title: UV-induced generation of rare tautomers of 2-thiouracils: a matrix isolation study.
abstract: Unimolecular photoisomerization reactions were studied for 2-thiouracil, 6-aza-2-thiothymine, 1-methyl-2-thiouracil, and 3-methyl-2-thiouracil isolated in low-temperature Ar matrixes. The IR spectra have revealed that before UV irradiation all the matrix-isolated compounds adopted exclusively the oxo-thione tautomeric form. Upon UV (lambda > 320 nm) irradiation of the matrixes, two oxo-thiol photoproducts were generated for monomeric 2-thiouracil as well as for monomeric 6-aza-2-thiothymine. Generation of these products corresponds to transfer of a proton from either the N(1)-H or N(3)-H group to the sulfur atom of the C(2)=S thiocarbonyl moiety. The first of the above reactions was photoreversible. As a consequence, after prolonged UV irradiation most of the material was transformed into the oxo-thiol-N(1)H form. The hydroxy-thiol tautomers of 2-thiouracil and 6-aza-2-thiothymine were also photogenerated as minor products. For 1-methyl-2-thiouracil and 3-methyl-2-thiouracil, thione --> thiol phototautomeric reactions yielded the oxo-thiol isomers of the compounds. Since these reactions were photoreversible, the final stages of the photoinduced processes corresponded, for both methylated 2-thiouracils, to photostationary states. All the products of the investigated photoreactions were identified by comparison of their IR spectra with the spectra calculated at the DFT(B3LYP)/6-311++G(2d,p) level.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Al. Lotnikow 32/46, 02-668 Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Artem
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Khvorostov
authors.forename: Leszek
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lapinski
authors.forename: Hanna
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Rostkowska
authors.forename: Maciej J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Nowak
mesh_terms: D001128:Argon; D013056:Spectrophotometry, Ultraviolet; D013237:Stereoisomerism; D013889:Thiouracil / Q000737:chemistry*; D014466:Ultraviolet Rays
chemical_list: D013889:Thiouracil; D001128:Argon