Seven Conformers of Neutral Dopamine Revealed in the Gas Phase

The rotational spectrum of neutral dopamine has been investigated for the first time using a combination of Fourier transform microwave spectroscopy with laser ablation. The parameters extracted from the analysis of the spectrum unequivocally identify the existence of seven conformers of dopamine. N-14 nuclear quadrupole coupling interactions have been used to determine the orientation of the amino group probing the existence of stabilizing N-H center dot center dot center dot pi interactions for all observed conformers.