Femtosecond Fluorescence Dynamics of Tryptophan and 5-Fluorotryptophan in Monellin: Slow Water Relaxation Unmasked

Charge invariant protein-water relaxation in GB1 via ultrafast tryptophan fluorescence

The protein–water interface is a critical determinant of protein structure and function, yet the precise nature of dynamics in this complex system remains elusive. Tryptophan fluorescence has become the probe of choice for such dynamics on the picosecond time scale (especially via fluorescence “upconversion”). In the absence of ultrafast (“quasi-static”) quenching from nearby groups, the TDFSS (time-dependent fluorescence Stokes shift) for exposed Trp directly reports on dipolar relaxation near the interface (both water and polypeptide). The small protein GB1 contains a single Trp (W43) of this type, and its structure is refractory to pH above 3. Thus, it can be used to examine the dependence of dipolar relaxation upon charge reconfiguration with titration. Somewhat surprisingly, the dipolar dynamics in the 100 fs to 100 ps range were unchanged with pH, although nanosecond yield, rates, and access all changed. These results were rationalized with the help of molecular dynamics (including QM-MM) simulations that reveal a balancing, sometimes even countervailing influence of protein and water dipoles. Interestingly, these simulations also showed the dominant influence of water molecules which are associated with the protein interface for up to 30 ps yet free to rotate at approximately “bulk” water rates.

Upconversion spectrophotofluorometry

As the other chapters attest, sensitivity of fluorescent molecules to their local environment has created powerful tools in the study of molecular biology, particularly in the study of protein, DNA, and lipid dynamics. Surprisingly, even events faster than the nanosecond lifetimes of fluorophores are important in protein function, and in particular, events lasting just a few ps reflect on water motion and the coupled dynamics of proteins. These ultrafast phenomena can best be studied by using the same laser that excites fluorescence to also "strobe" the emission, providing sub-picosecond time slices of the action. We explain the strobing "upconversion" technique and some limits on its execution.