title: Conformational analysis of potent sweet taste ligands by nuclear magnetic resonance, computer simulations and X-ray diffraction studies.
abstract: Four potent sweet-tasting molecules, N-(3,3-dimethylbutyl)-L-aspartyl-L-phenylalanine methylester 1 (7000 times more potent than sucrose), N-(3,3-dimethylbutyl)-L-aspartyl-D-valine (S)-alpha-ethylbenzylamide 2 (3000 time more potent than sucrose), L-aspartyl-D-valine (R)-alpha-methoxymethylbenzylamide 3 (1350 times more potent than sucrose and L-aspartyl-(1R,2S,4S)-1-methyl-2-hydroxy-4-phenylhexylamide 4 (2500 times more potent than sucrose) were studied by 1H NMR and computer simulations. These flexible molecules adopt multiple conformations in solution. The "L-shaped" structure, which we believe to be responsible for sweet taste is accessible to all four compounds in solution. Extended conformations with the AH and B-containing moieties in the +y-axis and the hydrophobic group X pointing in the y-axis have also been observed for all four sweeteners. For compounds 1 and 3, the solid-state conformations were determined by X-ray diffraction studies. These results demonstrate that compounds 1 and 3 adopt an "L-shaped" structure even in the crystalline state. The extraordinary potency of the N-alkylated compound 1 compared with the unsubstituted Asp-Phe-OMe may be explained by the effect of a second hydrophobic binding domain in addition to interactions arising from the "L-shaped" structure.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, USA.
authors.forename: R H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Mattern
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Amino
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Benedetti
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Goodman
mesh_terms: D003198:Computer Simulation; D004151:Dipeptides / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D008958:Models, Molecular; D015394:Molecular Structure; D011487:Protein Conformation; D013395:Sucrose / Q000494:pharmacology; D013549:Sweetening Agents / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology; D014961:X-Ray Diffraction
chemical_list: D004151:Dipeptides; D013549:Sweetening Agents; D013395:Sucrose