Structure and conformation of peptides containing the sulphonamide junction

N-acetyl-tauryl-l -phenylalanine methyl ester 1 has been synthesized. The crystal structure and molecular conformation of 1 have been determined. Crystals are monoclinic, space group P2₁ with a = 5.088(2), b = 17.112(17), c = 9.581(6) Å, β= 92.34(4)^M-0, Z = 2. The structure has been solved by direct methods and refined to R = 0.043 for 2279 reflections with I < 1.5σ(I). The sulphonamide junction maintains the peptide backbone folded with Tau and Phe C^α atoms in a cisoidal arrangement, the torsion angle around the S-N bond being 65.4^M-0. In this conformation the p-orbital of the sulphonamide nitrogen lies in the region of the plane bisecting the O-S-O angle, thus favouring dα-pα interactions between nitrogen and sulphur atoms. The S-N bond with a length of 1.618 Å has significant α-bond character. The CO-NH is planar and adopts trans conformation. The Tau residue is extended with the Tau-C^α₁-C^β_a bond anti-periplanar to the S-N bond. The Phe side chain conformation corresponds to the statistically most favoured g^- rotamer and exhibits a χ¹ torsion angle of –67.5^M-0. The packing is characterized by intermolecular H-bonds which the Tau and Phe NH groups form with the acetyl carbonyl and one of the two sulphonamide oxygens, respectively.