Issue 25, 2019

Experiment stands corrected: accurate prediction of the aqueous pKa values of sulfonamide drugs using equilibrium bond lengths

Abstract

We show here for the first time that strongly correlated linear relationships exist between equilibrium bond lengths of the sulfonamide group and aqueous pKa values. Models are constructed for three variants of the SO2NHR group: primary benzene sulfonamide derivatives (e.g. diuretic drugs furosemide and hydrochlorothiazide), N-phenyl substituted 4-amino-N-phenylbenzenesulfonamide analogues (e.g. the sulfa antibiotic sulfadiazine) and phenylsulfonylureas (e.g. insulin secretagogue, glimepiride). In the context of these compounds, we present solutions to some of the more complex challenges in pKa prediction: (i) prediction for multiprotic compounds, (ii) predicting macroscopic values for compounds that tautomerize, and (iii) quantum chemical pKa prediction for compounds with more than 50 atoms. Using bond lengths as a powerful descriptor of ionization feasibility, we also identify that literature values for drug compounds celecoxib, glimepiride and glipizide are inaccurate. Our newly measured experimental values match our initial predictions to within 0.26 pKa units, whereas previous values were found to deviate by up to 1.68 pKa units. For glimepiride, our corrected value denotes a percentage of ionization at intracellular pH, which is only now in excellent agreement with its known therapeutic efficacy. We propose that linear relationships between bond lengths and pKa should emerge for any set of congeners, thus providing a powerful method of pKa prediction in instances where pKa data exist for close congeners, thereby obviating the need for thermodynamic cycles.

Graphical abstract: Experiment stands corrected: accurate prediction of the aqueous pKa values of sulfonamide drugs using equilibrium bond lengths

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Edge Article
Submitted
12 apr 2019
Accepted
19 may 2019
First published
29 may 2019
This article is Open Access

All publication charges for this article have been paid for by the Royal Society of Chemistry
Creative Commons BY-NC license

Chem. Sci., 2019,10, 6368-6381

Experiment stands corrected: accurate prediction of the aqueous pKa values of sulfonamide drugs using equilibrium bond lengths

B. A. Caine, M. Bronzato and Paul L. A. Popelier, Chem. Sci., 2019, 10, 6368 DOI: 10.1039/C9SC01818B

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