Quantum chemistry study on the promoted reactivity of substituted cyclooctynes in bioorthogonal cycloaddition reactions

Abstract In the present research, we focus on the energetics and electronic aspects of enhanced reactivity in the regioselective bioorthogonal 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction of various substituted cyclooctynes with methyl azide, applying quantum chemistry approaches. In this respect, we assessed the structural and energetic properties of regioisomeric products and their corresponded transition states and calculated the reaction electronic energy changes and energy barriers through the cycloaddition pathways. The obtained results revealed that the trifluoromethyl substitution and fluorination of cyclooctynes lead to improved reactivity, in conjunction with increased exothermicity and decreased activation energy values. On the other hand, quantum theory of atoms in molecules computations were performed on some key bond and ring critical points that demonstrated the stabilizing topological properties of electron density and its derivatives upon trifluoromethyl substitution and fluorination of propargylic carbon of cyclooctynes which can be regarded as the essential origin of enhanced reactivity.