Examination of the conformational properties of the prymnesin system: A computational chemistry approach

Prymnesins are potent ichthyotoxic and hemolytic glycoside molecules isolated from the red tide alga Prymnesium parvum. Their unique molecular structure is conformationally rich with a number of key torsional bonds which were probed with contemporary conformational searching techniques in order to describe the three-dimensional structure of the prymnesin molecule. Important topological features include a backbone twist of 60 degrees and an elongation length of 39.5 Angstrom from ring ''A'' to ring ''N'' for the prymnesin-2 molecule in the nOe preferred conformation. An appreciation of these and other molecular structural and energetic features determined by computational techniques were examined with the aim of understanding how prymnesin-2 exhibits it's potent biological activity in relation to these inherent structural traits.