Conformational studies into N-methylation of alanine diamide models: A quantitative approach

Abstract A systematic theoretical analysis was performed on N -acetyl- l -alanine N ′-methylamide (Ac- l -Ala-NHMe) and the analogues methylated on the N-terminus (Ac- l -(Me)Ala-NHMe), C-terminus (Ac- l -Ala-NMe 2 ), and both N/C-termini (Ac- l -(Me)Ala-NMe 2 ), to evaluate the influence of methylation of the amide group on the conformational properties of the affected residues. The ϕ , ψ potential energy surfaces were calculated at the B3LYP/6-31+G**//HF/3-21G level of theory with inclusion of the solvent (water) effect (SCRF method). The conformers localised were fully optimised at the B3LYP/6-31+G** in vacuo. The accessible areas of the potential energy surfaces; the number of conformer…