The crystal structure of Ac-ΔVal-NMe2 (ΔVal = α,β-dehydrovaline) was determined by X-ray crystallography. The found angles φ = -60° and ψ = 125° correspond exactly to the respective values of the (i + 1)th residue in idealised β-turn II/VIa. Ab initio/DFT studies revealed that the molecule adopts the angle ψ restricted only to about |130°| and very readily attains the angle φ = about -50°. This is in line with its solid-state conformation. Taken together, these data suggest that the ΔVal residue combined with a C-terminal tertiary amide is a good candidate at the (i + 1)th position in a type II/VIa β-turn.
Conformational preferences of Ac-ΔAla-NMe2 and Ac-(Z)-ΔPhe-NMe2 were studied and compared with those of their monomethyl counterparts as well as with those of their saturated analogues. X-Ray data and energy calculations revealed a highly conservative conformation of the dehydro dimethylamides, which is located in a high-energy region of the Ramachandran map.
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