Hydrogen bond
Hydrogen bonds can vary in strength from weak (1–2 kJ mol) to strong (161.5 kJ mol in the ion ). Typical enthalpies in vapor include:
Halogen bond
Aldehyde-based and carboxylate inhibitors are effective but toxic because the functional activity of aldehyde reductase is impaired. Carboxylate and aldehyde inhibitors were shown to hydrogen bond with Trp 111, Tyr 48, and His 110. The “specificity pocket,” created as a result of inhibitor binding, consists of Leu 300, Ala 299, Phe 122, Thr 113, and Trp 111. For inhibitors to be effective, the key residues of interaction were identified to be Thr 113 and Trp 111. IDD 594 was designed such that the halogen would provide selectivity and be potent. Upon binding, this compound induces a conformational change that causes halogen bonding to occur between the oxygen of the Thr and the bromine of the inhibitor. The bond distance was measured to be 2.973(4) Å. It is this O−Br halogen bond that contributes to the large potency of this inhibitor for human aldose reductase rather than aldehyde reductase.