IChO 2010 · Theory problem 7

Tetrodotoxin

Certain varieties of puffer fish, Fugu in Japanese, are highly prized as foods in Japan. Since the viscera (especially ovaries and livers) of the fish contain a potent toxin (tetrodotoxin), food poisoning often results from its ingestion. Studies on tetrodotoxin (1) have been performed from the beginning of the 20th century. Its chemical structure was elucidated in 1964.

Figure 1

tetrodotoxin (1)

The guanidine group in tetrodotoxin exhibits strong basicity. The guanidinium ion resulting from protonation on the guanidine group is stabilized by the existence of the following resonance.

Figure 2

7.1 Draw two resonance structures B and C.

Many derivatization reactions were performed in structure studies of tetrodotoxin. Treatment of tetrodotoxin (1) (see reaction scheme 1) with ethanolic potassium hydroxide upon heating afforded quinazoline derivative 2, which provided an insight into the nature of the fundamental skeleton of tetrodotoxin. The reaction mechanism can be described as follows. First, tetrodotoxin is hydrolyzed into carboxylate 3. Then the hydroxyl group highlighted with a frame is eliminated by the base to give intermediate D. A retro-aldol reaction of D cleaves a carbon-carbon bond to provide intermediates E and F. Finally, dehydration and aromatization from E produce quinazoline derivative 2.

7.2 Draw structures of the postulated intermediates D, E, and F.

Figure 3

Reaction scheme 1

Although biosynthesis of tetrodotoxin still remains to be clarified, it is proposed that tetrodotoxin may be biologically synthesized from L-arginine and isopentenyl diphosphate.

Figure 4

7.3 Among the carbon atoms included in tetrodotoxin, circle all those that are expected to be of L-arginine origin.

In the 1990s, an alternative biosynthetic pathway of tetrodotoxin was proposed. Condensation between 2-deoxy-3-oxo-D-pentose and guanidine provides intermediate G with cyclic guanidine moiety (molecular formula \(\ce{C6H11N3O3}\)). Tetrodotoxin may be biologically synthesized from intermediate G and isopentenyl diphosphate.

Figure 5

7.4 Draw a structure of the postulated intermediate G showing the stereochemistry.

Official English text of the problem.

Answers

  • 7.1 The two remaining contributors of the disubstituted guanidinium ion are:

B: double bond and positive charge on the nitrogen bearing \(R^1\):
NC(=[NH+]([*:1]))N[*:2]

C: double bond and positive charge on the nitrogen bearing \(R^2\):
NC(N[*:1])=[NH+]([*:2])

Here [*:1] and [*:2] represent \(R^1\) and \(R^2\).

  • 7.2 Using the atom numbering defined below:

D — dehydrated carboxylate, C8-ketone tautomer:
[NH2+]=C1N[C@H](O)[C@H]2[C@@H](O)[C@](CO)(O)CC(=O)[C@]2([C@H](O)C(=O)[O-])N1

E — retro-aldol product, C8-enol tautomer:
[NH2+]=C1N[C@H](O)[C@H]2[C@@H](O)[C@](CO)(O)CC(O)=C2N1

F — glyoxylate (2-oxoacetate), \(\ce{OHC-COO-}\):
O=CC(=O)[O-]

  • 7.3 Circle six carbons: the guanidinium carbon C2, and C4, C4a, C8a, C9, and C10. These constitute the guanidinium carbon plus the five-carbon chain ending at the carboxylate carbon in 3.

  • 7.4 G — 2-amino-6-[(1S)-1,2-dihydroxyethyl]-3,4-dihydropyrimidin-4-ol, a cyclic guanidine hemiaminal:
    NC1=NC([C@H](O)CO)=CC(O)N1

The side-chain stereocenter retains the sugar’s configuration. The newly formed ring hemiaminal center is unspecified; draw its hydroxyl bond as wavy.

Solution

7.1 — Guanidinium resonance

In A, the positive charge is on the nitrogen of the exocyclic double bond. Either other nitrogen can donate its lone pair to the central carbon while the existing double-bond electrons move onto the initially positive nitrogen.

The resulting contributors are

\[ \mathbf B:\quad \ce{H2N-C(=N^{+}HR^{1})-NHR^{2}} \]

and

\[ \mathbf C:\quad \ce{H2N-C(NHR^{1})=N^{+}HR^{2}}. \]

Thus, each contributor has one carbon–nitrogen double bond, with the positive charge on that double-bonded nitrogen. All atoms retain octets. Hydrogen atoms and substituents remain attached to the same nitrogens: these are resonance contributors, so no proton transfer occurs.


7.2 — Dehydration, retro-aldol cleavage, and aromatization

To identify bonds precisely, use the quinazoline numbering inherited from product 2. The two fused rings follow these atom sequences:

\[ \mathrm{N1-C2-N3-C4-C4a-C8a-N1} \]

\[ \mathrm{C4a-C5-C6-C7-C8-C8a-C4a}. \]

In carboxylate 3, call the hydroxyl-bearing side-chain carbon attached to C8a C9, its carboxylate carbon C10, and the hydroxymethyl carbon attached to C6 C11.

The starting hydrolyzed tetrodotoxin carboxylate 3 is:

[NH2+]=C1N[C@H](O)[C@H]2[C@@H](O)[C@](CO)(O)[C@@H](O)[C@@H](O)[C@]2([C@H](O)C(=O)[O-])N1

Formation of D. The boxed hydroxyl is attached to C7. Of its neighboring carbons, C6 has no hydrogen, whereas C8 does. Elimination therefore removes the C7 hydroxyl and the C8 hydrogen, giving the C7=C8 enol.

This initial enol tautomer of D is:

[NH2+]=C1N[C@H](O)[C@H]2[C@@H](O)[C@](CO)(O)C=C(O)[C@]2([C@H](O)C(=O)[O-])N1

Keto–enol tautomerization gives the C8 ketone D listed in the Answers. To draw it from 3:

  • Replace C7–OH by a methylene group at C7.
  • Replace C8–OH and C8–H by a carbonyl at C8.
  • Retain the remaining substituents and stereochemistry.

Formation of E and F. In the ketone tautomer of D, the relevant sequence is

\[ \mathrm{C8(=O)-C8a-C9(OH)-C10(=O)O^{-}}. \]

This is a β-hydroxy carbonyl arrangement. Base removes the C9 hydroxyl proton; the resulting oxygen lone pair forms the C9 carbonyl while the C8a–C9 bond breaks. The ring fragment becomes an enolate.

The detached two-carbon fragment is glyoxylate F, O=CC(=O)[O-]. Protonation of the ring enolate on oxygen gives the enol E listed above.

To draw E, remove the entire C9–C10 side chain from D, replace the C8 carbonyl by C8–OH, and draw a C8=C8a double bond. Its remaining stereocenters retain their configurations.

Formation of 2. The product is 2-amino-6-(hydroxymethyl)quinazolin-8-ol, Nc1ncc2cc(CO)cc(O)c2n1.

Starting from the enol representation of E, the three dehydrations are:

Hydroxyl removed Hydrogen removed Double bond formed
C4–OH N3–H N3=C4
C5–OH C4a–H C4a=C5
C6–OH C7–H C6=C7

The existing C8=C8a bond completes the carbon-ring unsaturation. Deprotonation and redistribution of the guanidinium π bonds give the aromatic quinazoline.

For the protonation states shown, the atom- and charge-balanced equations are

\[ \underbrace{\ce{C11H17N3O8}}_{\mathbf 1} +\ce{H2O} \longrightarrow \underbrace{\ce{C11H19N3O9}}_{\mathbf 3}, \]

\[ \underbrace{\ce{C11H19N3O9}}_{\mathbf 3} \longrightarrow \underbrace{\ce{C11H17N3O8}}_{\mathbf D} +\ce{H2O}, \]

\[ \underbrace{\ce{C11H17N3O8}}_{\mathbf D} \longrightarrow \underbrace{\ce{C9H16N3O5+}}_{\mathbf E} + \underbrace{\ce{C2HO3-}}_{\mathbf F}, \]

\[ \underbrace{\ce{C9H16N3O5+}}_{\mathbf E} +\ce{OH-} \longrightarrow \underbrace{\ce{C9H9N3O2}}_{\mathbf 2} +4\ce{H2O}. \]

Here water is O, and the hydroxide ion is [OH-]. The last equation includes three dehydration waters and one water from neutralization.

The overall reaction is consequently

\[ \ce{C11H17N3O8 + OH- -> C9H9N3O2 + C2HO3- + 4H2O}. \]


7.3 — Carbon atoms originating from L-arginine

L-Arginine, in the protonation state drawn in the problem, has SMILES:

NC(=[NH2+])NCCC[C@H](N)C(=O)[O-]

Its guanidinium carbon and its uninterrupted five-carbon chain can be mapped onto tetrodotoxin without breaking that chain:

Carbon in L-arginine Corresponding carbon in tetrodotoxin
Guanidinium carbon C2
Side-chain carbon adjacent to the guanidino nitrogen, \(C_\delta\) C4
\(C_\gamma\) C4a
\(C_\beta\) C8a
Amino-acid \(C_\alpha\) C9
Carboxylate carbon C10

The remaining five-carbon fragment is the branched chain

\[ \mathrm{C8-C7-C6(-C11)-C5}, \]

which matches the prenyl donor’s carbon connectivity.

On the original tetrodotoxin drawing, circle:

  1. The carbon bonded to all three nitrogens.
  2. The hydroxyl-bearing carbon directly bonded to the upper ring NH.
  3. Its adjacent methine carbon, C4a.
  4. The adjacent quaternary carbon bonded to the other ring NH, C8a.
  5. The hydroxyl-bearing methine above that quaternary carbon, C9.
  6. The carbon bearing the negatively charged oxygen, C10.

Hydrolysis from 1 to 3 changes oxygen connectivity but preserves these carbon–carbon connections, so the assignment is the same in both drawings.


7.4 — Formation and stereochemistry of G

The open-chain 2-deoxy-3-oxo-D-pentose is

\[ \ce{OHC-CH2-C(=O)-CH(OH)-CH2OH}, \]

with stereochemical SMILES O=CCC(=O)[C@H](O)CO.

Guanidine is N=C(N)N. The molecular formulas require

\[ \ce{C5H8O4 + CH5N3 -> C6H11N3O3 + H2O}. \]

Only one water molecule is lost. Complete condensation at both carbonyl groups would instead lose two waters and give \(\ce{C6H9N3O2}\), which is inconsistent with the stated formula.

The cyclic intermediate can form by condensation at the ketone, followed by intramolecular addition of another guanidine nitrogen to the aldehyde. This closes a six-membered ring while retaining the aldehyde oxygen as a hemiaminal hydroxyl. Proton transfers give the enamine tautomer of G specified in the Answers.

To draw that tautomer precisely, use the ring sequence

\[ \mathrm{N1=C2(-NH_2)-N3H-C4H(OH)-C5H=C6(-R)-N1}, \]

where the C6 substituent is the stereochemically defined dihydroxyethyl group encoded in

NC1=NC([C@H](O)CO)=CC(O)N1.

The original sugar stereocenter retains its spatial configuration. A Fischer projection of the side chain has:

  • The heterocyclic ring above the stereocenter.
  • The terminal hydroxymethyl group below it.
  • The hydroxyl group on the right and hydrogen on the left.

Its descriptor is \(S\) in G, although the corresponding center is \(R\) in the starting sugar. This change results from a change in CIP priorities when the ketone carbon becomes part of the nitrogen-containing ring; it does not represent inversion.

The newly formed hemiaminal carbon has unspecified stereochemistry, consistent with showing its hydroxyl bond as wavy.

The answers were checked against the official answers published by the organisers.