Synthesis and Spin-Trapping Properties of a Trifluoromethyl Analogue of DMPO: 5-Methyl-5-trifluoromethyl-1-pyrroline N-Oxide (5-TFDMPO)

The 5-diethoxyphosphonyl-5-methyl-1-pyrroline N-oxide superoxide spin adduct (DEPMPOOOH) is much more persistent (about 15 times) than the 5,5-dimethyl-1-pyrroline N-oxide superoxide spin adduct (DMPOOOH). The diethoxyphosphonyl group is bulkier than the methyl group and its electron-withdrawing effect is much stronger. These two factors could play a role in explaining the different half-lifetimes of DMPOOOH and DEPMPOOOH. The trifluoromethyl and the diethoxyphosphonyl groups show similar electron-withdrawing effects but have different sizes. We have thus synthesized and studied 5-methyl-5-trifluoromethyl-1-pyrroline N-oxide (5-TFDMPO), a new trifluoromethyl analogue of DMPO, to compare its spin-trapping performance with those of DMPO and DEPMPO. 5-TFDMPO was prepared in a five-step sequence by means of the Zn/AcOH reductive cyclization of 5,5,5-trifluoro-4-methyl-4-nitropentanal, and the geometry of the molecule was estimated by using DFT calculations. The spin-trapping properties were investigated both in toluene and in aqueous buffer solutions for oxygen-, sulfur-, and carbon-centered radicals. All the spin adducts exhibit slightly different fluorine hyperfine coupling constants, thereby suggesting a hindered rotation of the trifluoromethyl group, which was confirmed by variable-temperature EPR studies and DFT calculations. In phosphate buffer at pH7.4, the half-life of 5-TFDMPOOOH is about three times shorter than for DEPMPOOOH and five times longer than for DMPOOOH. Our results suggest that the stabilization of the superoxide adducts comes from a delicate balance between steric, electronic, and hydrogen-bonding effects that involve the group, the hydroperoxyl moiety, and the nitroxide.