The gas-phase acidity and proton affinity of thymine, cytosine, and 1-methyl cytosine have been examined using both theoretical (B3LYP/6-31+G*) and experimental (bracketing, Cooks kinetic) methods. This paper represents a comprehensive examination of multiple acidic sites of thymine and cytosine and of the acidity and proton affinity of thymine, cytosine, and 1-methyl cytosine. Thymine exists as the most stable "canonical" tautomer in the gas phase, with a DeltaH(acid) of 335 +/- 4 kcal mol(-1) (DeltaG(acid) = 328 +/- 4 kcal mol(-1)) for the more acidic N1-H. The acidity of the less acidic N3-H site has not, heretofore, been measured; we bracket a DeltaH(acid) value of 346 +/- 3 kcal mol(-1) (DeltaG(acid) = 339 +/- 3 kcal mol(-1)). The proton affinity (PA = DeltaH) of thymine is measured to be 211 +/- 3 kcal mol(-1) (GB = DeltaG = 203 +/- 3 kcal mol(-1)). Cytosine is known to have several stable tautomers in the gas phase in contrast to in solution, where the canonical tautomer predominates. Using bracketing methods in an FTMS, we measure a DeltaH(acid) for the more acidic site of 342 +/- 3 kcal mol(-1) (DeltaG(acid) = 335 +/- 3 kcal mol(-1)). The DeltaH(acid) of the less acidic site, previously unknown, is 352 +/- 4 kcal mol(-1) (345 +/- 4 kcal mol(-1)). The proton affinity is 228 +/- 3 kcal mol(-1) (GB = 220 +/- 3 kcal mol(-1)). Comparison of these values to calculations indicates that we most likely have a mixture of the canonical tautomer and two enol tautomers and possibly an imine tautomer under our conditions in the gas phase. We also measure the acidity and proton affinity of cytosine using the extended Cooks kinetic method. We form the proton-bound dimers via electrospray of an aqueous solution, which favors cytosine in the canonical form. The acidity of cytosine using this method is DeltaH(acid) = 343 +/- 3 kcal mol(-1), PA = 227 +/- 3 kcal mol(-1). We also examined 1-methyl cytosine, which has fewer accessible tautomers than cytosine. We measure a DeltaH(acid) of 349 +/- 3 kcal mol(-1) (DeltaG(acid) = 342 +/- 3 kcal mol(-1)) and a PA of 230 +/- 3 kcal mol(-1) (GB = 223 +/- 3 kcal mol(-1)). Our ultimate goal is to understand the intrinsic reactivity of nucleobases; gas-phase acidic and basic properties are of interest for chemical reasons and also possibly for biological purposes because biological media can be quite nonpolar.

The gas phase acidity (DeltaH(acid) and DeltaG(acid)) and proton affinity (PA, and gas phase basicity (GB)) of adenine, guanine, and O(6)-methylguanine (OMG) have been examined using both theoretical (B3LYP/6-31+G*) and experimental (bracketing, Cooks kinetic) methods. We previously measured the acidity of adenine using bracketing methods; herein we measure the acidity of adenine by the Cooks kinetic method (DeltaH(acid) = 335 +/- 3 kcal mol(-1); DeltaG(acid) = 329 +/- 3 kcal mol(-1)). We also measured the PA/GB of adenine using both bracketing and Cooks methods (PA = 224 and 225 kcal mol(-1); GB = 216 and 217 kcal mol(-1)). Guanine is calculated to have several stable tautomers in the gas phase, in contrast to in solution, where the canonical tautomer predominates. Experimental measurements of gas phase guanine properties are difficult due to its nonvolatility; using electrospray and the Cooks kinetic method, we are able to measure a DeltaH(acid) of 335 +/- 3 kcal mol(-1) (DeltaG(acid) = 328 +/- 3 kcal mol(-1)). The proton affinity is 227 +/- 3 kcal mol(-1) (GB = 219 +/- 3 kcal mol(-1)). Comparison of these values to calculations indicates that we may have a mixture of the keto and enol tautomers under our conditions in the gas phase, although it is also possible that we only have the canonical form since in the Cooks method, we form the proton-bound dimers via electrospray of an aqueous solution, which should favor guanine in the canonical form. We also examined O(6)-methylguanine (OMG), a highly mutagenic damaged base that arises from the alkylation of guanine. Our calculations indicate that OMG may exist as both the "N9" (canonical) and "N7" (proton on N7 rather than N9) tautomers in the gas phase, as both are calculated to be within 3 kcal mol(-1) in energy. We have bracketed the acidity and proton affinity of OMG, which were previously unknown. The more acidic site of OMG has a DeltaH(acid) value of 338 +/- 3 kcal mol(-1) (DeltaG(acid) = 331 +/- 3 kcal mol(-1)). We have also bracketed the less acidic site (DeltaH(acid) = 362 +/- 3 kcal mol(-1), DeltaG(acid) = 355 +/- 3 kcal mol(-1)) and the PA (229 +/- 4 kcal mol(-1) (GB = 222 +/- 4 kcal mol(-1))). We confirmed these results through Cooks kinetic method measurements as well. Our ultimate goal is to understand the intrinsic reactivity of nucleobases; gas phase acidic and basic properties are of interest for chemical reasons and also possibly for biological purposes, since biological media can be quite nonpolar. We find that OMG is considerably less acidic at N9 than adenine and guanine and less basic at O6 than guanine; the biological implications of these differences are discussed.

5,8-Didehydroisoquinolinium ion, a para benzyne analogue, was generated in a Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometer, and its reactivity toward various neutral reagents was examined. A direct comparison of the reaction kinetics of the para benzyne, a meta isomer, and analogous monoradicals, indicates that the para benzyne is a poorer electrophile but a more reactive radical than its meta isomer.

The gas-phase reactions of sugars with aromatic, carbon-centered ,-biradicals with varying polarities [as reflected by their calculated electron affinities (EA)] and extent of spin-spin coupling [as reflected by their calculated singlet-triplet (S-T) gaps] have been studied. The biradicals are positively charged, which allows them to be manipulated and their reactions to be studied in a Fourier-transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometer. Hydrogen atom abstraction from sugars was found to be the dominant reaction for the biradicals with large EA values, while the biradicals with large S-T gaps tend to form addition/elimination products instead. Hence, not all ,-biradicals may be able to damage DNA by hydrogen atom abstraction. The overall reaction efficiencies of the biradicals towards a given substrate were found to be directly related to the magnitude of their EA values, and inversely related to their S-T gaps. The EA of a biradical appears to be a very important rate-controlling factor, and it may even counterbalance the reduced radical reactivity characteristic of singlet biradicals that have large S-T gaps. . These intermediates are believed to irreversibly damage double-stranded DNA via hydrogen atom abstraction from a sugar moiety in each strand [2]. Therefore, a better understanding of the factors controlling the reactivity of these biradicals toward sugars is important.Solution [3] and gas-phase [4] studies on the reactivity of neutral and charged phenyl radicals have confirmed that these monoradicals can abstract hydrogen atoms from sugars as well as from the sugar moiety in nucleosides and dinucleoside phosphates. Polar effects (i.e., polarization of the transition state) play a major role in controlling these reactions [5][6][7]. However, no such studies have been reported for the analogous biradicals.The magnitude of the singlet-triplet (S-T) gap has been proposed earlier [8] as the major reaction rate controlling factor for aromatic ,-biradicals with singlet ground states. As the magnitude of the S-T gap increases, the reaction efficiency for hydrogen atom abstraction from simple substrates has been observed to decrease, presumably because of the energetically high cost of uncoupling the biradical's electrons in the transition state [8,9]. Biradicals with large S-T gaps appear to avoid this penalty by undergoing nucleophilic or electrophilic (nonradical) addition reactions [10]. Recent gas-phase studies have shown that in addition to S-T gap effects [9], reactions of biradicals with simple organic substrates are also sensitive to polar effects (which is reflected by the biradical's calculated vertical electron affinity, EA) [11]. Here, we report an examination of the reactivity of several ,-biradicals (Scheme 1) toward various sugars, and show that these reactions are also affected by the S-T gap and the EA of the biradical.

A gas-phase study of the radical reactivities of didehydroarenes with a 1,4-relationship reveals that electronic effects (due to singlet-triplet state splittings) can be offset by polar effects.