The mechanistic basis for warfarin’s structural diversity and implications for its bioavailability

The anticoagulent drug warfarin exhibits chameleon-like isomerism, where the environment-dependent composition of the ensemble of structures greatly influences its bioavailability. Here, the mechanism of conversion between the major isomeric forms is studied. The dramatic differences in transition state energies, as determined by density functional calculations, highlight the necessity for the involvement of intermolecular interactions in the key proton transfer step. A viable model for the mechanism underlying the isomerization reactions is presented.