Effect of the solvent on the conformation of monocrotaline as determined by isotropic and anisotropic NMR parameters.

The conformation in solution of monocrotaline, a pyrrolizidine alkaloid presenting an eleven-membered macrocyclic diester ring, has been investigated using a combination of isotropic and anisotropic nuclear magnetic resonance parameters measured in four solvents of different polarity (D2 O, DMSO-d6 , CDCl3 , and C6 D6 ). Anisotropic nuclear magnetic resonance parameters were measured in different alignment media, based on their compatibility with the solvent of interest: cromoglycate liquid crystal solution was used for D2 O, whereas a poly (methyl methacrylate) polymer gel was chosen for CDCl3 and C6 D6 , and a poly (hydroxyethyl methacrylate) gel for DMSO-d6 . Whereas the pyrrolizidine ring shows an E6 exo-puckered conformation in all of the solvents, the macrocyclic eleven-membered ring adopts different populations of syn-parallel and anti-parallel relative orientation of the carbonyl groups according to the polarity of the solvent.