Glycine enolates: The effect of formation of iminium ions to simple ketones on α-amino carbon acidity and a comparison with pyridoxal iminium ions

Equilibrium constants in D₂O were determined by ¹H NMR analyses for formation of imines/iminium ions from addition of glycine methyl ester to acetone and from addition of glycine to phenylglyoxylate. First-order rate constants, also determined by ¹H NMR, are reported for deuterium exchange between solvent D₂O and the α-amino carbon of glycine methyl ester and glycine in the presence of increasing concentrations of ketone and Brønsted bases. These rate and equilibrium data were used to calculate second-order rate constants for deprotonation by DO^- and by Brønsted bases of the α-imino carbon of the ketone adducts. Formation of the iminium ion between acetone and glycine methyl ester and between phenylglyoxylate and glycine is estimated to cause 7 unit and 15 unit decreases, respectively, in the pK_a's of 21 and 29 for deprotonation of the parent carbon acids. The effect of formation of iminium ions to phenylglyoxylate and to 5′-deoxypyridoxal (DPL) [Toth, K.; Richard, J. P. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2007, 129, 3013-3021] on the carbon acidity of glycine is similar. However, DPL is a much better catalyst than phenylglyoxylate of deprotonation of glycine, because of the exceptionally large thermodynamic driving force for conversion of the amino acid and DPL to the reactive iminium ion.