Conformational Preferences at the Glycosidic Linkage of Saccharides in Solution as Deduced from NMR Experiments and MD Simulations: Comparison to Crystal Structures

Glycans are central to information content and regulation in biological systems. These carbohydrate molecules are active either as oligo- or polysaccharides, often in the form of glycoconjugates. The monosaccharide entities are joined by glycosidic linkages and stereochemical arrangements are of utmost importance in determining conformation and flexibility of saccharides. The conformational preferences and population distributions at the glycosidic torsion angles phi and psi have been investigated for O-methyl glycosides of three disaccharides where the substitution takes place at a secondary alcohol, viz., in alpha-l-Fucp-(1 -> 3)-beta-d-Glcp-OMe, alpha-l-Fucp-(1 -> 3)-alpha-d-Galp-OMe and alpha-d-Glcp-(1 -> 4)-alpha-d-Galp-OMe, corresponding to disaccharide structural elements present in bacterial polysaccharides. Stereochemical differences at or adjacent to the glycosidic linkage were explored by solution state NMR spectroscopy using one-dimensional 1H,1H-NOESY NMR experiments to obtain transglycosidic proton-proton distances and one- and two-dimensional heteronuclear NMR experiments to obtain 3JCH transglycosidic coupling constants related to torsion angles phi and psi. Computed effective proton-proton distances from molecular dynamics (MD) simulations showed excellent agreement to experimentally derived distances for the alpha-(1 -> 3)-linked disaccharides and revealed that for the bimodal distribution at the psi torsion angle for the alpha-(1 -> 4)-linked disaccharide experiment and simulation were at variance with each other, calling for further force field developments. The MD simulations disclosed a highly intricate inter-residue hydrogen bonding pattern for the alpha-(1 -> 4)-linked disaccharide, including a nonconventional hydrogen bond between H5 ' in the glucosyl residue and O3 in the galactosyl residue, supported by a large downfield 1H NMR chemical shift displacement compared to alpha-d-Glcp-OMe. Comparison of population distributions of the glycosidic torsion angles phi and psi in the disaccharide entities to those of corresponding crystal structures highlighted the potential importance of solvation on the preferred conformation. The importance of solvation on the preferred conformation of saccharides in solution and in crystals is unraveled by solution-state NMR and computational MD studies of solvated disaccharides. Crystal structures containing solvated glycan structures have glycosidic linkage conformations similar to those of the carbohydrate molecules in solution. image