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15 N and 13 C{ 14 N} NMR investigation of the major nitrogen‐containing segment in an aquatic fulvic acid: Evidence for a hydantoin derivative
Author(s) -
Fang Xiaowen,
Mao Jingdong,
Cory Rose M.,
McKnight Diane M.,
SchmidtRohr Klaus
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
magnetic resonance in chemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.483
H-Index - 72
eISSN - 1097-458X
pISSN - 0749-1581
DOI - 10.1002/mrc.2816
Subject(s) - chemistry , hydantoin , protonation , carbon 13 nmr , nitrogen , nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy , stereochemistry , nmr spectra database , resonance (particle physics) , crystallography , medicinal chemistry , organic chemistry , ion , spectral line , particle physics , astronomy , physics
A nitrogen‐rich segment in a fulvic acid (FA) from Pony Lake, a coastal pond in Antarctica, was investigated by 15 N and 13 C{ 14 N} solid‐state NMR techniques. As reported previously, the 13 C{ 14 N} spectrum of C bonded to N exhibits a peak at 157 ppm that is assigned to an sp 2 ‐hybridized carbon bonded to at least two nitrogen atoms. This segment contains 48% of all N in the sample. 15 N NMR shows distinct signals, 20 ppm upfield and downfield from the typical peptide resonance; dipolar dephasing confirmed that they are due to protonated N. The well‐resolved downfield peak, which accounts for 1/4 of the spectral area, cannot be assigned to aromatic heterocycles, such as purines, because the fraction of aromatic C bonded to N in this sample is very small. Analysis of 15 N chemical‐shift trends and 15 N NMR of model compounds, such as arginine and its derivatives, excludes assignment to a guanidinium ion or to substituted guanidino groups. Similarly, ureido groups, –NH–CO–NH–, that are not bonded to a second C = O do not match the observed 15 N peaks in the FA, since both N resonate upfield from the peptide resonance. On the other hand, all chemical shifts are matched within the observed range by the –C alkyl –NH–CO–NH–CO–C structure found in two nonaromatic heterocycles, hydantoin and dihydrouracil. The five‐membered hydantoin ring, which is found in the purine metabolite allantoin, provides a better match than the six‐membered dihydrouracil ring. Regular uracil or thymine fails to produce adequate agreement with observed chemical shifts. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.