Evidence for spontaneous resolution of icosahedral proline.
Here we show experimental evidence for the spontaneous chiral resolution of icosahedral [12Pro+H]+ cluster ion. Molecular simulations reveal that the icosahedron consists of 12 equally spaced prolines where the rigid pyrrolidine ring of each monomer is sticking out of the closed cage. The tightly packed chiral cage traps a single proton in the center cavity. On the other hand, racemic [12Pro+H]+ cluster size exhibits a prismatic structure that can easily incorporate and lose proline monomeric unit sequentially, thus easily forming other geometries. Mechanisms which account for these observations are discussed.
Myung
Sunnie
S
Department of Chemistry and School of Informatics, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana 47405, USA.
Lorton
K Patrick
KP
Merenbloom
Samuel I
SI
Fioroni
Marco
M
Koeniger
Stormy L
SL
Julian
Ryan R
RR
Baik
Mu-Hyun
MH
Clemmer
David E
DE
D006860:Hydrogen Bonding; D007536:Isomerism; D013058:Mass Spectrometry; D008958:Models, Molecular; D008968:Molecular Conformation; D011392:Proline / Q000737:chemistry*
D011392:Proline