Vitamin E models

Abstract: The molecular conformations of shortened molecular models of vitamin E (tocopherol and tocotrienol) and their sulfur and selenium congeners were studied computationally at the DFT level of theory [B3LYP/6-31G(d)]. The sequence of stabilization by the various heteroatoms was found to be the following: O∼Se > S. On the basis of the present structural results it seems that the seleno-congener of vitamin E is a distinct possibility.