Experimental studies of peptide bonds: Identification of the C7eq conformation of the alanine dipeptide analog N-acetyl-alanine N′-methylamide from torsion-rotation interactions

Rotational spectra of the biomimetic molecule, alanine dipeptide and the double N15(N215) isotopomer have been observed using a pulsed-molecular-beam Fourier transform microwave spectrometer. The spectra reveal tunneling splittings from the torsional mode structure of two of its three methyl rotors. The torsional states assigned include one AA-state and two AE-states (i.e., AE and EA) for each isotopomer. The AA-states are well-fit to A-reduction asymmetricrotor Hamiltonians. The “infinite-barrier-limit” rotational constants of the N214 isotopomer are A=1710.97(8) MHz, B=991.89(9) MHz, and C=716.12(6) MHz. The AE-states are analyzed independently using “high-barrier” torsion-rotation Hamiltonians, yielding observedminus-calculated standard deviations of 400 kHz. The fits improve substantially (100-fold for the N215 isotopomer) when analyzed in a ρ-axis frame where ρb=ρc=0. The best-fit torsion-rotation parameters provide accurate V3 barriers and C3 rotor axis angles for both methyl groups. The observed angles are shown to uniquely correlate with those calculated for the acetyl and amide methyl groups in the C7eq conformational form. The V3 barriers of the amide and acetyl methyl groups are 84.0(3) cm−1 and 98.4(2) cm−1 for the N214 and 84.1(1) cm−1 and 98.65(8) cm−1 for the N215 isotopomers, respectively. These results are in good agreement with prior geometry optimizations and with current V3 barrier calculations which predict the C7eq conformation as the lowest energy form in the gas phase. Under certain conditions, the spectrum is dominated by transitions from a thermal decomposition product formed by dehydration of alanine dipeptide. This molecule is tentatively identified as 3,5-dihydro-2,3,5-trimethyl-(9CI) 4H imidazole-4-one (CAS registry #32023-93-1).