title: Reactions of charged phenyl radicals with aliphatic amino acids in the gas phase.
abstract: Gas-phase reactivity of five differently substituted positively charged phenyl radicals was examined toward six amino acids by using Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR). The reactivity of the radicals studied was determined by the electrophilicity of the radical, which can be characterized by the radical's electron affinity (EA). The larger the electron affinity of the radical, the higher the overall reaction rate. In addition to the expected H-atom abstraction, several unprecedented reaction pathways were observed, including NH2 abstraction, SH abstraction, and SCH3 abstraction. These reaction pathways dominate for the most electrophilic radicals, and they may not follow radical but rather nucleophilic addition-elimination mechanisms. Hydrogen abstraction from glycine was also investigated theoretically. The results indicate that hydrogen abstraction from alphaC of glycine is both kinetically and thermodynamically favored over the NH2 group. The ordering of transition state energies for hydrogen abstraction from the alphaC and NH2 groups was found to reflect the radicals' EA ordering.
authors.affiliation: Brown Laboratories, Department of Chemistry, Purdue University, 425 Central Drive, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907-2018, USA.
authors.forename: Yiqun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Leo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Guler
authors.forename: Jenny
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Heidbrink
authors.forename: Hilkka
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kenttämaa
mesh_terms: D000596:Amino Acids / Q000737:chemistry*; D001555:Benzene Derivatives / Q000737:chemistry*; D005583:Fourier Analysis; D005609:Free Radicals / Q000737:chemistry; D005740:Gases; D013058:Mass Spectrometry; D008958:Models, Molecular; D013329:Structure-Activity Relationship
chemical_list: D000596:Amino Acids; D001555:Benzene Derivatives; D005609:Free Radicals; D005740:Gases