Studies in chiral symmetry breaking crystallization I: The effects of stirring and evaporation rates

Chiral symmetry breaking can be realized in stirred crystallization of Na-ClO₃. We present experimental and theoretical studies of the random distribution of crystal enantiomeric excess (cee) for various stirring and solvent evaporation rates. For a fixed solvent evaporation rate, as the stirring RPM is increased, the probability distribution of cee initially broadens and subsequently develops a sharp peak close to cee = 1. On further increase of stirring rate, the probability distribution once again broadens. This broad probability distribution becomes narrow, with a sharp peak near cee = 1, if the solvent evaporation rate is decreased. Thus we show some ways in which the probability distribution of cee can be controlled in stirred crystallization. In particular, our study shows that the stirring rate and the solvent evaporation rate can be adjusted to maximize crystal enantiomeric excess. © 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Amplification of Chirality at Solid Surfaces

Symmetry-breaking phenomena in two-dimensional crystallization at surfaces are reviewed and the potential impact to chiral amplification in three-dimensional systems in connection with the origin of homochirality in the biomolecular world is discussed. Adsorption of prochiral molecules leads to two-dimensional conglomerates, i.e., on a local scale spontaneously to homochiral crystal structures. Small enantiomeric excess or chiral impurities in this environment install homochirality on a global scale, that is, on the entire surface.     

Probability distributions of enantiomeric excess in unstirred and stirred crystallization of 1,1'-binaphthyl melt.

Crystallization of 1, l'-binaphthyl from its melt can generate optical activity spontaneously. Since crystallization is a stochastic process, the enantiomeric excess (ee) generated in each crystallization varies randomly. We investigated the qualitative features of probability distribution of the ee for crystallization at two temperatures, 150 degrees C and 152 degrees C, at which conglomerate crystallization occurs. No clear transparent crystals were produced at either temperature, indicating that the solid states formed in the melt were polycrystalline. The ee randomly fluctuated from run to run, with an average of 26.9% and 2.7% when the crystallization was carried out at 152 degrees C, and 150 degrees C, respectively. The spread of the probability distribution is also substantially different. We also studied the probability distribution of ee in stirred crystallization at different stirring RPM. The results show probability distribution's broadening and evolution to a bimodality with increasing stirring RPM--a typical behavior in symmetry-breaking transitions. These results shed light on the nature of enantioselectivity in secondary nucleation and crystal growth.     

Chiral crystallization of glutamic acid on self assembled films of cysteine

In this article, we describe the preparation and use of chiral surfaces derived from enantiomerically pure crystals of amino acids. For this purpose, we chose to employ a self-assembly process to grow nanoscale chiral films of (+)-L or (-)-D cysteine, onto gold surfaces. We utilized those chiral films as resolving auxiliaries in the crystallization of enantiomers from solutions. To demonstrate the chiral discriminating ability of the chiral surfaces in crystallization processes, we investigated the crystallization of rac-glutamic acid onto the chiral films. Our study demonstrates the potential application of chiral films to control chirality throughout crystallization, where one enantiomer crystallizes on the chiral surfaces with relatively high enantiomeric excess. In addition, crystallization of pure glutamic acid enantiomers, and its racemic compound on to chiral films resulted in crystal morphology modification with preferred crystal orientation, which assists in the interpretation of the ability of our chiral surfaces to function as chiral selectors.     

Chiral symmetry breaking: Experimental results and computer analysis of a liquid-phase autoxidation

The autoxidation of tetralin is treated as a model reaction system to define the applicability of stereospecific autocatalysis. This concept, predicting a spontaneous amplification of enantiomeric excess generated by an autocatalytic chemical reaction, is used in several theoretical models as an explanation for the origin of natural optical activity. The reaction system investigated obeys the basic criteria of these models: a chiral intermediate (tetralin hydroperoxide) is produced from an achiral substrate (tetralin) via an autocatalytic pathway where the feedback mechanism is expected to generate a state of broken chiral symmetry. In order to test the amplification capacity of this reaction a computer analysis of the kinetic scheme is performed. This simulation is derived from the known kinetic scheme of autoxidation and is validated by fitting the experimentally observed data of hydroperoxide evolution. Calculations show that this model allows powerful amplification of enantiomeric excess and a transient amplification of the optical rotation. It is also demonstrated that the model system exhibits pronounced sensitivity toward any loss of absolute configuration of the involved chiral species. Since an amplification effect results exclusively at a high degree of stereoselectivity, it is concluded that stereospecific autocatalysis is possible in systems which show template reactions, crystallization, or colloidal effects. © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Chiral symmetry-breaking transition in growth front of crystal phase of 1,1'-binaphthyl in its supercooled melt

Although the theory of spontaneous chiral symmetry-breaking in open systems was proposed some time ago, experimental realization of this phenomenon has not been achieved. In this article, we note that the crystal growth front of 1,1'-binaphthyl shows many of the characteristics of an open system in which chiral symmetry-breaking has occurred. We studied the temperature profiles of the crystallizing surface and obtained X-ray diffraction data of the crystals grown from the melt under controlled conditions. The data show that, under appropriate conditions, the observed bimodal probability distribution of enantiomeric excess (ee) with maxima approximately 60% is due exclusively to chiral crystals and not due to racemic crystals of 1,1'-binaphthyl that can also form at large supercooling. The mass independence of the ee shows that the growing front maintains a constant ee, which is a clear signature of open systems in steady state. Chirality 16:131-136, 2004.     

Mass balancing in kinetic resolution: calculating yield and enantiomeric excess using chiral balance

When kinetic resolution is applied for the production of enantiomerically pure compounds, process options may be used which involve more than one chiral substrate and one chiral product, such as sequential or parallel enzymatic kinetic resolutions or hydrolysis of diastereomers. Although the relation between the yields (y) of the chiral compounds is straightforward in these cases, the relation between their enantiomeric excess (ee) values is not. Combining mass balances into a so-called chiral balance (Sigma y . ee(R) = 0) provides the relation between enantiomeric excess values in a useful manner. This chiral balance easily shows which nonmeasured enantiomeric excess values and yields can be calculated from measured values. The chiral balance is only valid when configurations at chiral centers are conserved. (c) 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Conditions for chiral asymmetry generation in the preparation of the chiral octahedral cobalt complex

We have reported that the random chiral asymmetry generation, which is a spontaneous preferential generation of one enantiomer, was observed in the synthesis of a chiral octahedral cobalt complex, cis-[CoBr(NH(3))(en)(2)]Br(2). In this article, we review our studies to explain in this system the autocatalytic growth of small enantiomeric excess that arises due to statistical fluctuations. One important experimental finding was that the rate of chiral autocatalysis increased with increasing the degree of supersaturation. Furthermore, our numerical simulation indicates that even small inhomogeneities in the reaction system may play a significant role because their effect is amplified by the autocatalytic reaction under appropriate conditions. In a small volume, fluctuations in concentration can grow if the autocatalytic growth overcomes the diffusional loss of the excess concentration from this volume. This may makes the enantiomeric excess of the chiral complex randomly fluctuate from run to run.     

Chirality recognition in solvent-free solid-state crystallization: chiral adduct formation by bis-beta-naphthol derivatives and benzoquinone crystals

New adduct crystals were obtained by simply mixing/grinding component crystals of bis-beta-naphthol (BN) derivatives with benzoquinone (BQ) under solvent-free conditions. Chiral recognition was found to operate during this process and either a racemic or a chiral crystal of a BN derivative produced an adduct crystal with BQ by solid-state crystallization. The chirality preference changed subtly according to the molecular structure of the BN derivative. Even in circumstances in which no adduct was formed, addition of a third component, such as crystals of naphthalene, to the grinding mixture yielded an adduct crystal. Remarkably, these adduct crystals were found to decompose spontaneously with time and revert to the starting crystal of the BN derivative by losing BQ molecules from the crystal lattice. Local melting of crystals by the grinding pressure was found unlikely to be the mechanism of adduct formation. Overall, these results demonstrate that molecules in the solid state could change their relative location and hydrogen bonding partners, thereby exerting chiral discrimination.     

How do reaction conditions affect the enantiopure synthesis of 2‐substituted‐1,4‐benzodioxane derivatives?

Several biologically active compounds structurally include the enantiopure 2‐substituted‐1,4‐benzodioxane scaffold. The straightforward racemization that affects reactions involving most of the common chemical reactives is thus a crucial issue. The developing of a completely stereo‐controlled synthetic route that does not affect the enantiomeric excess is consequently mandatory. It is also important to set up a reliable chiral HPLC method, able to follow the reaction, and to improve the synthetic performances. Here, we report the chiral investigation of two different synthons, we specifically evaluated the synthetic pathways that could be run in order to afford them, avoiding the racemization processes, which could normally occur in basic conditions. In addition, we developed peculiar chiral HPLC methods in order to resolve the enantiomers, define the enantiomeric excess, and fully characterize these compounds.     

Role of latent heat in chiral symmetry breaking transition in the crystallization of 1,1'-binaphthyl

The influence of latent heat dissipated by the crystallization of 1,1'-binaphthyl in its supercooled molten state on the chiral symmetry breaking transition was investigated. Temperature change in the crystallization system was monitored by infrared thermocamera. Temperature rise due to the dissipation of latent heat in the growing front of polycrystalline aggregate was about 2 degrees C in an unstirred crystallization system. The melting point of racemic mixture and racemic compound of 1,1'-binaphthyl is 145 degrees C and 158 degrees C, respectively. The latent heat generated by the crystallization could thus change the crystallization behavior when the initial temperature of the melt was slightly lower than 145 degrees C. The temperature change in both unstirred and stirred crystallization systems was monitored. In the stirred crystallization system, even in the case when the initial temperature of the melt was about 2 degrees C lower than 145 degrees C, the temperature rose by about 4 degrees C immediately after the onset of crystallization. This indicates that the role of stirring as the critical parameter for the chiral symmetry breaking transition is not only to clone the chiral crystals but also to enhance the dissipation of latent heat due to secondary nucleation.     

Chiral reagents for the determination of enantiomeric excess and absolute configuration using NMR spectroscopy

Recent advances in the development of chiral derivatizing and solvating agents that facilitate the determination of enantiomeric excess and absolute configuration are reviewed. These include metal-containing species, host-guest systems, donor-acceptor compounds, and liquid crystal discriminating agents. In the aggregate, these reagents can be used to analyze a wide range of compound classes.     

Racemization and the origin of optically active organic compounds in living organisms

The organic compounds synthesized in prebiotic experiments are racemic mixtures. A number of proposals have been offered to explain how asymmetric organic compounds formed on the Earth before life arose, with the influence of chiral weak nuclear interactions being the most frequent proposal. This and other proposed asymmetric syntheses give only slight enantiomeric excess and any slight excess will be degraded by racemization. This applies particularly to amino acids where half-lives of 10(5)-10(6) years are to be expected at temperatures characteristic of the Earth's surface. Since the generation of chiral molecules could not have been a significant process under geological conditions, the origins of this asymmetry must have occurred at the time of the origin of life or shortly thereafter. It is possible that the compounds in the first living organisms were prochiral rather than chiral; this is unlikely for amino acids, but it is possible for the monomers of RNA-like molecules.     

Spontaneous and induced generation of optical activity in racemic 1,1′-Binaphthyl

Summary A racemic mixture of the molecularly dissymmetric compound 1,1-binaphthyl will spontaneously develop optical activity when melted, cooled, and allowed to crystallize. The distribution of optical rotations in individual samples shows that the resolutions occur in a truly spontaneous manner (i.e., without the influence of any external chiral agent). However, addition of small amounts of certain chiral compounds promotes the generation of one enantiomeric form of binaphthyl. The results are often not completely consistent and this suggests that the nucleation of binaphthyl is sensitive to very low concentrations of unknown chiral agents.Presented at the International Symposium on Generation and Amplification of Asymmetry in Chemical Systems, Jülich, September 24–26, 1973.     

Mechanism of chiral asymmetry generation by chiral autocatalysis in the preparation of chiral octahedral cobalt complex

Chiral asymmetry generation, the predominant production of one enantiomer in a non-chiral environment, could occur in the production of the chiral complex cis-[CoBr(NH₃)(en)₂]Br₂ by the reaction of [Co(H₂O)₂{(OH)₂Co(en)₂}₂](SO₄)₂ with ammonium bromide in an aqueous medium. The main kinetic steps in the reaction system have been determined. During the reaction, the product crystallizes at an early stage. When a very small amount of crystalline enantiomer was added to the reaction system at an early stage, the same enantiomer was produced preferentially; in addition, the enantiomeric excess of the product increased with increasing the stirring rate. Thus, it seems that each enantiomer generates chiral crystals that could self-replicate through secondary nucleation when the solution is stirred; these crystals in turn enhance the production of the same enantiomer. With a computer code that simulates such a kinetic mechanism, it is shown that enantiomeric excess observed in the experiments could be reproduced. Chirality 10:343–348, 1998. © 1998 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Application of L-proline derivatives as chiral shift reagents for enantiomeric recognition of carboxylic acids

Four proline-derived chiral receptors 5-8 were readily synthesized starting from L-proline. The enantiomeric recognition ability of chiral receptors was examined with a series of carboxylic acids by (1) H NMR spectroscopy. The molar ratio and the association constants of the chiral compounds with each of the enantiomers of guest molecules were determined by using Job plots and a nonlinear least-squares fitting method, respectively. The Job plots indicate that the hosts form 1:1 instantaneous complexes with all guests. The receptors exhibited different chiral recognition abilities toward the enantiomers of racemic guests. Among the chiral receptors used in this study, prolinamide 6 was found to be the best chiral shift reagent and is effective for the determination of the enantiomeric excess of chiral carboxylic acids.     

Utilization of deep‐sea microbial esterase PHE21 to generate chiral sec‐butyl acetate through kinetic resolutions

We previously identified and characterized 1 novel deep‐sea microbial esterase PHE21 and used PHE21 as a green biocatalyst to generate chiral ethyl (S)‐3‐hydroxybutyrate, 1 key chiral chemical, with high enantiomeric excess and yield through kinetic resolution. Herein, we further explored the potential of esterase PHE21 in the enantioselective preparation of secondary butanol, which was hard to be resolved by lipases/esterases. Despite the fact that chiral secondary butanols and their ester derivatives were hard to prepare, esterase PHE21 was used as a green biocatalyst in the generation of (S)‐sec‐butyl acetate through hydrolytic reactions and the enantiomeric excess, and the conversion of (S)‐sec‐butyl acetate reached 98% and 52%, respectively, after process optimization. Esterase PHE21 was also used to generate (R)‐sec‐butyl acetate through asymmetric transesterification reactions, and the enantiomeric excess and conversion of (R)‐sec‐butyl acetate reached 64% and 43%, respectively, after process optimization. Deep‐sea microbial esterase PHE21 was characterized to be a useful biocatalyst in the kinetic resolution of secondary butanol and other valuable chiral secondary alcohols.     

Polarimetric detection in high-performance liquid chromatography

Chiroptical detection for HPLC is particularly useful as a selective detection method for chiral molecules, and in enantiomeric purity determination with partial chiral separation or without chiral separation. The recent development of laser-based polarimeters with microdegree sensitivity has increased the applicability of optical rotation detection in HPLC. The detection limit of these instruments is submicrogram on-column for many chiral compounds in analytical HPLC. A variety of applications of the selective detection of optically active molecules are reviewed. The use of polarimetric detection with partial chiral separation is considered, both as an aid to method development and for enantiomeric purity determination. Finally applications to enantiomeric purity determination without chiral separation are reviewed, with the dual use of nonchirally selective and chiroptical detectors to determine the total amount and optical purity of the analyte. Determinations of chiral purity for samples of high enantiomeric excess are described, which with laser-based instrumentation may give accuracies of better than +/- 1% with sample loadings of 50 micrograms on an achiral column. Applications to the study of enantioselective reactions are also considered, with determination of enantiomeric excess in near-racemates to better than +/- 0.1%.     

Investigation of the donor and acceptor range for chiral carboligation catalyzed by the E1 component of the 2-oxoglutarate dehydrogenase complex

The potential of thiamin diphosphate (ThDP)-dependent enzymes to catalyze CC bond forming (carboligase) reactions with high enantiomeric excess has been recognized for many years. Here we report the application of the E1 component of the Escherichia coli 2-oxoglutarate dehydrogenase multienzyme complex in the synthesis of chiral compounds with multiple functional groups in good yield and high enantiomeric excess, by varying both the donor substrate (different 2-oxo acids) and the acceptor substrate (glyoxylate, ethyl glyoxylate and methyl glyoxal). Major findings include the demonstration that the enzyme can accept 2-oxovalerate and 2-oxoisovalerate in addition to its natural substrate 2-oxoglutarate, and that the tested acceptors are also acceptable in the carboligation reaction, thereby very much expanding the repertory of the enzyme in chiral synthesis.     

Online monitoring of preferential crystallization of enantiomers

Polarimetry is used for continuous online monitoring of optical resolution by preferential crystallization. In combination with refractometry the liquid phase composition is determined, allowing one to follow the resolution progress quantitatively. The measurement techniques were calibrated up to relatively high solution concentrations and combined with the crystallizer. The resolution of DL-threonine was performed by preferential crystallization experiments in aqueous solution varying several process parameters like supersaturation, seed amount, initial enantiomeric excess, and scale. The resolution progress can be conveniently described by profiles of the optical rotation (polarimetric signal) and the crystallization pathway in the corresponding ternary phase diagram. The method outlined is applicable for dynamic process optimization and control purposes in "quasi-continuous" chiral separation processes.