We provide a systematic characterization of the nanosecond groundstate lactam-lactim tautomerization of pyridone derivatives in aqueous solution under ambient conditions using temperature-jump transient 2D IR spectroscopy. Although electronic excited-state tautomerization has been widely studied, experimental work on the ground electronic state, most relevant to chemistry and biology, is lacking. Using 2D IR spectroscopy, lactam and lactim tautomers of 6-chloro-2-pyridone and 2-chloro-4-pyridone are unambiguously identified by their unique cross-peak patterns. Monitoring the correlated exponential relaxation of these signals in response to a laser temperature jump provides a direct measurement of the nanosecond tautomerization kinetics. By studying the temperature, concentration, solvent, and pH dependence, we extract a thermodynamic and kinetic characterization and conclude that the tautomerization proceeds through a two-state concerted mechanism. We find that the intramolecular proton transfer is mediated by bridging water molecules and the reaction barrier is dictated by the release of a proton from pyridone, as would be expected for an efficient Grothusstype proton transfer mechanism.keto-enol tautomerism | multidimensional | time-resolved spectroscopy | ultrafast T automerism of aromatic heterocycles has been extensively studied owing to its importance in biochemical processes such as enzyme catalysis (1), ligand binding (2), and spontaneous mutagenesis (3). To characterize the tautomeric equilibria, researchers have used techniques such as UV absorption (4), circular dichroism (5), X-ray crystallography (3), NMR (6), Raman (7), and IR absorption spectroscopy (8). However, these methods face several challenges to characterizing thermodynamic and kinetic data for tautomeric equilibria and exchange processes. For example, electronic spectra are broad and featureless, which complicates spectral interpretation, particularly for systems with multiple tautomers. Although NMR provides excellent structural resolution, it can only directly monitor chemical exchange in real time on millisecond and longer time scales, rather than the picosecond to nanosecond time scales expected for proton transfer under physiological conditions. From the theoretical point of view, quantum mechanical calculations have been performed extensively to characterize the relative stability of tautomeric systems, their activation barriers, and the reaction mechanisms (9, 10); nevertheless, experimental validation of these predictions is scarce. To provide a characterization under ambient aqueous conditions, we need a technique with both the structural sensitivity to unambiguously identify various tautomers and the time resolution to probe the rapid proton transfer dynamics. To this end, we demonstrate the capability of 2D IR spectroscopy coupled with a nanosecond temperature-jump (Tjump) laser to reveal the nonequilibrium lactam-lactim tautomerization kinetics of pyridone derivatives.Time-resolved studies of tautomerism have a long and storie...

Pluripotency of embryonic stem (ES) cells is controlled by defined transcription factors1,2. During differentiation, mouse ES cells undergo global epigenetic reprogramming, as exemplified by X-chromosome inactivation (XCI) whereby one female X-chromosome is silenced to achieve gene dosage parity between the sexes3-5. Somatic XCI is regulated by homologous X-chromosome pairing6,7, counting8-10, and random choice of future active X (Xa) and inactive X’s. XCI and cell differentiation are tightly coupled11, as blocking one process compromises the other8,12 and dedifferentiation of somatic cells to induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells is accompanied by X-reactivation2. Recent evidence suggests coupling of Xist expression to pluripotency factors13, but how the two are interconnected remains unknown. Here, we show that the Oct414 lies at the top of the XCI hierarchy and regulates XCI by triggering X-chromosome pairing and counting. Oct4 directly binds Tsix and Xite, two regulatory ncRNA genes of the X-inactivation center15,16, and also complexes with XCI trans-factors, Ctcf and Yy117, through protein-protein interactions. Depletion of Oct4 blocks homologous X-chromosome pairing and results in inactivation of both Xs in female cells. Thus, we have identified the first trans-factor that regulates counting and ascribed novel functions to Oct4 during X-chromosome reprogramming.