Kinetic and structural consequences of the leaving group in substrates of a class C beta-lactamase

Yong-Mo Ahn1, R F Pratt

  • 1Department of Chemistry, Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT 06459, USA.

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Leaving Groups02:14

Leaving Groups

The nature of leaving groups strongly influences the outcome of a nucleophilic substitution reaction.
In general, in a nucleophilic substitution reaction, a nucleophile displaces a functional group, called the leaving group, from the substrate to give a substituted product. A leaving group departs the substrate molecule through heterolytic cleavage, taking the pair of electrons with it to become a relatively stable weak base in the form of an anion or a neutral molecule.  
In a nucleophilic...
E1 Reaction: Kinetics and Mechanism02:46

E1 Reaction: Kinetics and Mechanism

Here, in contrast to the E2 reaction mechanism, we delve into the aspects of the E1 reaction mechanism, which has two steps: rate-limiting loss of the leaving group and abstraction of the beta hydrogen by a weak base. Typically, the experimental proof for the E1 mechanism is via kinetic studies or isotope studies. While the former demonstrates the first-order kinetics—the dependence of the reaction solely on substrate concentration—the latter proves the abstraction of hydrogen only in the...
SN2 Reaction: Stereochemistry02:23

SN2 Reaction: Stereochemistry

In an SN2 reaction, the nucleophilic attack on the substrate and departure of the leaving group occurs simultaneously through a transition state. As the nucleophile approaches the substrate from the back-side, the configuration of the substrate carbon changes from tetrahedral to trigonal bipyramidal and then back to tetrahedral, leading to an inversion in the configuration of the product.
If the substrate is an achiral molecule at the α-carbon, the inversion of configuration is not observed.
Regioselective Formation of Enolates01:33

Regioselective Formation of Enolates

As depicted in the figure below, the unsymmetrical ketones can form two possible enolates: less substituted or more substituted enolates. Usually, the thermodynamic enolates are formed from the more substituted α-carbon atom, while the kinetic enolates are formed faster by deprotonation from the less substituted position. The thermodynamic enolates have lower energy, so they are more stable. But the energy required to form kinetic enolates is less.
SN1 Reaction: Stereochemistry02:15

SN1 Reaction: Stereochemistry

This lesson provides an in-depth discussion of the stereochemical outcomes in an SN1 reaction.
In the first step of an SN1 reaction, the bond between the electrophilic carbon and the leaving group ionizes to generate the carbocation intermediate. The second step of the mechanism is the nucleophilic attack.
In the formed carbocation, the positively charged carbon is sp2 hybridized with a trigonal planar geometry. As all the three substituents lie on the same plane, a plane of symmetry for the...
SN2 Reaction: Transition State02:26

SN2 Reaction: Transition State

An SN2 reaction of an alkyl halide is a single-step process in which bond formation between the nucleophile and the substrate and bond breaking between the substrate and the halide occurs simultaneously through a transition state without forming an intermediate.
When the nucleophile approaches the electrophilic carbon with its lone pairs, the halide acts as a leaving group and moves away with the electron-pair bonded to the carbon. Dotted partial bonds represent the bonds being formed or broken...