We provide a simple explanation for X-H bond contraction and the associated blue shift and decrease of intensity in IR spectrum of the so-called improper hydrogen bonds. This explanation organizes hydrogen bonds (HBs) with a seemingly random relationship between the X-H bond length (and IR frequency and its intensity) to its interaction energy. The factors which affect the X-H bond in all X-H...Y HBs can be divided into two parts: (a) The electron affinity of X causes a net gain of electron density at the X-H bond region in the presence of Y and encourages an X-H bond contraction. (b) The well understood attractive interaction between the positive H and electron rich Y forces an X-H bond elongation. For electron rich, highly polar X-H bonds (proper HB donors) the latter almost always dominates and results in X-H bond elongation, whereas for less polar, electron poor X-H bonds (pro-improper HB donors) the effect of the former is noticeable if Y is not a very strong HB acceptor. Although both the above factors increase with increasing HB acceptor ability of Y, the shortening effect dominates over a range of Ys for suitable pro-improper X-Hs resulting in a surprising trend of decreasing X-H bond length with increasing HB acceptor ability. The observed frequency and intensity variations follow naturally. The possibility of HBs which do not show any IR frequency change in the X-H stretching mode also directly follows from this explanation.

Gallic acid (GA), a key intermediate in the synthesis of plant hydrolysable tannins, is also a primary anti-inflammatory, cardio-protective agent found in wine, tea, and cocoa. In this publication, we reveal the identity of a gene and encoded protein essential for GA synthesis. Although it has long been recognized that plants, bacteria, and fungi synthesize and accumulate GA, the pathway leading to its synthesis was largely unknown. Here we provide evidence that shikimate dehydrogenase (SDH), a shikimate pathway enzyme essential for aromatic amino acid synthesis, is also required for GA production. Escherichia coli (E. coli) aroE mutants lacking a functional SDH can be complemented with the plant enzyme such that they grew on media lacking aromatic amino acids and produced GA in vitro. Transgenic Nicotianatabacum lines expressing a Juglans regia SDH exhibited a 500% increase in GA accumulation. The J. regia and E. coli SDH was purified via overexpression in E. coli and used to measure substrate and cofactor kinetics, following reduction of NADP+ to NADPH. Reversed-phase liquid chromatography coupled to electrospray mass spectrometry (RP-LC/ESI–MS) was used to quantify and validate GA production through dehydrogenation of 3-dehydroshikimate (3-DHS) by purified E. coli and J. regia SDH when shikimic acid (SA) or 3-DHS were used as substrates and NADP+ as cofactor. Finally, we show that purified E. coli and J. regia SDH produced GA in vitro.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s11103-011-9739-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

We report a detailed and full computational investigation on the hydrovinylation reaction of styrene with the Ni(II)-phospholane catalytic system, which was originally presumed to proceed through a cationic mechanism involving a nickel hydride intermediate. The following general features emerge from this study on a specific catalyst complex that was found to give quantitative yield and moderate selectivity: (a) the activation barrier for the initiation (18.8 kcal/mol) is higher than that for the reaction due to a low-lying square-planar pentenyl chelate intermediate originating from a Ni(II)-allyl catalyst precursor. Consequently there is an induction period for the catalysis; (b) the exit of product from the catalyst is via a -H-transfer step instead of the usual -H elimination pathway, which has a very high activation energy due to a trans effect of the phospholane ligand; (c) the turnover-limiting and enantio-determining transition state is also the -H-transfer; (d) because of the absence of a hydride intermediate, the unwanted isomerization of the product is prevented; (e) since the enantio-discrimination is decided at the H-transfer stage itself, the configuration of the product in a catalytic cycle influences the enantioselectivity in the subsequent cycle; (f) the trans effect of the sole strong ligand in the d 8 square-planar Ni(II), the stability of the η 3 -benzyl intermediate, and the availability of three coordination sites enable regioselective hydrovinylation over the possible oligomerization/polymerization of the olefin substrates and linear hydrovinylation. This work has also confirmed the previously recognized role of the hemilabile group at various stages in the mechanism.