Imidazole-amino acids. Conformational switch under tautomer and pH change

Replacement of the main chain peptide bond by imidazole ring seems to be a promising tool for the peptide-based drug design, due to the specific prototropic tautomeric as well as amphoteric properties. In this study, we present that both tautomer and pH change can cause a conformational switch of the studied residues of alanine (1–4) and dehydroalanine (5–8) with the C-terminal peptide group replaced by imidazole. The DFT methods are applied and an environment of increasing polarity is simulated. The conformational maps (Ramachandram diagrams) are presented and the stability of possible conformations is discussed. The neutral forms, tautomers τ (1) and π (2), adapt the conformations αRτ (φ, ψ = − 75°, − 114°) and C7eq (φ, ψ = − 75°, 66°), respectively. Their torsion angles ψ differ by about 180°, which results in a considerable impact on the peptide chain conformation. The cation form (3) adapts both these conformations, whereas the anion analogue (4) prefers the conformations C5 (φ, ψ = − 165°, − 178°) and β2 (φ, ψ ~ − 165°, − 3°). Dehydroamino acid analogues, the tautomers τ (5) and π (6) as well as the anion form (8), have a strong tendency toward the conformations β2 (φ, ψ = − 179°, 0°) and C5 (φ, ψ = − 180°, 180°). The preferences of the protonated imidazolium form (7) depend on the environment. The imidazole ring, acting as a donor or acceptor of the hydrogen bonds created within the studied residues, has a profound effect on the type of conformation. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00726-022-03201-0.