Intrinsic and environmental modulation of stereoselective aldol organocatalyzed reactions by proline-containing lipopeptides

Abstract

Proline, along with its derivatives, has been employed as an efficient organocatalyst for aldol reactions, with the ability to promote the creation of stereoselective C–C bonds. Even though the Houk–List transition state model is able to explain the stereoselectivity observed when proline is used as a catalyst, few studies investigate the role of microheterogeneous media in modulating the reaction outcome. In this work, molecular dynamics and electronic structure calculations were used to investigate the aldol reaction in the condensed phase. Our research focused on a lipopeptide compound incorporating the proline residue within the sequence PRWG-(C₁₈H₃₇), where P represents L-proline, R stands for L-arginine, W for L-tryptophan, and G for L-glycine. This sequence is covalently bonded to a hydrophobic segment formed by a long aliphatic chain, acting as an organocatalyst in an aqueous solution. This catalytic phase utilizes the complex chemical environment of the solution to achieve high selectivity. Our findings indicate a Houk–List-like mechanism, in which the amide acts as an H-bond donor, complemented by a mechanism in which the counter ion, trifluoracetic acid (TFA), acts as a proton shuttle. Both mechanisms demonstrated low energy barriers—12.23 and 1.42 kcal mol⁻¹ for the (S,R) stereoisomer formation, computed using DLPNO-CCSD with def2-TZVPP basis set. Further, to explore the catalytic effect of the PRWG-(C₁₈H₃₇) lipopeptide in water, molecular dynamics simulations were conducted. It was observed that the micellar phase significantly enhances stereospecific encounters, favouring the experimentally observed ratio of (SR/SS) isomers, in contrast to reactions in a pure cyclohexanone medium. By quantifying the effects enabled by the supramolecular assembly, we were able to shed light on the factors that modify and enhance the stereoslectivity of the reaction.