Internal chirality descriptors iR and iS and ire and isi. A proposed notation to extend the usefulness of the R/S system by retaining the sense of stereochemistry in cases of ligand ranking changes

Abstract

The R/S system, universally applied for indicating the absolute configuration of a structure, is extremely adept for conveying the absolute configuration unequivocally. However, it suffers from one limitation, viz that due to CIP priority rules the rankings of the ligands attached to an asymmetric center can be altered upon a change in a ligand leading to a change in the designated configuration even if bonds to the asymmetric center were not actually formed or broken. This means that the sense of stereochemistry in situations such as within a set of compounds where family relationships are of focus or where the sense of the stereochemical course of a reaction is of interest can be lost or confusion may occur. This shortcoming is easily remedied though by defining a fixed ranking for a particular ligand in the system under study, eg, the ligand at which the change has occurred. The configurations are then expressed as iR or iS, akin to the R and S descriptors, for sp -hybridized tetrahedral chiral structures and similarly, as ire and isi faces, akin to the re and si descriptors, for sp -hybridized trigonal prochiral structures. All in all, the notation can be considered as an auxiliary to extend the usefulness of the R/S system. Thus, the proposed iR/iS notation could find profitable use in comparative studies where there is a need to avoid confusion arising from changing assignments due to priority rules or to expedite the ease of comprehension. Moreover, in the current digital age, the facile retrieval of stereochemically clear data by machines is highly desirable-something that the iR/iS notation is readily amenable to.