NMR Structure Elucidation of Naphthoquinones from Quambalaria cyanescens

J Nat Prod. 2021 Jan 22;84(1):46-55. doi: 10.1021/acs.jnatprod.0c00930. Epub 2020 Dec 19.

Abstract

Naphthoquinones isolated from Quambalaria cyanescens (quambalarines) are natural pigments possessing significant cytotoxic and antimicrobial properties. Determining the structure of naphthoquinone compounds is important for the understanding of their biological activities and the informed synthesis of related analogues. Identifying quambalarines is challenging, because they contain a hydroxylated naphthoquinone scaffold and have limited solubility. Here, we report a detailed structural study of quambalarine derivatives, which form strong intramolecular hydrogen bonds (IMHBs) that enable the formation of several tautomers; these tautomers may complicate structural investigation due to their fast interconversion. To investigate tautomeric equilibria and identify new quambalarines, we complemented the experimental NMR spectroscopy data with density functional theory (DFT) calculations.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Anti-Infective Agents / chemistry
  • Anti-Infective Agents / isolation & purification
  • Anti-Infective Agents / pharmacology*
  • Antineoplastic Agents / chemistry
  • Antineoplastic Agents / isolation & purification
  • Antineoplastic Agents / pharmacology*
  • Basidiomycota / chemistry*
  • Hydrogen Bonding
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging
  • Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy
  • Molecular Structure
  • Naphthoquinones / chemistry
  • Naphthoquinones / isolation & purification
  • Naphthoquinones / pharmacology*

Substances

  • Anti-Infective Agents
  • Antineoplastic Agents
  • Naphthoquinones

Supplementary concepts

  • Quambalaria cyanescens