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Ling CCH, Chan WX, Siow JX, Loh ZH. Ultrafast Vibrational Wave Packet Dynamics of the Aqueous Guanine Radical Anion Induced by Photodetachment. J Phys Chem A 2024; 128:626-635. [PMID: 38207335 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpca.3c08232] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/13/2024]
Abstract
Studying the ultrafast dynamics of ionized aqueous biomolecules is important for gaining an understanding of the interaction of ionizing radiation with biological matter. Guanine plays an essential role in biological systems as one of the four nucleobases that form the building blocks of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). Guanine radicals can induce oxidative damage to DNA, particularly due to the lower ionization potential of guanine compared to the other nucleobases, sugars, and phosphate groups that are constituents of DNA. This study utilizes femtosecond optical pump-probe spectroscopy to observe the ultrafast vibrational wave packet dynamics of the guanine radical anion launched by photodetachment of the aqueous guanine dianion. The vibrational wave packet motion is resolved into 11 vibrational modes along which structural reorganization occurs upon photodetachment. These vibrational modes are assigned with the aid of density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Our work sheds light on the ultrafast vibrational dynamics following the ionization of nucleobases in an aqueous medium.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christine Chun Hui Ling
- School of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, and School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, 21 Nanyang Link, 637371, Singapore
| | - Wei Xin Chan
- School of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, and School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, 21 Nanyang Link, 637371, Singapore
| | - Jing Xuan Siow
- School of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, and School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, 21 Nanyang Link, 637371, Singapore
| | - Zhi-Heng Loh
- School of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, and School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, 21 Nanyang Link, 637371, Singapore
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Bin Mohd Yusof MS, Song H, Debnath T, Lowe B, Yang M, Loh ZH. Ultrafast proton transfer of the aqueous phenol radical cation. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2022; 24:12236-12248. [PMID: 35579397 DOI: 10.1039/d2cp00505k] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Proton transfer (PT) reactions are fundamental to numerous chemical and biological processes. While sub-picosecond PT involving electronically excited states has been extensively studied, little is known about ultrafast PT triggered by photoionization. Here, we employ femtosecond optical pump-probe spectroscopy and quantum dynamics calculations to investigate the ultrafast proton transfer dynamics of the aqueous phenol radical cation (PhOH˙+). Analysis of the vibrational wave packet dynamics reveals unusually short dephasing times of 0.18 ± 0.02 ps and 0.16 ± 0.02 ps for the PhOH˙+ O-H wag and bend frequencies, respectively, suggestive of ultrafast PT occurring on the ∼0.1 ps timescale. The reduced potential energy surface obtained from ab initio calculations shows that PT is barrierless when it is coupled to the intermolecular hindered translation between PhOH˙+ and the proton-acceptor water molecule. Quantum dynamics calculations yield a lifetime of 193 fs for PhOH˙+, in good agreement with the experimental results and consistent with the PT reaction being mediated by the intermolecular O⋯O stretch. These results suggest that photoionization can be harnessed to produce photoacids that undergo ultrafast PT. In addition, they also show that PT can serve as an ultrafast deactivation channel for limiting the oxidative damage potential of radical cations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Muhammad Shafiq Bin Mohd Yusof
- Division of Chemistry and Biological Chemistry, School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, 21 Nanyang Link, Singapore 637371, Singapore.
| | - Hongwei Song
- State Key Laboratory for Magnetic Resonance and Atomic and Molecular Physics, Wuhan Institute of Physics and Mathematics, Innovation Academy for Precision Measurement Science and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430071, China
| | - Tushar Debnath
- Division of Chemistry and Biological Chemistry, School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, 21 Nanyang Link, Singapore 637371, Singapore.
| | - Bethany Lowe
- Division of Chemistry and Biological Chemistry, School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, 21 Nanyang Link, Singapore 637371, Singapore.
| | - Minghui Yang
- State Key Laboratory for Magnetic Resonance and Atomic and Molecular Physics, Wuhan Institute of Physics and Mathematics, Innovation Academy for Precision Measurement Science and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430071, China.,Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430071, China
| | - Zhi-Heng Loh
- Division of Chemistry and Biological Chemistry, School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, 21 Nanyang Link, Singapore 637371, Singapore.
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Bin Mohd Yusof MS, Siow JX, Yang N, Chan WX, Loh ZH. Spectroscopic observation and ultrafast coherent vibrational dynamics of the aqueous phenylalanine radical. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2022; 24:2800-2812. [PMID: 35048090 DOI: 10.1039/d1cp04326a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
The phenylalanine radical (Phe˙) has been proposed to mediate biological electron transport (ET) and exhibit long-lived electronic coherences following attosecond photoionization. However, the coupling of ultrafast structural reorganization to the oxidation/ionization of biomolecules such as phenylalanine remains unexplored. Moreover, studies of ET involving Phe˙ are hindered by its hitherto unobserved electronic spectrum. Here, we report the spectroscopic observation and coherent vibrational dynamics of aqueous Phe˙, prepared by sub-6 fs photodetachment of phenylalaninate anions. Sub-picosecond transient absorption spectroscopy reveals the ultraviolet absorption signature of Phe˙. Ultrafast structural reorganization drives coherent vibrational motion involving nine fundamental frequencies and one overtone. DFT calculations rationalize the absence of the decarboxylation reaction, a photodegradation pathway previously identified for Phe˙. Our findings guide the interpretation of future attosecond experiments aimed at elucidating coherent electron motion in photoionized aqueous biomolecules and pave way for the spectroscopic identification of Phe˙ in studies of biological ET.
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Affiliation(s)
- Muhammad Shafiq Bin Mohd Yusof
- Division of Chemistry and Biological Chemistry, School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, 21 Nanyang Link, Singapore 637371, Singapore.
| | - Jing Xuan Siow
- Division of Chemistry and Biological Chemistry, School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, 21 Nanyang Link, Singapore 637371, Singapore.
| | - Ningchen Yang
- Division of Chemistry and Biological Chemistry, School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, 21 Nanyang Link, Singapore 637371, Singapore.
| | - Wei Xin Chan
- Division of Chemistry and Biological Chemistry, School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, 21 Nanyang Link, Singapore 637371, Singapore.
| | - Zhi-Heng Loh
- Division of Chemistry and Biological Chemistry, School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, 21 Nanyang Link, Singapore 637371, Singapore.
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Bin Mohd Yusof MS, Debnath T, Loh ZH. Observation of intra- and intermolecular vibrational coherences of the aqueous tryptophan radical induced by photodetachment. J Chem Phys 2021; 155:134306. [PMID: 34624987 DOI: 10.1063/5.0067335] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
The study of the photodetachment of amino acids in aqueous solution is pertinent to the understanding of elementary processes that follow the interaction of ionizing radiation with biological matter. In the case of tryptophan, the tryptophan radical that is produced by electron ejection also plays an important role in numerous redox reactions in biology, although studies of its ultrafast molecular dynamics are limited. Here, we employ femtosecond optical pump-probe spectroscopy to elucidate the ultrafast structural rearrangement dynamics that accompany the photodetachment of the aqueous tryptophan anion by intense, ∼5-fs laser pulses. The observed vibrational wave packet dynamics, in conjunction with density functional theory calculations, identify the vibrational modes of the tryptophan radical, which participate in structural rearrangement upon photodetachment. Aside from intramolecular vibrational modes, our results also point to the involvement of intermolecular modes that drive solvent reorganization about the N-H moiety of the indole sidechain. Our study offers new insight into the ultrafast molecular dynamics of ionized biomolecules and suggests that the present experimental approach can be extended to investigate the photoionization- or photodetachment-induced structural dynamics of larger biomolecules.
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Affiliation(s)
- Muhammad Shafiq Bin Mohd Yusof
- Division of Chemistry and Biological Chemistry, School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, 21 Nanyang Link, Singapore 637371, Singapore
| | - Tushar Debnath
- Division of Chemistry and Biological Chemistry, School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, 21 Nanyang Link, Singapore 637371, Singapore
| | - Zhi-Heng Loh
- Division of Chemistry and Biological Chemistry, School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, 21 Nanyang Link, Singapore 637371, Singapore
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