Quantum mechanical conformational analysis of heterocyclic analogues of norephedrine.

Studies on the conformation of several structural analogues of norephedrine, thiophene, carbazole and furan, were carried out using the differential PCILO method. The erythro-forms of these compounds possess minima on the conformation map corresponding to a gauche conformation with synclinal H-atoms. This result is in good agreement with the proton-proton coupling constants found in previous NMR-studies. H-NMR-studies suggest for the threo-isomers of the studied molecules an equilibrium between the trans- and gache-conformations of the ethanolamine chain. Present calculations agree fairly well with this result. All the studied molecules possess conformational minima corresponding to the folded form of the side chain believed responsible for the physiological activity of norephedrine. The distances between "N" and 'O' atoms in this preferred conformation correspond to the model proposed by Kier and Pullman for alpha-adrenergic receptors.