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The structures and protonation energies of aminoguanidine and aminoguanidinium ion were obtained from quantum chemical calculations by using the density functional method B3-LYP and the standard basis set 6 -31 G(d ). The energy differences between the various forms of the two possible tautomers, the endiamine and the imidamide form, were investigated. The endiamine was found to be more stable than the most stable form of the imidamide by 5 kcal/mol in the gas phase. The proton affinity of am inoguanidine was found to be 241.4 kcal/mol (B3 -LYP/6 -31 G(d )) in the gas phase. The liquidation pKa2 for amininoguanidine and the guanidinium ion was determined to be 11.5 ± 0.1. The reference values for guanidine free base and the guanidinium ion are 235.7 kcal/mol and 13.6, respectively. The difference in the order of basicity in the gas phase and in aqueous solution between aminoguanidine and guanidine is discussed in terms of symmetry, resonance, delocalisation, rehybridisation of nitrogen atoms, and electrostatic repulsion.

The crystal and molecular structure of aminoguanidine monohydrochloride, CN4H7 +.CL- in which aminonoguanidine exists in the monocation form, was determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The structure of the monocation is largely similar to that of aminoguanidine dication as present in previously studied divalent salts. The monocation was found to exist in the form of the tautom er that allows strong resonance in the guanyl group. As compared to the dication, the terminal hydrazine nitrogen atom bears one hydrogen atom less. The monocation is planar, the only atoms deviating from the plane being the hydrogens attached to the terminal hydrazine nitrogen. Quantum chemical calculations on the endiamine tautomer of aminoguanidine free base as well as on aminoguanidine monocation and dication were also perform ed by using the HF and MP2 ab initio methods and also the B3- LYP and B-LYP methods based on density functional theory. On the basis of the calculations, a predicted structure of the endiamine tautom er of aminoguanidine free base is presented

The first crystallographic study on an aromatic analogue of the antileukemic agent methylglyoxal bis(amidinohydrazone) (MGBG) is reported. Thus, the crystal and molecular structures of two different geometrical isomers of phenylglyoxal bis(amidinohydrazone) (PhGBG) sulphate were determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Crystals were prepared by recrystallizing PhGBG sulphate using either water or aqueous ethanol (volume ratio ethanol:water 1:4) as the solvent. Depending on the solvent, different types of crystals were obtained although the PhGBG sulphate employed was in the both cases from the same synthesis batch that had been prepared according to classical methods from the corresponding glyoxal. When a crystal obtained from water was studied, PhGBG was found to exist solely in the form of the anti-anti isomer. e. the same isomer that has been observed in the cases of all mono- and dialkylglyoxal bis(amidinohydrazones) so far studied. However, when PhGBG sulphate was recrystallized from 20 % aqueous ethanol, the crystals obtained consisted of a different geometrical isomer. In this anti-syn isomer the carbon-nitrogen double bond closest to the phenyl group had the syn configuration. In the anti-syn isomer, there is an internal hydrogen bond between the two amidinohydrazone moieties, which may markedly contribute to the stabilization of the isomer. The anti-syn isomer of PhGBG is analogous to the only isomer of trifluoromethylglyoxal bis(amidinohydrazone) so far observed. PhGBG sulphate constitutes the first case in which two different geometrical isomers of a bis(amidinohydrazone) have been observed. In the case of the much studied aliphatic mono- and dialkylglyoxal analogues, isomerization of the bis(amidinohydrazone) backbone has never been observed. The structural flexibility of the bis(amidinohydrazone) chain of PhGBG is obviously attributable to the electron-withdrawing resonance effect and perhaps also to the inductive and hyperconjugative effects of the phenyl group. The obviously facile isomerization of PhGBG may markedly influence the biochemical properties of the compound.

Aminoguanidine is not only an agent with a variety of pharmacological effects but also an important starting material of am idinohydrazone-type drugs and enzyme inhibitors. There­ fore, we have now synthesized am inoguanidine sulphate CN4H8 2+.SO4 2- and determined its structure by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The doubly protonated (dication) form of amino­ guanidine that is present in the sulphate could, in principle, exist in the form of several different tautom ers. The crystal studied consisted exclusively of one tautomer: one of the nitrogens of the hydrazine moiety bears three hydrogen atoms while the other one (the one bound to the carbon) bears one hydrogen. The other two nitrogens are bound to two hydrogens each. The predominance of this tautomer can be explained by the very strong resonance in it. The dication of aminoguanidine is remarkably planar. The hydrogens of the hydrazine moeity are, however, clearly out of the plane of the other atoms. There is a strong hydrogen bond between the proton of the m onoprotonated nitrogen and one sulphate oxygen. This bond obviously causes the deviation of the hydrogen from the plane. The bonds between the carbon atom and the adjecnt nitrogens are essentially equally long, indicating that each bond has approximately the same amount of double bond character. One of the positive charges of the dication is thus delocalized, being shared by all of the atoms of the CN3 moiety. In this respect, the structure is similar to that of all bis(amidinohydrazones) whose structures have been determined. The other positive charge of aminoguanidine dication is localized at the nitrogen bearing three hydrogens.