ConspectusThe carbonyl group holds a prominent position
in chemistry and
biology not only because it allows diverse transformations but also
because it supports key intermolecular interactions, including hydrogen
bonding. More recently, carbonyl groups have been found to interact
with a variety of nucleophiles, including other carbonyl groups, in
what we have termed an n→π* interaction.
In an n→π* interaction, a nucleophile
donates lone-pair (n) electron density into the empty
π* orbital of a nearby carbonyl group. Mixing
of these orbitals releases energy, resulting in an attractive interaction.
Hints of such interactions were evident in small-molecule crystal
structures as early as the 1970s, but not until 2001 was the role
of such interactions articulated clearly.These non-covalent interactions were first
discovered during investigations
into the thermostability of the proline-rich protein collagen, which
achieves a robust structure despite a relatively low potential for
hydrogen bonding. It was found that by modulating the distance between
two carbonyl groups in the peptide backbone, one could alter the conformational
preferences of a peptide bond to proline. Specifically, only the trans
conformation of a peptide bond to proline allows for an attractive
interaction with an adjacent carbonyl group, so when one increases
the proximity of the two carbonyl groups, one enhances their interaction
and promotes the trans conformation of the peptide bond, which increases
the thermostability of collagen.More recently, attention has
been paid to the nature of these interactions.
Some have argued that rather than resulting from electron donation,
carbonyl interactions are a particular example of dipolar interactions
that are well-approximated by classical mechanics. However, experimental
evidence has demonstrated otherwise. Numerous examples now exist where
an increase in the dipole moment of a carbonyl group decreases the
strength of its interactions with other carbonyl groups, demonstrating
unequivocally that a dipolar mechanism is insufficient to describe
these interactions. Rather, these interactions have important quantum-mechanical
character that can be evaluated through careful experimental analysis
and judicious use of computation.Although individual n→π* interactions
are relatively weak (∼0.3–0.7 kcal/mol), the ubiquity
of carbonyl groups across chemistry and biology gives the n→π* interaction broad impact. In particular,
the n→π* interaction is likely to play
an important role in dictating protein structure. Indeed, bioinformatics
analysis suggests that approximately one-third of residues in folded
proteins satisfy the geometric requirements to engage in an n→π* interaction, which is likely to be of
particular importance for the α-helix. Other carbonyl-dense
polymeric materials like polyesters and peptoids are also influenced
by n→π* interactions, as are a variety
of small molecules, some with particular medicinal importance. Research
will continue to identify molecules whose conformation and activity
are affect...