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NMR-spectroscopic and theoretical structural analysis of 5-benzyl subtituted hydantoins in solutions
(1999)
The influence of structure and lipophilicity of hydantoin derivatives on anticonvulsant activity
(1999)
NMR spectroscopic and ab-initio MO study of sterically hindered 2,3-disubstituted quinoxalines
(1999)
The macrocyclic ring interconversion of four maleonitrile mixed oxadithia crown ethers of variable ring size, mn-12-S2O2, mn-15-S2O3, mn-18-S2O4 and fn-12-S2O2, were studied by 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopy and by molecular modelling. The barriers to ring interconversion were estimated using variable temperature NMR spectroscopy and from the calculated activation energies, together with the spin-lattice relaxation times of the CH2 carbon atoms, conclusions were drawn regarding the intramolecular flexibility of the crown ethers in both the free state as well as the complexed state incorporating either AgI, BiIII, SbIII, PdII or PtII metal cations. Furthermore, both the stoichiometry of the complexes and the coordination sites of the crown ethers to the various cations were also clearly implicated. Molecular modelling was also utilised to ascertain the preferred conformers of the four compounds and their corresponding complexes, the results of which corroborated the experimental NMR results to a high degree.
Structural information about the bis(benzo crown ether)s I-VI and their complexes with alkali metal cations was deduced from the 13C NMR chemical shifts, the salt-induced 1H and 13C chemical shifts and the vicinal 1H,1H coupling constants. Especially the isomerism with respect to the amide O=C - NH bonds and imine fragments were assigned by various useful NMR parameters ( C=O, 1JN,H, 1JC,H) and proved to be E,E-anti,anti. Furthermore, stereochemical information about preferred conformations about flexible bonds was obtained from 2D ROESY NMR experiments. The complex formation (2:1 complexes and sandwich-like 1:1 complexes, respectively) were determined also by 23Na NMR spectroscopy. The conformational study of the crown ethers was accompanied and corroborated by molecular dynamics and quantum chemical calculations.
In this article, the synthesis of analogs of N,N',N''-triacetylchitotriose in which the central sugar residue was replaced by a succinic acid is presented. Mol. modeling calcns. revealed that the pseudotrisaccharides exist in low energy extended conformations which show similar space filling as N,N',N''-triacetylchitotriose. Of the N,N',N''-triacetylchitotriose pseudosugar analogs tested as chitinase inhibitors, none showed any appreciable competition (numerical data not presented). The conformational anal. along with further synthetic efforts will hopefully lead to more efficient pseudosaccharides as chitinase inhibitors.
The soln.-state conformations of the hevamine inhibitor allosamidin and six potential inhibitor analogs were studied by various NMR spectroscopic techniques and mol. modeling using force field calcns. Detn. solely of the global energy min. conformation was found to be insufficient for consensus with the NMR results, and agreement between the NMR exptl. data and the theor. calcns. was only reached by assessing the structures as population-weighted av. conformers on the basis of Boltzmann distributions derived from the calcd. relative energies. The conformations of the glycosidic linkages in the compds. were found to be similar when the sugar residues were the same, but differences were markedly evident otherwise and also for the various heterocyclic group linkages. The binding of the compds. to hevamine, which may also complex to chitinases in general, was assessed using HMQC, transfer-NOESY, and both 1-D and 2-D satn. transfer difference NMR expts. Under the conditions employed, only allosamidin was implicated to be bound to hevamine, and then only by HMQC with the dipolar coupling-based expts. failing to substantiate the formation of the complex. However, the results are consistent with the biochem. activities of the compds. whereby only allosamidin has been shown to act as a competitive inhibitor.
Based on NMR spectroscopic information about the allosamidin-hevamine complex, ab initio MO calcns. of the ring current effect of the arom. moieties of Trp255, Tyr183 and Tyr6 of hevamine were carried out to investigate the role of these amino acid residues in binding interactions with allosamidin in soln. In addn., the intermol. steric compression effect on the 13C chem. shifts of the allosamizoline carbon atoms and the hydrogen bonding to Glu127 was identified. It can be inferred that the binding forces are strongest in the allosamizoline moiety of allosamidin.
The soln.-state conformations of N,N',N''-triacetyl chitotriose (1) and other potential chitinase inhibitors 2-4 were studied using a combination of NMR spectroscopy (NOESY) and mol. mechanics calcns. Detn. solely of the global energy min. conformation was found to be insufficient for an agreement with the NMR results. An appropriate consistency between the NMR exptl. data and theor. calcns. was only reached by assessing the structures as population-weighted av. conformers based on Boltzmann distributions derived from the calcd. relative energies. Analogies, but also particular differences, between the synthetic compds. 2-4 and the naturally-occurring N,N',N''-triacetyl chitotriose were found. Furthermore, the conformation of compds. 1 and 2 when bound to hevamine was also studied using transferred NOESY expts. and the binding process was found to impart a level of conformational restriction on the ligands. The preferred conformation as detd. for 1 in the bound state to hevamine belonged to one of the conformational families found for the compd. when free in soln., although full characterization of the bound-state conformations was impeded due to severe signal overlap. Satn. transfer difference NMR expts. were also employed to analyze the binding epitopes of the bound compds. We thus detd. that it is mainly the acetyl amido groups of the trisaccharide and the heterocyclic moiety which are in close contact with hevamine.
(3)J(C,H) coupling constants via a sulfur atom in two series of compounds, both including a sulfide, a sulfoxide and a sulfone, were detected experimentally and calculated by quantum mechanical methods. In the first series (1-3) the coupling between a hydrogen, bonded to an Sp(3) carbon, and an Sp(2) carbon is treated; the second series (4- 6) deals with the coupling between a hydrogen, bonded to an Sp3 carbon, and an Sp3 carbon. Different pulse sequences (broadband HMBC, SelJres, 1D HSQMBC, J-HMBC-2, selective J-resolved long-range experiment and IMPEACH-MBC) proved to be useful in determining the long-range (3)J(C,H) coupling constants. However, the dynamic behaviour of two of the compounds (4 and 6) led to weighted averages of the two coupling constants expected (concerning equatorial and axial positions of the corresponding hydrogens). DFT calculations proved to be useful to calculate not only the (3)J(C,H) coupling constants but also the different contributions of FC, PSO, DSO and SD terms; the calculation of the Fermi contact term (FC) was found to be sufficient for the correct estimation of (3)J(C,H) coupling constants. Copyright (C) 2004 John Wiley Sons, Ltd
The reaction of cyclic ylidene malononitriles with acetylene (di)carboxylic acid esters led to the production of nine bicyclic systems incorporating highly substituted (5/6) anilines. The free energy of activation (DeltaG(#)) for the restricted rotation about the aniline-NH2 bond was experimentally measured in each case and a correlation was evident between the increase in steric strain in the ground state, the electron withdrawing capabilities of the ring substituents, and a reduction in the rotational barrier. For four of the compounds, the slow ring interconversion (chairreversible arrowchair) for the annelated saturated seven-membered ring that formed part of the bicyclic system was also evident. In these four compounds, both dynamic processes were also studied theoretically using ab initio methods whilst the ring interconversion was additionally studied using molecular dynamic simulations. The interconversion between the two stable chair forms was deemed to occur via a conformation series consisting of chairreversible arrowboatreversible arrowtwist-boatreversible arrowboatreversible arrowchair. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved
Carbon-13 NMR is widely used in the determination of the stereochemistry of organic compounds. Changes in chemical shifts caused by interactions of groups that are close in space normally result in shielding of the carbon and deshielding of the hydrogen nuclei that are involved. This is not always the case, however, and further work on the origin of these effects would be desirable. Early applications of theoretical methods to the study of NMR shielding parameters were not particularly successful, but in recent years, the calculation of NMR shielding parameters by theoretical methods has developed into a useful and popular tool for structural studies by NMR. A promising approach to the problem of distinguishing and evaluating stereochemical influences on carbon and hydrogen chemical shifts is provided by natural chemical shielding (NCS) analysis. This method allows a partitioning of theoretical NMR shieldings into magnetic contributions from bonds and lone pairs of the molecule using the natural bond orbital (NBO) method. In order to investigate the origins of steric effects, we employed the NCS analysis to axial/equatorial-Me-cyclohexane, norbornane and exo/endo-Me-norbornane, in addition to n-pentane in the anti, gauche and g(P) g(M) conformations. Our results indicate that distortions in molecular structure due to steric effects can result in bond stretching or compression or in angular distortions. Changes in bond lengths result in the predictable shielding or deshielding of the nuclei that are involved. Where the molecular framework may be distorted to alleviate strain, chemical shifts appear to reflect changes in angles. Copyright (C) 2004 John Wiley Sons, Ltd
Both the conformation and flexibility of four mixed oxathia crown ethers and their Ag(I) and Pd(II) complexes were studied by H-1 NMR (delta, J, NOE, T-1), C-13 NMR, dynamic 1H NMR spectroscopy and molecular modelling. The stoichiometry and stability constants of the complexes were determined from corresponding Job's plots in the case of Ag(I) complexes as the interchange between free and complexed states was fast on the NMR timescale; interchange for the Pd(II) complexes was sufficiently slow such that distinct sub-spectra were observable for the free and complexed states. In all cases where complexation was observed, 1 : 1 complexes were formed. Global minima structures determined from the modelling studies were analysed with respect to the barriers to ring interconversion, the flexibility of the species in solution and the preferred complexation of Ag(I) and Pd(II) to the sulfur atoms of the crown ethers
The ring current effects of aromatic moieties and the anisotropic effects of the C=O and C-X (X = C, N, S) bonds and of the NH=C(NH2)-NH- moiety in the side chains of amino acid residues of proteins were ab initio calculated based on nuclear independent chemical shieldings as employed by P.v.R. Schleyer. Hereby, quantitative information about the spatial extension, sign and scope of the corresponding ring current/anisotropic effects was obtained and they were visualized as iso-chemical-shielding-surfaces. Examining this quantitative information compared with experimental NMR chemical shifts, the role of the corresponding amino acid residues in binding substrates in the binding site of enzymes was studied. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved
The solution structure of the Pd(II) complex of mn-12-S-4 was studied in detail by NMR spectroscopy. The stoichiometry of the complex was determined by H-1 NMR titration experiments. (3)J(H,H) coupling constants were extracted from the 2D J-resolved NMR spectrum of the complex providing information concerning the S-C-C-S torsional angles. Further conclusions about the conformation of [Pd(mn-12-S-4)](BF4)(2) were drawn from experimental NOES. The results of the NMR study were corroborated by molecular modelling. Copyright (C) 2004 John Wiley Sons, Ltd
The flexibility and complex formation of two maleonitrile tetrathia crown ethers were studied in solution using H-1 and C-13 NMR spectroscopy and molecular modelling. Both the stoichiometry and the stability of the complexes that these crown ethers form with Ag(I) were determined by NMR titration measurements. Spin-lattice relaxation time measurements provided information concerning the donor atoms involved in complex formation and also the intramolecular mobility of the free and complexed ligands. Molecular modelling was also used to gain further insight into the conformational space of the free ligands and their silver(I) complexes. Copyright (C) 2004 John Wiley Sons, Ltd
The C-13 chemical shifts of 20 rigid bicyclic compounds have been calculated with ab initio HF and MP2 methods. The calculations showed very good reproducibility of the experimental values. The molecular orbital interactions in the rigid, nearly planar delta-syn-axial fragments in the isomeric groups of norbornane derivatives 1.x-4.x were studied in detail and were employed to explain the deshielding delta-syn-axial effect in C-13 NMR spectroscopy. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved
The disubstitution effects of X and Y in 1-(Y-phenyl)-3-(X-phenyl)-2,3-dihydro-1H-naphth[1,2-e][1,3]oxazines on the ring-chain tautomerism, the delocalization of the nitrogen lone pair (anomeric effect), and the C-13 NMR chemical shifts were analyzed by using multiple linear regression analysis. Study of the three-component equilibrium B reversible arrow A reversible arrow C revealed that the chain reversible arrow trans (A reversible arrow B) equilibrium constants are significantly influenced by the inductive effect (sigma(F)) of substituent Y on the 1-phenyl ring. In contrast, no significant substituent dependence on Y was observed for the chain reversible arrow cis (A reversible arrow C) equilibrium. There was an analogous dependence for the epimerization (C reversible arrow B) constants of 1-(Y-phenyl)-3- alkyl-2,3-dihydro-1H-naphth[1,2-e] [1,3]oxazines. With these model compounds, significant overlapping energies of the nitrogen lone pair was observed by NBO analysis in the trans forms B (to sigma*(C1-C1'), sigma*(C1-C10b), and sigma*(C3-O4)) and in the cis forms C (to sigma*(C1-H), sigma*(C1-C10b), and sigma*(C3-O4)). The effects of disubstitution revealed some characteristic differences between the cis and trans isomers. However, the results do not suggest that the anomeric effect predominates in the preponderance of the trans over the cis isomer. When the C-13 chemical shift changes induced Y by substituents X and Y (SCS) were subjected to multiple linear regression analysis, negative rho(F)(Y) and rho(F)(X) values were observed at C-1 and C-3 for both the cis and trans isomers. In contrast, the positive rho(R)(Y) values at C-1 and the negative rho(R)(X) values at C-3 observed indicated the contribution of resonance structures f (rho(R) > 0) and g (rho(R) < 0), respectively. The classical double bond-no-bond resonance structures proved useful in explaining the substituent sensitivities of the donation energies and the behavior of the SCS values
Binucleating aza-sulfonate and aza-sulfinate macrocycles : Synthesis and coordination chemistry
(2004)
The preparation and ligating properties of S-oxygenated derivatives of a macrobinucleating hexaazadithiophenolate macrocycle H2L1 of the Robson type towards nickel(II) and zinc(II) ions are reported. Nickel complexes of the hexaazadiphenylsulfonate ligand (L-2)(2-)[(L-2)Ni-2(II)(mu-L)](+)(L = m-Cl-OBz(-) (3), Cl- (4) and OAc- (6)] are readily obtained in high yields by oxidation of the respective [(L-1)Ni-2(II)(mu-L)](+) parent complexes [L = m- Cl-OBz- (2), Cl- (1), OAc- (5)] with meta-chloroperoxybenzoic acid or hydrogen peroxide. Decomposition of the sulfonate complexes gives the free macrocycle H2L2 which, upon treatment with Zn(OAc)(2)(.)2H(2)O, produces the diamagnetic zinc complex [(L-2)Z(2)(II)(OAc)](+) (8). A dinuclear Cu-II complex of the hexaazadisulfinate derivative (L-3')(2-), [(L-3)CU2II](2+) (9), is formed rather unexpectedly by air oxidation of (L-1)(2-) in the presence of Cu-I. The crystal- structure determinations of the perchlorate or tetraphenylborate salts of 2, 3, and 4 show that the new ligands support the formation of binuclear complexes with bowl-shaped, calixarene-like binding cavities. NMR spectroscopic studies of 8 show that the complexes retain their solid-state structures in solution. A crystal-structure determination of 9 reveals two five-coordinate Cu-II ions bridged by the two sulfinate functions of (L-3)(2-)
Via the reaction of diexo-oxanorbornanedicarboxylic anhydride with toluene, the diexo-aroylcarboxylic acid (3a) was prepared, which exists partly as the tautomeric lactol (3b). With bifunctional reagents, 3a yields fused heterocycles containing three-six rings. Thus, alkylenediamines result in imidazole- and 1,3-diazepine-fused oxygen- bridged isoindolones (6a,b), alkanolamines form the oxazole- and 1,3-oxazine-fused oxanorbornene derivatives (7a-c), and o-phenylenediamine undergoes cyclization to furnish the condensed benzimidazole (8). The reaction of 3a with diexo- aminonorbornanecarbohydrazide yields a pyrimidopyridazine containing six condensed rings (9). In a similar reaction with diendo-aminonorbornenecarbohydrazide, cyclopentadiene cleaves off to give the tricyclic retro Diels-Alder product (10). The structures, and particulary the configurations at the oxanorbornane ring systems and the position of the aryl substituent, were established by means of 1D- and 2D-NMR spectroscopy and, for 3b and 7c, also by X-Ray measurements
The relative energy of conformers, DeltaE, of monosubstituted cyclohexanes with OR (R = Me, Et, i-Pr and t-Bu) and R substituents (R = Me, Et, i-Pr and t-Bu) was calculated with MO ab initio theory at RHF, MP2 and QCISD levels with the 6-311G* and 6-311 + G* basis sets. A selected group of delocalizing interactions were calculated with the natural bond orbital method in order to quantify the hyperconjugative contribution, DeltaE(hyp.), to the relative stability of conformers. From the calculated values of DeltaE and DeltaE(hyp.) an estimate of the differential steric effect, DeltaE(ster.), of substituents in cyclohexane was obtained. The values of DeltaE(hyp), and DeltaE(ster.) show that they have a similar magnitude for OR substituents, while for R substituents the values of are greater. The shift in the conformational equilibrium towards the axial conformer, the so-called anomeric effect, takes place when, within a series of substituents, hyperconjugative interactions and steric interactions balance in favour of the stability of this conformer. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved
A series of new aryloxymethylquinoxalines, benzo[b]- and naphtho[2,1-b] fury] quinoxalines, possessing potential biological activity, was prepared, characterized by IR and NMR spectroscopy and their electron ionization (EI) mass spectra studied in detail. The aryloxymethylquinoxalines were obtained by reacting halogenomethylquinoxalines with bifunctional O-nucleophiles. The benzo[b]furylquinoxalines and naphtho[2, I -b]furylquinoxalines were prepared via two routes, which differed in the order of the two cyclization steps involved in the syntheses. The composition of the ions obtained by El mass spectrometry were determined by accurate mass measurements and the fragmentation pathways clarified by B/E linked scans and collision induced dissociation. The mass spectrometric behaviour of the compounds studied as to the possible loss of OH' radicals proved to be very characteristic. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved
In C-13 NMR spectroscopy, there are many empirical methods for fast and exact computation of C-13 chemical shifts; comparable procedures for Si-29 NMR chemical shifts are not existing or are older than 20 years. On basis of the largest database of Si-29 chemical shifts available, along this paper a relatively simple procedure for the similarly exact calculation of the Si-29 chemical shifts of disilanes (average margin of error ca. 3.7 ppm) is given. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved
Propagation of inductive and resonance effects of phenyl substituents within 1-(substituted phenyl)-6,7- dimethoxy-3,4-dihydro- and -1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinolines were studied with the aid of C-13 and N-15 NMR chemical shifts and ab initio calculations. The substituent-induced changes in the chemical shift (SCS) were correlated with a dual substituent parameter equation. The contributions of conjugative (rho(R)) and nonconjugative effects (rho(F)) were analyzed, and mapping of the substituent-induced changes is given over the entire isoquinoline moiety for both series. The experimental results can be rationalized with the aid of the resonance polarization concept. This means the consideration of the substituent-sensitive balance of different resonance structures, i.e., electron delocalization, and the effect of the aromatic ring substituents on their relative contributions. With tetrahydroisoquinolines, the delocalization of the nitrogen lone pair (stereoelectronic effect) particularly contributes. Correlation analysis of the Mulliken atomic charges for the dihydroisoquinoline derivatives was also performed. The results support the concept of the substituent-sensitive polarization of the isoquinoline moiety even if the polarization pattern achieved via the NMR approach is not quite the same as that predicted by the computational charges. Previously the concepts of localized pi- polarization and extended polarization have been used to explain polar substituent effects within aromatic side-chain derivatives. We consider that the resonance polarization model effectively contributes to the understanding of the polar substituent effects
The configuration and dynamic behavior of O-allyl-S-methyl-N-(acridin-9-yl)iminothiocarbonate (1) and its S- allyl-O-methyl regioisomer (2) were studied using quantum chemical calculations and by applying a novel graphical method to scatter maps obtained from MD simulations for evaluation of an NOE-weighted internuclear distance (r(NOE)). Energy calculations indicated that the Z configuration was predominant for each compound and, further, this was supported both by the calculated chemical shifts and the rNOE. Both N-inversion- and rotation-type transition-state structures were also calculated for the E/Z isomerization process, the results indicating that the preferred interconversion mechanism for 1 is N-inversion, but contrastingly, interconversion via rotation is equally as probable as N-inversion for 2. This supports the notion that one or the other or both pathways can be active and each system needs to be assessed on a case- by-case basis. Copyright (c) 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd
The synthesis of a series of 1H-pyrazolo[3,4-b]quinoxalines (flavazoles) by acylation, alkylation, halogenation, and aminomethylation of the parent compound is reported and their structure is investigated by H-1, C-13 and N-15 NMR spectroscopy. The restricted rotation about the partial C, N double bond of the N-acyl derivatives 7-10 is studied by dynamic NMR spectroscopy and the barriers to rotation are determined. In order to assign unequivocally the 15 N chemical shifts of N-4 and N-9, in case of 3-substituted flavazoles, exemplary the H-1, C-13, and N-15 NMR chemical shifts of 34, 35, and 39 are also theoretically calculated by quantum chemical methods [ab initio at different levels of theory (HF/6-3G* and B3LYP/6-31G*)]. (C) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved
Heterocyclization of (Z)-5-(2-hydroxyethyl)-3-methyl-4-oxothiazolidines, bearing electron-withdrawing groups conjugated to an exocyclic double bond at C(2)-position, afforded under reductive conditions, cis-tetrahydroftiro[2,3- d]thiazole derivatives. The reactions of these functionalized push-pull beta-enamines occur in a stereocontrolled fashion via activated vinylogous N-methyliminium ions, which are trapped by an internal hydroxyethyl group
[GRAPHICS] Amino-substituted thio(seleno)acrylamides 1-4 were synthesized and their H-1 and C-13 NMR spectra assigned. Both the NMR data and the results of theoretical calculations at the ab initio level of theory were employed to elucidate the adopted structures of the compounds in terms of E/Z isomerism and s-cis/s-trans configuration. In the case of the asymmetrically N(Me)Ph-substituted compounds, ab initio GIAO-calculated ring current effects of the N-phenyl group were applied to successfully determine the preferred conformer bias. The restricted rotations about the two C-N partial double bonds were studied by DNMR and the barriers to rotation (Delta G(c)(double dagger)) determined at the coalescence temperatures, and these were discussed with respect to the structural differences between the compounds. The barriers to rotation were also calculated at the ab initio level of theory where the best results (R-2 = 0.8746) were obtained only with inclusion of the solvent at the SCIPCMHF/6-31G* level of theory. The calculations also provided means of assessing structural influences which were not available due to inaccessible rotation barriers. By means of natural bond orbital (NBO) analysis of 1-4, the occupation numbers of nitrogen lone pairs and bonding/antibonding pi/pi* orbitals were shown to quantitatively describe thio(seleno)amide/vinylogous thio(seleno)amide "resonance". Finally, the thio(seleno)carbonyl anisotropic effect was quantitatively calculated by the GIRO method and visualized by isochemical shielding surfaces (ICSS). Only marginal differences between the two anisotropic effects were calculated and are therefore of questionable utility for previous and future applications with respect to stereochemical assignments
Equilibria between the Z (tau(1) = 0 degrees) and E (tau(1) = 180 degrees) conformers of p-substituted phenyl acetates 4 and trifluoroacetates 5 (X = OMe, Me, H, Cl, CN, NO2) were studied by ab initio calculations at the HF/6-31G* and MP2/6-31G* levels of theory. The preference for the Z conformer, Delta E(HF), was calculated to be 5.36 kcal mol(-1) and 7.50 kcal mot(-1) for phenyl acetate and phenyl trifluoroacetate (i.e., with X = H), respectively. The increasing electron-withdrawing ability of the phenyl substituent X increases the preference of the Z conformer. An excellent correlation with a negative slope was observed for both series between Delta E of the E-Z equilibrium and the Hammett sigma constant. By using an appropriate isodesmic reaction, it was shown that electron-withdrawing substituents decrease the stability of both conformers, but the effect is higher with the E conformer. Electron-withdrawing phenyl substituents decrease the delocalization of the lone pair of the ether oxygen to the C=O antibonding orbital (n(O) -> pi*(C=O)) in both the E and Z forms and in both series studied; this effect is higher in the E conformer than in the Z conformer. The n(O) -> pi*(C=O) electron donation has a minimum value with tau(1) = 90 degrees and a maximum value with tau(1) = 90 degrees (the Z conformer), the value with tau(1) = 180 degrees (the E conformer) being between these two values, obviously due to steric hindrance. The effects of the phenyl substituents on the reactivity of the esters studied are discussed in terms of molecular orbital interactions. ED/EW substituents adjust the availability of the pi*(C=O) antibonding orbital to interact with the lone pair orbital of the attacking nucleophile and therefore affect the reactivity: EW substituents increase and ED substituents decrease it. Excellent correlations were observed between the rate coefficients of nucleophilic acyl substitutions and pi*(C=O) occupancies of the ester series 4 and