Conformational properties of N′,N′-dimethylamides of N-acetyldehydroalanine and N-acetyl-(Z)-dehydrophenylalanine

Conformational preferences of Ac-deltaAla-NMe2 and Ac-(Z)-deltaPhe-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.