Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 14, 2026

19:16
The Importance of Correct Protein Concentration for Kinetics and Affinity Determination in Structure-function Analysis
Published on: March 17, 2010
Conformational analysis of cyclo (L-cystine)
Summary
Cyclo(L-cystine) molecules primarily exist in a boat conformation, adopting two chiral forms. The M-model, with more low-energy conformations, is likely thermodynamically favored over the P-model.
Area of Science:
- * Molecular modeling and conformational analysis.
- * Computational chemistry and biophysics.
Background:
- * Cyclo(L-cystine) is a cyclic dipeptide with a diketopiperazine ring.
- * Understanding its conformational preferences is crucial for its chemical and biological properties.
Purpose of the Study:
- * To investigate the conformational landscape of cyclo(L-cystine).
- * To determine the preferred conformations and their relative energies.
- * To analyze the chirality of the disulphide bridge in different models.
Main Methods:
- * Employed semi-empirical energy calculations.
- * Analyzed molecular geometry and dihedral angles.
- * Evaluated conformational space and energy minima.
Main Results:
- * Cyclo(L-cystine) exclusively adopts a boat conformation for the diketopiperazine ring.
- * Two distinct chiral forms, P- and M-models, were identified, differing in disulphide bridge chirality.
- * The M-model exhibited a slightly lower minimum energy (-9.2 kcal/mol) than the P-model (0.3 kcal/mol difference).
- * The M-model demonstrated a 3:1 ratio of low-energy conformations compared to the P-model.
Conclusions:
- * Neither the P- nor M-model is definitively superior due to minimal energy differences.
- * The M-model is likely thermodynamically favored due to a greater number of accessible low-energy conformations.
- * Conformational flexibility plays a significant role in the stability of cyclo(L-cystine).
Related Concept Videos
Conformations of Cycloalkanes
Adolf von Baeyer attempted to explain the instabilities of small and large cycloalkane rings using the concept of angle strain — the strain caused by the deviation of bond angles from the ideal 109.5° tetrahedral value for sp3 hybridized carbons. However, while cyclopropane and cyclobutane are strained, as expected from their highly compressed bond angles, cyclopentane is more strained than predicted, and cyclohexane is virtually strain-free. Hence, Baeyer’s theory that was based on the...
Conformations of Cyclohexane
Cyclohexane does not exist in a planar form due to the high angle and torsional strain it would experience in the planar structure. Instead, it adopts non-planar chair and boat conformations.
The chair form is the most stable and derives its name from its resemblance to the “easy chair.” In the chair conformation, two carbon atoms are arranged out-of-plane — one above and one below, minimizing the torsional strain. In the chair form, the bond angle is very close to the ideal tetrahedral value,...
The chair form is the most stable and derives its name from its resemblance to the “easy chair.” In the chair conformation, two carbon atoms are arranged out-of-plane — one above and one below, minimizing the torsional strain. In the chair form, the bond angle is very close to the ideal tetrahedral value,...
Chair Conformation of Cyclohexane
The chair conformation is the most stable form of cyclohexane due to the absence of angle and torsional strain. The absence of angle strain is a result of cyclohexane’s bond angle being very close to the ideal tetrahedral bond angle of 109.5° in its chair conformer. Similarly, the torsional strain is also absent owing to the perfectly staggered arrangement of bonds.
The hydrogen atoms linked to carbons are arranged in two different axial and equatorial orientations to achieve this staggered...
The hydrogen atoms linked to carbons are arranged in two different axial and equatorial orientations to achieve this staggered...
Stability of Substituted Cyclohexanes
This lesson discusses the stability of substituted cyclohexanes with a focus on energies of various conformers and the effect of 1,3-diaxial interactions.
The two chair conformations of cyclohexanes undergo rapid interconversion at room temperature. Both forms have identical energies and stabilities, each comprising equal amounts of the equilibrium mixture. Replacing a hydrogen atom with a functional group makes the two conformations energetically non-equivalent.
For example, in...
The two chair conformations of cyclohexanes undergo rapid interconversion at room temperature. Both forms have identical energies and stabilities, each comprising equal amounts of the equilibrium mixture. Replacing a hydrogen atom with a functional group makes the two conformations energetically non-equivalent.
For example, in...
Stereoisomerism of Cyclic Compounds
In this lesson, we delve into the role of ring conformation and its stability, which determines the spatial arrangement and, consequently, the molecular symmetry and stereoisomerism of cyclic compounds. 1,2-Dimethylcyclohexane is used as a case study to evaluate the possible number of stereoisomers. Here, given the multiple (n = 2) chiral centers, there are 2n = 4 possible configurations that lack a plane of symmetry, as the ring skeleton exists in a non-planar chair conformation. In addition,...
¹H NMR of Conformationally Flexible Molecules: Temporal Resolution
At room temperature, the chair conformer of cyclohexane undergoes rapid ring flipping between two equivalent chair conformers at a rate of approximately 105 times per second. These two chair conformers are in equilibrium. The rapid ring flipping results in the interconversion of the axial proton to an equatorial proton and an equatorial to the axial proton. Such interconversions are too rapid and cannot be detected on the NMR timescale. Hence, the NMR spectrometer cannot distinguish between the...

