Tautomeric equilibrium of pyridoxine in water. Thermodynamic characterization by 13C and 15N nuclear magnetic resonance

A remarkable temperature dependence on the 13C NMR and 15N NMR chemical shifts of pyridoxine in water (pH = 7.0) has been observed. C-3, C-6, and N-1 were the most sensitive nuclei to the temperature effect. This dependence has been explained on the basis of an equilibrium shift thermally induced between the neutral and the dipolar form of this molecule. The thermodynamic characterization of tautomeric equilibria that interconvert quickly on the NMR time scale can be carried out from the observed average 13C NMR and 15N NMR chemical shifts at different temperatures (5-90 degrees C). We have developed a new method for the estimation of the thermodynamic parameters of a given equilibrium by fitting the experimental data to a theoretical curve. This new method allows us to improve the fitting results on our previously proposed methodology. We show that there are linear correlations between the average chemical shifts obtained from different nuclei at the same temperature. This indicates that the parameters of the pure forms are related among them. We have carried out a simultaneous multiple function curve fitting of all data obtained from the most sensitive signals together using these linear correlations as restricted conditions in order to diminish the number of independent parameters to fit. To test the new methodology, we have studied the thermodynamics of the tautomeric equilibrium of pyridoxine in water. We have obtained delta H degree values ranging from -23.6 +/- 1.3 to -25.8 +/- 1.7 kJ/mol for this equilibrium depending on the used data set. This kind of methodology has, among others, the following advantages: It allows the use of a great number of experimental points from different signals in the fitting process, it yields very precise and accurate values of the tautomeric process, and it allows the resolution of the problem with only 13C NMR data in some cases saving NMR time.