuII(tpy)] 2+ and the lowest-energy conformer of the neutral amino acid,29–32 is endothermic by 63.0 kcal mol1 (Table 1). Neutral amino acid loss is not observed in the CID of [CuII(tpy)(M)] 2+; nucleophilic displacement of the amino acid by a solvent molecule 5912 | Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2008, 10, 5908–5918 gives [CuII(tpy)(H2O)] 2+ or [CuII(tpy)(CH3OH] 2+,15 with smaller endothermicities of 34.0 kcal mol1 (H2O) and 29.8 kcal mol1 (CH3OH). Similar ligand-displacement reactions have been observed in hydrated Cu 2+ with methanol33 and in [PtII(tpy)(pyridine)]+ with pyridine or acetonitrile.34 The process here with [CuII(tpy)(M)] 2+ involves first a solvent association reaction which is slightly exothermic by 10.8 and 12.9 kcal mol1 for the addition of H2O and CH3OH, respectively. Addition of the solvent molecule is barrierless, forming a penta-coordinated complex with the interaction of Cu Phe being weakened by the Cu solvent bond formed at the equatorial position ([1+H2O] and [1+CH3OH] in Fig. 4a). The solvated products are prominent in this study of [CuII(4Cl-tpy)(Phe)] 2+. It is noteworthy that the chloro substitution in 4Cl-tpy has a minimal effect on the thermochemistry. The endothermicity for eliminating Phe in [CuII(4Cl-tpy)(Phe)] 2+ is 63.5 kcal mol1 (Table 1), which is virtually identical to that in [CuII(tpy)(Phe)] 2+. The energetics of amino-acid displacement and dissociative electrontransfer reactions are also comparable (Table 1). Structures analogous to 1 and 2 of [CuII(tpy)(Phe)] 2+ exist also for [CuII(tpy)(Tyr)] 2+ and [CuII(tpy)(Trp)] 2+ (see Fig. 4 and Table 1). The energies of 2 relative to 1 for Phe, Tyr, and Trp are very comparable, about 9.5 kcal mol1. It is also of note that the energetics of the amino-acid elimination and displacement reactions vary only slightly with M and with only a small increase in the order of Phe o Tyr o Trp (Table 1). This is consistent with the fact that the Cu O distance in 1 is almost identical, regardless of the amino acid involved. Dissociative electron transfer is competitive with aminoacid elimination and displacement reactions in the CID of [CuII(4Cl-tpy)(M)] 2+ and [CuII(tpy)(M)] 2+.15,21 The intramolecular, one-electron oxidation reaction yielding M + is the most chemically interesting reaction that has spawned considerable attention and subsequent investigations following the initial discovery.3,21,35 Table 1 lists also the energetics for the dissociative electron-transfer reactions from structure 1 to give [CuI(tpy)]+ (or [CuI(4Cl-tpy)]+) and the most stable p-radical of M + (see, for example, Trp1 in Fig. 5). In contrast to the amino-acid elimination and displacement reactions, the This journal is c the Owner Societies 2008 Fig. 4 Low-energy structures of (a) [CuII(tpy)(Phe)] 2+, [CuII(tpy)(Phe)(H2O] 2+ and [CuII(tpy)(Phe)(CH3OH] 2+, (b) [CuII(tpy)(Tyr)] 2+, and (c) [CuII(tpy)(Trp)] 2+. The relative energies DH10 (DG1298) are evaluated at the UB3LYP/6-31++G(d,p) level and are in kcal mol1. The bond distances are in ångström. energy changes in the dissociative electron-transfer reaction are heavily dependent on the amino acid involved and follow the trend in the ionization energies of the side-chain functional groups in the order of Trp o Tyr o Phe.23 The dissociative electron-transfer reaction is less endothermic than the amino-acid elimination and displacement reactions for This journal is c the Owner Societies 2008 [CuII(tpy)(Phe)] 2+ (with the former having a value of 14.7 kcal mol1) and [CuII(tpy)(Tyr)] 2+ (7.1 kcal mol1), and is even exothermic for [CuII(tpy)(Trp)] 2+ (2.9 kcal mol1). The barrier against the dissociative electron-transfer reaction can conceptually be determined by locating the crossing of the two dissociation-energy surfaces;36 this calculation, however, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2008, 10, 5908–5918 | 5913 Table 1 Reaction energies of the competitive reactions of [CuII(L)(M)] 2+. The energies (kcal mol1) are evaluated at the UB3LYP/631++G(d,p) level L = tpy L = 4Cl-tpy M = Trp Amino acid elimination [CuII(L)(M)] 2+ - [CuII(L)] 2+ + M Amino acid displacement [CuII(L)(M)] 2+ + H2O [CuII(L)(H2O)] 2+ + M [CuII(L)(M)] 2+ + CH3OH [CuII(L)(CH3OH)] 2+ + M Solvent association [CuII(L)(M)] 2+ + H2O [CuII(L)(M)(H2O)] 2+ [CuII(L)(M)] 2+ + CH3OH [CuII(L)(M)(CH3OH)] 2+ Dissociative electron transfer [CuII(L)(M)] 2+ - [CuI(L)]+ M + Barrier a M = Tyr M = Phe M = Phe DE DH10 DG1298 DE DH10 DG1298 DE DH10 DG1298 DE DH10 DG1298 68.3 66.6 54.8 65.5 63.8 52.1 64.5 63.0 51.3 65.1 63.5 51.9 37.2 37.6 34.7 34.4 34.9 31.9 33.4 34.0 31.2 33.7 34.3 31.5 33.6 33.4 31.7 30.8 30.7 29.0 29.8 29.8 28.2 30.1 30.1 28.6 13.2 10.8 1.1 14.3 12.9 2.1 18.9 41a 14.7 1.3 18.0 13.9 1.9 0.2 27a 2.9 16.1 9.6 7.1 5.3 Value estimated from potential energy scan. is nontrivial even for systems as small as [CuII(H2O)] 2+ and [CuII(NH3)] 2+.37–39 Here, we estimated the barrier against dissociating [CuII(tpy)(M)] 2+ by performing a potentialenergy scan along the Cu O distance, starting from a configuration in which the [CuI(tpy)]+ complex and the amino acid radical cation are well separated (Cu O = 10 Å): a full geometry optimization, except for the restrained Cu O distance, is performed. The Cu O distance is then decreased with a step size of 1 Å, and followed by a geometry optimization at each Cu O distance (see Fig. S2 in the ESI).w The accuracy of this procedure was estimated by comparing the barriers against dissociative electron transfers in [CuII(NH3)] 2+ and [CuII(H2O)] 2+ calculated this way with those obtained by full optimizations of the transition-state structures as published in the literature.37,38 The barriers determined using potential-energy scans were 8.2 and 9.1 kcal mol1, respectively; those using published transition-state structures were 10.9 and 10.4 kcal mol1. Thus, a conservative estimate of the accuracy of the potential-energy scan methodology is 3 kcal mol1. Returning to the current investigation of [CuII(tpy)(M)] 2+, the trend is that the potential energy increases slightly with decreasing Cu O distance (due to increasing Coulombic repulsion) as the two charge separated products are brought together, until around 6 Å. The Cu–amino acid attraction then becomes dominant and the potential energy drops significantly. As the Cu O bond distance decreases from around 6 Å, the charge and spin on [Cu(tpy)] increase while that on M decrease dramatically (see Fig. S2 in the ESI).w Comparing the estimated barrier against the dissociative electron transfer in [CuII(tpy)(Trp)] 2+ thus determined (DE = 27 kcal mol1) with that in [CuII(tpy)(Phe)] 2+ (DE = 41 kcal mol1), and with the endothermicities of the amino-acid elimination reactions (DE = 64–68 kcal mol1) and amino-acid displacement reactions (DE = 30–38 kcal mol1) (see Table 1), the results are clearly in agreement with experimental observations that in the CID of [CuII(tpy)(Trp)] 2+ fragmentation to give Trp + is favored, while in that of [CuII(tpy)(Phe)] 2+ 5914 | Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2008, 10, 5908–5918 amino-acid displacements to give [CuII(tpy)(H2O)] 2+ and [CuII(tpy)(CH3OH)] 2+ are preferred. Energy surfaces of the amino-acid radical ions The CIDs of the Cu(II)-containing complexes produce observable quantities of Trp + and Tyr +. The structures of Trp + have been examined here by DFT calculations. Dissociating the Trp from structure 1 would presumably produce a distonic ion40 with the radical residing on the carboxyl group and the charge on the protonated amino group. For amino acids that have a basic side-chain, e.g., histidine and arginine, the carboxyl radical is unstable against CO2 loss.15,16 Geometry optimization shows that the carboxyl radical cation of Trp + is not at a local minimum and converts to a p-radical form in which both the radical and the charge are located in the aromatic side-chain, Trp1 (Fig. 5 and Table 2). This is in agreement with the fact that CO2 loss is not observed in the CID of [CuII(L)(Trp)] 2+. This difference is probably due, in part, to the difference in proton affinities (PAs) between the NH2– group in [Trp–H] and the imidazole group in [His–H] [cf. PA(Trp) = 226.8 kcal mol1 o PA(His) = 236 kcal mol1].23 Migration of the alphahydrogen to the carboxylic group produces Trp2, a radical cation with the radical and charge formally located on the alpha carbon and the protonated carboxylic group, respectively. The radical on Ca is thus stabilized captodatively (Trp2 is only 1.0 kcal mol1 above Trp1) with the amino group serving as an electron donor and the protonated carboxylic group as an acceptor.41,42 This tautomerization is, however, kinetically disfavored by a large barrier of 56.3 kcal mol1 (Table 2). Distonic radical cation, Trp3, with a relative energy of 6.9 kcal mol1 can be formed by transferring a proton from the CH2 of the side chain to the amino group, leaving the radical delocalized over the beta carbon and the p-system. Formation of Trp3 can follow two pathways: (a) direct 1,3-proton transfer via the transition structure Trp1TS3, or (b) two sequential 1,4-proton transfers via transition structures Trp1TS4, Trp4TS5 (a rotation about the Ca–C(OH)2+ bond) and Trp5TS3, and intermediates This journal is c the Owner Societies 2008 Fig. 5 Possible reactions of the tryptophan radical cation. The relative energies (DH10) are evaluated at the UB3LYP/6-31++G(d,p) level and are in kcal mol1. Trp4 and Trp5 (Fig. 5). The critical barriers in the two pathways are almost identical and are about 30 kcal mol1 (Table 2). Trp3 is unlikely to form (due to competition to give the protonated 3-methyleneindolenine ion, see later) as it is expected to be fragile against the fragmentation to give the indolylpropenoic acid radical cation and NH3 (6.1 kcal mol1 versus Trp1), which is not observed in the CID of Trp + (Fig. 1a and 2a). Starting from Trp5, a 1,2-hydrogen shift from the Ca to Cb gives Trp2 via the transition structure Trp5TS2. The energy barrier of 46.7 kcal mol1 is lower than that of direct Trp2 formation via Trp1TS2, but still significantly higher than those against the formation of Trp3, Trp4, and Trp5 (Fig. 5 and Table 2). This journal is c the Owner Societies 2008 For comparison, the geometric optimizations for Tyr + and Phe + have also been performed. The relative energies are tabulated in Table 2 and the optimized structures are shown in the ESI.w As with Trp +, the carboxyl radical cations are metastable and proton transfer to give the p-radical cation structures. The relative stabilization of the aromatic delocalization in M1 against the captodative effect in M2 decreases with decreasing size of the aromatic system, which is evident in the decreasing relative energy of the three M2 structures from Trp (1 kcal mol1) to Tyr (8.9 kcal mol1) and to Phe (16.3 kcal mol1), as well as that of the three transition structures M1TS2. The same decreasing trend is also apparent in the energies of the benzylic Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2008, 10, 5908–5918 | 5915 Table 2 Tautomerization and reaction energies (kcal mol1) of Trp +, Tyr +, and Phe +. The values were evaluated at the UB3LYP/631++G(d,p) level. The geometric structures are shown in Fig. 5 for M = Trp and in the ESIfn1w for M = Tyr and Phe Relative energy/kcal mol1 Spin and charge density on the side chain R M = Trp M = Tyr M = Phe M = Trp M = Tyr M = Phe M DH10 DG1298 DH10 DG1298 DH10 DG1298 Spin Charge Spin Charge Spin Charge M1 M2 M3 M4 M5 M1TS2 M1TS3 M1TS4 M4TS5 M5TS2 M5TS3 M3-NH3 [H2NC HCOOH] + R+ [H2N+QCHCOOH] + R 0.0 1.0 6.9 30.0 18.2 56.3 30.2 28.8 30.9 46.7 17.3 6.1 20.5 45.5 0.0 1.5 6.6 29.9 18.6 56.6 30.3 29.2 31.5 47.4 17.8 3.7 8.4 33.4 0.0 8.9 2.6 21.2 9.3 47.0 23.8 20.8 21.5 38.3 8.2 5.1 18.5 32.4 0.0 8.1 2.4 21.5 10.0 47.4 24.3 21.7 22.5 39.4 9.2 4.5 6.8 20.8 0.0 16.3 7.8 16.1 3.9 39.2 21.8 17.7 16.1 33.3 3.3 8.3 22.0 24.3 0.0 15.4 8.0 16.3 4.5 39.8 22.3 18.7 17.1 34.4 4.5 1.5 10.8 13.3 0.89e 0.01e 0.92e 0.92e 0.78e +0.88 +0.15 +0.22 +0.15 +0.33 0.68e 0.02e 0.92e 0.93e 0.82e +0.68 +0.13 +0.20 +0.13 +0.28 0.54e 0.02e 0.93e 0.93e 0.88e +0.55 +0.12 +0.18 +0.11 +0.22 + radical cations M3, M4, and M5. All these observations are consistent with the fact that the p-system on the side-chain of Trp + is better able to stabilize the radical and the charge than those of Tyr + and Phe +. It is also reflected by the spin and charge density on the p-system of the side chain R in M1, in which both exhibit the trend Trp1 4 Tyr1 4 Phe1 (Table 2). As reported above, Trp + fragments prominently to give the protonated 3-methyleneindolenine ion at m/z 130, a product of side-chain cleavage involving the Ca–Cb bond. A potential energy scan increasing the Ca–Cb bond distance in Trp1 resulted in a monotonic increase in energy and the energy barrier against this fragmentation is thus determined by its reaction energy. In general, cleavage of the Ca–Cb bond can result in either H2NC HCOOH+R+ (for Trp, R+ is the protonated 3-methyleneindolenine ion) or H2N+QCHCOOH+R . The competition between these two channels depends largely on the ionization energy of the radical fragment, which is the major contributor to the reaction energy.42,43 The adiabatic IEs of R determined in this study are Trp, 142.4 kcal mol1; Tyr, 153.5 kcal mol1; and Phe, 165.1 kcal mol1. With the large difference between the IE of the R for Trp and that of the glycyl radical (167.4 kcal mol1 43 and determined as such at the B3LYP/6-31++G(d,p) level), the reaction energy to give H2NC HCOOH+R+ (20.5 kcal mol1) is considerably lower than that to give H2N+–CHCOOH+R (45.5 kcal mol1) (Table 2). For Phe, the comparable IEs of the benzyl radical and the glycyl radical result in comparable reaction energies to give H2NC HCOOH+R+ (22.0 kcal mol1) and H2N+QCHCOOH+R (24.3 kcal mol1). These calculated dissociation energies are consistent with the fact that both H2N+QCHCOOH and the benzyl cation are observed in the CID spectrum of [CuII(Phe)2] 2+ (Fig. 1c). For [CuII(Tyr)2] 2+ (Fig. 1b), in addition to the abundant R+ ion, the p-hydroxybenzyl cation, at m/z 107, the p-cresol ion at m/z 108 is also evident. To shed some light onto the appearance of this [R+H] + ion, the proton affinities at the benzylic carbon of the three sidechain radicals (R ) are evaluated using DFT calculations and compared with the PA at the imine nitrogen of HNQCHCOOH (Table 3, not all PAs are available in the NIST Chemistry WebBook;23 those that are listed are comparable). The proton affinity of C6H5CH2 (203.6 kcal mol1) is slightly larger than that of HNQCHCOOH (202.4 kcal mol1). This difference in the PAs of 1.2 kcal mol1 for phenylalanine increases significantly to 15.4 kcal mol1 for tyrosine and to 29.6 kcal mol1 for tryptophan. Combining the DFT results for Tyr suggests that the dissociation of Tyr + giving H2NC HCOOH+R+ is energetically more favorable than that giving H2N+QCHCOOH+R ; if this latter channel is open, Table 3 Proton affinities DH1298 (kcal mol1) of HNQCHCOOH and the side-chain radical (R ) of Trp (3-metheneindolenine radical), Tyr (p-hydroxylbenzyl radical), and Phe (benzyl radical)a This workb Literature valuesc HNQCHCOOH R (Trp) R (Tyr) R (Phe) 202.4 217.8 214.3 232.0 a 203.6 198.7 Protonation sites at the imine nitrogen for HNQCHCOOH and the benzylic carbon for R . b At UB3LYP/6-31++G(d,p) level. c NIST Chemistry WebBook.23 5916 | Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2008, 10, 5908–5918 Fig. 6 Transition structures of [CuII(tpy)(Phe)] 2+ that lead to loss of NH3. The transition energies DHz0(DGz298) are relative to the most stable structure 1 as shown in Fig. 4. All energies are evaluated at the UB3LYP/6-31++G(d,p) level and are in kcal mol1. This journal is c the Owner Societies 2008 an internal proton transfer is likely between the incipient products thereby yielding HNQCHCOOH and [R+H] + (due to the large difference of 15.4 kcal mol1 in the PAs between HNQCHCOOH and R ). The [R+H] + ion is expected in the dissociation of Phe +, as the R has a larger PA than HNQCHCOOH, and the dissociation channel giving H2N+QCHCOOH+R is open as shown by the presence of H2N+QCHCOOH in Fig. 1c. The fact that the toluene radical cation is absent signifies that proton transfer within the H2N+–CH(COOH) R complex does not occur. We attribute this to the relatively high internal energy and high dissociation rate of this complex under CID conditions. In a recent photodissociation experiment of Phe +, both the benzyl cation (m/z 91) and the toluene radical cation (m/z 92) were observed.44 The presence of [R+H] + in the photofragmentation of Phe +, but not in our CID experiment of [CuII(Phe)2] 2+ is probably because the former was performed under conditions in which little excess energy was imparted onto the dissociating Phe +. Elimination of NH3 from [CuII(tpy)(Phe)] 2+ As previously shown, the loss of NH3 is a common channel in the CIDs of [CuII(4Cl-tpy)(M)] 2+ (Fig. 2) and that of [CuII(tpy)(M)] 2+.15 For Tyr and Phe, the resulting [CuII(4Cl-tpy)(M–NH3)] 2+ product ion further dissociates to give [CuI(4Cl-tpy)]+ and [M–NH3] +, the latter of which subsequently eliminates CO2 to yield [M–NH3–CO2] +. The loss of NH3 is a facile reaction in the dissociations of the [M+H]+ ions of Trp, Tyr, and Phe.24 The critical transition structure that leads to the dissociation products has been proposed to involve a ‘‘phenonium-type’’ ion.24,25,45–47 In investigating the mechanism for the elimination of NH3 from [CuII(4Cl-tpy)(M)] 2+ and subsequent dissociations, we chose to center our examination on [CuII(tpy)(Phe)] 2+ as the prototypical complex. The Phe component in the lowest-energy structure of [CuII(tpy)(Phe)] 2+, structure 1 (shown in Fig. 4a), closely resembles the structure of [Phe+H]+.24 For protonated Phe, elimination of NH3 can be achieved via two reaction pathways: (a) a 1,2-hydride shift from Cb to Ca thereby forming a benzyl cation and displacing NH3, or (2) a neighboring-group displacement by the phenyl ring thereby giving a phenonium-type ion.24,25,45–47 The analogous transition structures for [CuII(tpy)(Phe)] 2+ are shown here in Fig. 6 (all energies are relative to structure 1). As for protonated Phe, the energy of the transition structure for the 1,2-hydride shift (44.7 kcal mol1) is higher than that involving the phenoniumtype ion (36.1 kcal mol1). A third possible competing channel that we investigated involves a different type of neighboringgroup displacement that begins with a nucleophilic attack on the Ca carbon by the free carboxylic oxygen thereby yielding a lactone intermediate; this mechanism was proposed for the minor NH3 loss in the CID of protonated arginine.48 The transition structure for this third pathway has the highest energy (46.5 kcal mol1). As a result, the most plausible structure for [CuII(tpy)(Phe–NH3)] 2+ involves a phenonium-type ion. The energy surface for the dissociation of the [Phe–NH3] + ion (m/z 148) is shown in Fig. 7. The most probable This journal is c the Owner Societies 2008 Fig. 7 Energy surface for the dissociation of [Phe–NH3] +. The relative energies DH10 (DG1298) are evaluated at the UB3LYP/631++G(d,p) level and in kcal mol1. The spin and charge densities are calculated by natural population analyses. [Phe–NH3] + ion formed via dissociative electron transfer in [CuII(tpy)(Phe–NH3)] 2+ is structure I (Fig. 7). Structure I is a distonic radical cation with the radical located at the COO group and the positive charge mainly on the 6-membered ring (+0.6). The carboxyl radical in I has limited stability against CO2 loss (with a barrier of only 5.2 kcal mol1) to give a second metastable phenonium-type radical cation II. This latter radical cation undergoes very facile ring-opening to give the styrene radical cation III (m/z 104). Conclusion The CIDs of [CuII(M)2] 2+ produce abundant M + and/or its secondary products. By contrast, the CIDs of [CuII(4Cltpy)(M)] 2+ produce abundant M + only for Trp. The common dissociation channel is one that gives [CuII(4Cl-tpy)(M–NH3)] 2+, which for Tyr and Phe further produces [M–NH3] + and [M–NH3–CO2] +. For Phe, the dissociation of [CuII(4Cltpy)(M)] 2+ to give abundant H2N+QCHCH2C6H5, the iminium ion, and [CuII(4Cl-typ)(COOH)] + is also evident; the latter loses CO facilely to give abundant [CuII(4Cl-typ)(OH)] +. DFT calculations show that in [CuII(tpy)(M)] 2+ the lowest-energy structure contains a zwitterionic amino acid. Dissociative electron transfer in [CuII(tpy)(M)] 2+ results in immediate, intramolecular proton transfer giving the canonical M + with the charge and the radical delocalized on the aromatic ring. This is the preferred reaction for Trp. For Phe, the amino-acid displacement reactions leading to the observation of [CuII(tpy)(H2O)] 2+ and [CuII(tpy)(CH3OH)] 2+ have lower barriers than dissociative electron transfer. Neighboring-group displacement by the aromatic ring in [CuII(tpy)(M)] 2+ results in a phenonium-type [M–NH3] +. 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