1
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Maity S, Kleinekathöfer U. Recent progress in atomistic modeling of light-harvesting complexes: a mini review. PHOTOSYNTHESIS RESEARCH 2023; 156:147-162. [PMID: 36207489 PMCID: PMC10070314 DOI: 10.1007/s11120-022-00969-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2022] [Accepted: 09/22/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
In this mini review, we focus on recent advances in the atomistic modeling of biological light-harvesting (LH) complexes. Because of their size and sophisticated electronic structures, multiscale methods are required to investigate the dynamical and spectroscopic properties of such complexes. The excitation energies, in this context also known as site energies, excitonic couplings, and spectral densities are key quantities which usually need to be extracted to be able to determine the exciton dynamics and spectroscopic properties. The recently developed multiscale approach based on the numerically efficient density functional tight-binding framework followed by excited state calculations has been shown to be superior to the scheme based on pure classical molecular dynamics simulations. The enhanced approach, which improves the description of the internal vibrational dynamics of the pigment molecules, yields spectral densities in good agreement with the experimental counterparts for various bacterial and plant LH systems. Here, we provide a brief overview of those results and described the theoretical foundation of the multiscale protocol.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sayan Maity
- Department of Physics and Earth Sciences, Jacobs University Bremen, Campus Ring 1, 28759, Bremen, Germany
| | - Ulrich Kleinekathöfer
- Department of Physics and Earth Sciences, Jacobs University Bremen, Campus Ring 1, 28759, Bremen, Germany.
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2
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Cho KH, Rhee YM. Computational elucidations on the role of vibrations in energy transfer processes of photosynthetic complexes. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2021; 23:26623-26639. [PMID: 34842245 DOI: 10.1039/d1cp04615b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Coupling between pigment excitations and nuclear movements in photosynthetic complexes is known to modulate the excitation energy transfer (EET) efficiencies. Toward providing microscopic information, researchers often apply simulation techniques and investigate how vibrations are involved in EET processes. Here, reports on such roles of nuclear movements are discussed from a theory perspective. While vibrations naturally present random thermal fluctuations that can affect energy transferring characteristics, they can also be intertwined with exciton structures and create more specific non-adiabatic energy transfer pathways. For reliable simulations, a bath model that accurately mimics a given molecular system is required. Methods for obtaining such a model in combination with quantum chemical electronic structure calculations and molecular dynamics trajectory simulations are discussed. Various quantum dynamics simulation tools that can handle pigment-to-pigment energy transfers together with their vibrational characters are also touched on. Behaviors of molecular vibrations often deviate from ideality, especially when all-atom details are included, which practically forces us to treat them classically. We conclude this perspective by considering some recent reports that suggest that classical descriptions of bath effects with all-atom details may still produce valuable information for analyzing sophisticated contributions by vibrations to EET processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kwang Hyun Cho
- Department of Chemistry, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon 34141, Korea.
| | - Young Min Rhee
- Department of Chemistry, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon 34141, Korea.
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3
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Lu SY, Zuehlsdorff TJ, Hong H, Aguirre VP, Isborn CM, Shi L. The Influence of Electronic Polarization on Nonlinear Optical Spectroscopy. J Phys Chem B 2021; 125:12214-12227. [PMID: 34726915 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.1c05914] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The environment surrounding a chromophore can dramatically affect the energy absorption and relaxation process, as manifested in optical spectra. Simulations of nonlinear optical spectroscopy, such as two-dimensional electronic spectroscopy (2DES) and transient absorption (TA), will be influenced by the computational model of the environment. We here compare a fixed point charge molecular mechanics model and a quantum mechanical (QM) model of the environment in computed 2DES and TA spectra of Nile red in water and the chromophore of photoactive yellow protein (PYP) in water and protein environments. In addition to simulating these nonlinear optical spectra, we directly juxtapose the computed excitation energy correlation function to the dynamic Stokes shift function often used to analyze environment dynamics. Overall, we find that for the three systems studied here the mutual electronic polarization provided by the QM environment manifests in broader 2DES signals, as well as a larger reorganization energy and a larger static Stokes shift due to stronger coupling between the chromophore and the environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shao-Yu Lu
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California Merced, Merced, California 95343, United States
| | - Tim J Zuehlsdorff
- Department of Chemistry, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon 97331, United States
| | - Hanbo Hong
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California Merced, Merced, California 95343, United States
| | - Vincent P Aguirre
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California Merced, Merced, California 95343, United States
| | - Christine M Isborn
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California Merced, Merced, California 95343, United States
| | - Liang Shi
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California Merced, Merced, California 95343, United States
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4
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Dunnett AJ, Gowland D, Isborn CM, Chin AW, Zuehlsdorff TJ. Influence of non-adiabatic effects on linear absorption spectra in the condensed phase: Methylene blue. J Chem Phys 2021; 155:144112. [PMID: 34654312 DOI: 10.1063/5.0062950] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Modeling linear absorption spectra of solvated chromophores is highly challenging as contributions are present both from coupling of the electronic states to nuclear vibrations and from solute-solvent interactions. In systems where excited states intersect in the Condon region, significant non-adiabatic contributions to absorption line shapes can also be observed. Here, we introduce a robust approach to model linear absorption spectra accounting for both environmental and non-adiabatic effects from first principles. This model parameterizes a linear vibronic coupling (LVC) Hamiltonian directly from energy gap fluctuations calculated along molecular dynamics (MD) trajectories of the chromophore in solution, accounting for both anharmonicity in the potential and direct solute-solvent interactions. The resulting system dynamics described by the LVC Hamiltonian are solved exactly using the thermalized time-evolving density operator with orthogonal polynomials algorithm (T-TEDOPA). The approach is applied to the linear absorption spectrum of methylene blue in water. We show that the strong shoulder in the experimental spectrum is caused by vibrationally driven population transfer between the bright S1 and the dark S2 states. The treatment of the solvent environment is one of many factors that strongly influence the population transfer and line shape; accurate modeling can only be achieved through the use of explicit quantum mechanical solvation. The efficiency of T-TEDOPA, combined with LVC Hamiltonian parameterizations from MD, leads to an attractive method for describing a large variety of systems in complex environments from first principles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Angus J Dunnett
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Institut des NanoSciences de Paris, 4 place Jussieu, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Duncan Gowland
- Department of Physics, King's College London, London WC2R 2LS, United Kingdom
| | - Christine M Isborn
- Chemistry and Chemical Biology, University of California Merced, Merced, California 95343, USA
| | - Alex W Chin
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Institut des NanoSciences de Paris, 4 place Jussieu, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Tim J Zuehlsdorff
- Department of Chemistry, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon 97331, USA
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5
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Zuehlsdorff TJ, Shedge SV, Lu SY, Hong H, Aguirre VP, Shi L, Isborn CM. Vibronic and Environmental Effects in Simulations of Optical Spectroscopy. Annu Rev Phys Chem 2021; 72:165-188. [DOI: 10.1146/annurev-physchem-090419-051350] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Including both environmental and vibronic effects is important for accurate simulation of optical spectra, but combining these effects remains computationally challenging. We outline two approaches that consider both the explicit atomistic environment and the vibronic transitions. Both phenomena are responsible for spectral shapes in linear spectroscopy and the electronic evolution measured in nonlinear spectroscopy. The first approach utilizes snapshots of chromophore-environment configurations for which chromophore normal modes are determined. We outline various approximations for this static approach that assumes harmonic potentials and ignores dynamic system-environment coupling. The second approach obtains excitation energies for a series of time-correlated snapshots. This dynamic approach relies on the accurate truncation of the cumulant expansion but treats the dynamics of the chromophore and the environment on equal footing. Both approaches show significant potential for making strides toward more accurate optical spectroscopy simulations of complex condensed phase systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tim J. Zuehlsdorff
- Department of Chemistry, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon 97331, USA
| | - Sapana V. Shedge
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, University of California, Merced, California 95343, USA
| | - Shao-Yu Lu
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, University of California, Merced, California 95343, USA
| | - Hanbo Hong
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, University of California, Merced, California 95343, USA
| | - Vincent P. Aguirre
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, University of California, Merced, California 95343, USA
| | - Liang Shi
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, University of California, Merced, California 95343, USA
| | - Christine M. Isborn
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, University of California, Merced, California 95343, USA
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6
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Maity S, Bold BM, Prajapati JD, Sokolov M, Kubař T, Elstner M, Kleinekathöfer U. DFTB/MM Molecular Dynamics Simulations of the FMO Light-Harvesting Complex. J Phys Chem Lett 2020; 11:8660-8667. [PMID: 32991176 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.0c02526] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Because of the size of light-harvesting complexes and the involvement of electronic degrees of freedom, computationally these systems need to be treated with a combined quantum-classical description. To this end, Born-Oppenheimer molecular dynamics simulations have been employed in a quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) fashion for the ground state followed by excitation energy calculations again in a QM/MM scheme for the Fenna-Matthews-Olson (FMO) complex. The self-consistent-charge density functional tight-binding (DFTB) method electrostatically coupled to a classical description of the environment was applied to perform the ground-state dynamics. Subsequently, long-range-corrected time-dependent DFTB calculations were performed to determine the excitation energy fluctuations of the individual bacteriochlorophyll a molecules. The spectral densities obtained using this approach show an excellent agreement with experimental findings. In addition, the fluctuating site energies and couplings were used to estimate the exciton transfer dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sayan Maity
- Department of Physics and Earth Sciences, Jacobs University Bremen, Campus Ring 1, 28759 Bremen, Germany
| | - Beatrix M Bold
- Institute of Physical Chemistry, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Kaiserstrasse 12, 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany
| | | | - Monja Sokolov
- Institute of Physical Chemistry, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Kaiserstrasse 12, 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany
| | - Tomáš Kubař
- Institute of Physical Chemistry, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Kaiserstrasse 12, 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany
| | - Marcus Elstner
- Institute of Physical Chemistry, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Kaiserstrasse 12, 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany
- Institute of Biological Interfaces, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Kaiserstrasse 12, 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany
| | - Ulrich Kleinekathöfer
- Department of Physics and Earth Sciences, Jacobs University Bremen, Campus Ring 1, 28759 Bremen, Germany
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7
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Zuehlsdorff TJ, Hong H, Shi L, Isborn CM. Nonlinear spectroscopy in the condensed phase: The role of Duschinsky rotations and third order cumulant contributions. J Chem Phys 2020; 153:044127. [PMID: 32752702 DOI: 10.1063/5.0013739] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
First-principles modeling of nonlinear optical spectra in the condensed phase is highly challenging because both environment and vibronic interactions can play a large role in determining spectral shapes and excited state dynamics. Here, we compute two dimensional electronic spectroscopy (2DES) signals based on a cumulant expansion of the energy gap fluctuation operator, with specific focus on analyzing mode mixing effects introduced by the Duschinsky rotation and the role of the third order term in the cumulant expansion for both model and realistic condensed phase systems. We show that for a harmonic model system, the third order cumulant correction captures effects introduced by a mismatch in curvatures of ground and excited state potential energy surfaces, as well as effects of mode mixing. We also demonstrate that 2DES signals can be accurately reconstructed from purely classical correlation functions using quantum correction factors. We then compute nonlinear optical spectra for the Nile red and methylene blue chromophores in solution, assessing the third order cumulant contribution for realistic systems. We show that the third order cumulant correction is strongly dependent on the treatment of the solvent environment, revealing the interplay between environmental polarization and the electronic-vibrational coupling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tim J Zuehlsdorff
- Chemistry and Chemical Biology, University of California Merced, Merced, California 95343, USA
| | - Hanbo Hong
- Chemistry and Chemical Biology, University of California Merced, Merced, California 95343, USA
| | - Liang Shi
- Chemistry and Chemical Biology, University of California Merced, Merced, California 95343, USA
| | - Christine M Isborn
- Chemistry and Chemical Biology, University of California Merced, Merced, California 95343, USA
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8
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Jiang L, Rogers DM, Hirst JD, Do H. Force Fields for Macromolecular Assemblies Containing Diketopyrrolopyrrole and Thiophene. J Chem Theory Comput 2020; 16:5150-5162. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.0c00399] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Ling Jiang
- Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of Nottingham—Ningbo China, Ningbo 315100, China
| | - David M. Rogers
- School of Chemistry, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham NG7 2RD, United Kingdom
| | - Jonathan D. Hirst
- School of Chemistry, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham NG7 2RD, United Kingdom
| | - Hainam Do
- Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of Nottingham—Ningbo China, Ningbo 315100, China
- New Materials Institute, University of Nottingham—Ningbo China, Ningbo 315042, China
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9
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Zuehlsdorff TJ, Hong H, Shi L, Isborn CM. Influence of Electronic Polarization on the Spectral Density. J Phys Chem B 2019; 124:531-543. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.9b10250] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Tim J. Zuehlsdorff
- Chemistry and Chemical Biology, University of California Merced, Merced, California 95343, United States
| | - Hanbo Hong
- Chemistry and Chemical Biology, University of California Merced, Merced, California 95343, United States
| | - Liang Shi
- Chemistry and Chemical Biology, University of California Merced, Merced, California 95343, United States
| | - Christine M. Isborn
- Chemistry and Chemical Biology, University of California Merced, Merced, California 95343, United States
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10
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Cupellini L, Bondanza M, Nottoli M, Mennucci B. Successes & challenges in the atomistic modeling of light-harvesting and its photoregulation. BIOCHIMICA ET BIOPHYSICA ACTA-BIOENERGETICS 2019; 1861:148049. [PMID: 31386831 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbabio.2019.07.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2019] [Revised: 07/10/2019] [Accepted: 07/15/2019] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Light-harvesting is a crucial step of photosynthesis. Its mechanisms and related energetics have been revealed by a combination of experimental investigations and theoretical modeling. The success of theoretical modeling is largely due to the application of atomistic descriptions combining quantum chemistry, classical models and molecular dynamics techniques. Besides the important achievements obtained so far, a complete and quantitative understanding of how the many different light-harvesting complexes exploit their structural specificity is still missing. Moreover, many questions remain unanswered regarding the mechanisms through which light-harvesting is regulated in response to variable light conditions. Here we show that, in both fields, a major role will be played once more by atomistic descriptions, possibly generalized to tackle the numerous time and space scales on which the regulation takes place: going from the ultrafast electronic excitation of the multichromophoric aggregate, through the subsequent conformational changes in the embedding protein, up to the interaction between proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lorenzo Cupellini
- Dipartimento di Chimica e Chimica Industriale, Università di Pisa, Via G. Moruzzi 13, Pisa 56124, Italy
| | - Mattia Bondanza
- Dipartimento di Chimica e Chimica Industriale, Università di Pisa, Via G. Moruzzi 13, Pisa 56124, Italy
| | - Michele Nottoli
- Dipartimento di Chimica e Chimica Industriale, Università di Pisa, Via G. Moruzzi 13, Pisa 56124, Italy
| | - Benedetta Mennucci
- Dipartimento di Chimica e Chimica Industriale, Università di Pisa, Via G. Moruzzi 13, Pisa 56124, Italy.
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11
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Kim CW, Lee WG, Kim I, Rhee YM. Effect of Underdamped Vibration on Excitation Energy Transfer: Direct Comparison between Two Different Partitioning Schemes. J Phys Chem A 2019; 123:1186-1197. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpca.8b10977] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Chang Woo Kim
- Department of Chemistry, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon 34141, Korea
| | - Weon-Gyu Lee
- Department of Chemistry, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 16419, Korea
| | - Inkoo Kim
- Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology, Samsung Electronics, 130 Samsung-ro, Yeongtong-gu, Suwon 16678, Korea
| | - Young Min Rhee
- Department of Chemistry, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon 34141, Korea
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12
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Claridge K, Troisi A. Developing Consistent Molecular Dynamics Force Fields for Biological Chromophores via Force Matching. J Phys Chem B 2018; 123:428-438. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.8b10746] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Kirsten Claridge
- Department of Chemistry, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZD, U.K
| | - Alessandro Troisi
- Department of Chemistry, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZD, U.K
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13
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Jang SJ. Robust and Fragile Quantum Effects in the Transfer Kinetics of Delocalized Excitons between B850 Units of LH2 Complexes. J Phys Chem Lett 2018; 9:6576-6583. [PMID: 30383380 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.8b02641] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Aggregates of light harvesting 2 (LH2) complexes form the major exciton-relaying domain in the photosynthetic unit of purple bacteria. Application of a generalized master equation to pairs of the B850 units of LH2 complexes, where excitons predominantly reside, provides quantitative information on how the inter-LH2 exciton transfer depends on the distance, relative rotational angle, and the relative energies of the two LH2s. The distance dependence demonstrates significant enhancement of the rate due to quantum delocalization of excitons, the qualitative nature of which remains robust against the disorder. The angle dependence reflects isotropic nature of exciton transfer, which remains similar for the ensemble of disorder. The variation of the rate on relative excitation energies of LH2 exhibits resonance peaks, which, however, is fragile as the disorder becomes significant. Overall, the average transfer times between two LH2s are estimated to be in the range of 4-25 ps for physically plausible inter-LH2 distances.
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Affiliation(s)
- Seogjoo J Jang
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry , Queens College, City University of New York , 65-30 Kissena Boulevard , Queens , New York 11367 , United States
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14
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Cupellini L, Corbella M, Mennucci B, Curutchet C. Electronic energy transfer in biomacromolecules. WILEY INTERDISCIPLINARY REVIEWS-COMPUTATIONAL MOLECULAR SCIENCE 2018. [DOI: 10.1002/wcms.1392] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Lorenzo Cupellini
- Dipartimento di Chimica e Chimica Industriale University of Pisa Pisa Italy
| | - Marina Corbella
- Departament de Farmàcia i Tecnologia Farmacèutica i Fisicoquímica and Institut de Química Teòrica i Computacional (IQTC‐UB), Facultat de Farmàcia i Ciències de l'Alimentació Universitat de Barcelona Barcelona Spain
| | - Benedetta Mennucci
- Dipartimento di Chimica e Chimica Industriale University of Pisa Pisa Italy
| | - Carles Curutchet
- Departament de Farmàcia i Tecnologia Farmacèutica i Fisicoquímica and Institut de Química Teòrica i Computacional (IQTC‐UB), Facultat de Farmàcia i Ciències de l'Alimentació Universitat de Barcelona Barcelona Spain
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15
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Kim CW, Choi B, Rhee YM. Excited state energy fluctuations in the Fenna-Matthews-Olson complex from molecular dynamics simulations with interpolated chromophore potentials. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2018; 20:3310-3319. [PMID: 29186231 DOI: 10.1039/c7cp06303b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
We analyze the environment-induced fluctuation of pigment excitation energies in the Fenna-Matthews-Olson (FMO) complex from various perspectives, by employing an interpolation-based all-atom potential energy model for describing realistic pigment vibrations. We conduct molecular dynamics simulations on a 100 ns timescale, which is an extent that can enclose the effect of static disorder, and demonstrate its timescale separation from fast dynamic disorder. We extract the spectral densities of the complex by considering both the site and the exciton bases. We show that exciton delocalization reduces the effective environmental fluctuation and rationalize this aspect based on a model of fluctuating molecular aggregates. We also obtained the spectral density of the lowest exciton state under low temperature conditions and show that it reasonably well reproduces the experimental result. Finally, by additionally performing non-equilibrium excited state trajectory simulations, we show that the system lies well within the linear response regime after photo-absorption and that the pigments do not visit anharmonic regions of the potential surface to a significant extent. This indicates that methodologies based on harmonic bath models are indeed reasonable approaches for describing the excited state dynamics of the FMO complex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chang Woo Kim
- Department of Chemistry, Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), Pohang 37673, Korea
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16
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Loco D, Jurinovich S, Cupellini L, Menger MFSJ, Mennucci B. The modeling of the absorption lineshape for embedded molecules through a polarizable QM/MM approach. Photochem Photobiol Sci 2018; 17:552-560. [DOI: 10.1039/c8pp00033f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
We present a polarizable QM/MM strategy to simulate the absorption line shape of chromophores embedded in complex matrices, including both homogeneous and inhomogeneous broadening.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniele Loco
- Department of Chemistry
- University of Pisa
- Pisa
- Italy
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17
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Claridge K, Padula D, Troisi A. How fine-tuned for energy transfer is the environmental noise produced by proteins around biological chromophores? Phys Chem Chem Phys 2018; 20:17279-17288. [DOI: 10.1039/c8cp02613k] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Analysis of intermolecular motions of pigment–protein complexes shows no significant difference in influence of local environment despite different biological functions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kirsten Claridge
- Department of Chemistry
- University of Liverpool
- Liverpool L69 7ZD
- UK
| | - Daniele Padula
- Department of Chemistry
- University of Liverpool
- Liverpool L69 7ZD
- UK
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18
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Lee MK, Bravaya KB, Coker DF. First-Principles Models for Biological Light-Harvesting: Phycobiliprotein Complexes from Cryptophyte Algae. J Am Chem Soc 2017; 139:7803-7814. [DOI: 10.1021/jacs.7b01780] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Mi Kyung Lee
- Department of Chemistry, Boston University, 590 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, United States
| | - Ksenia B. Bravaya
- Department of Chemistry, Boston University, 590 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, United States
| | - David F. Coker
- Department of Chemistry, Boston University, 590 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, United States
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19
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Park JW, Rhee YM. Electric Field Keeps Chromophore Planar and Produces High Yield Fluorescence in Green Fluorescent Protein. J Am Chem Soc 2016; 138:13619-13629. [PMID: 27662359 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.6b06833] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
The green fluorescent protein and its designed variants fluoresce efficiently. Because the isolated chromophore is not fluorescent in a practical sense, it is apparent that the protein environment plays a crucial role in its efficiency. Because of various obstacles in studying excited state dynamics of complex systems, however, the detailed mechanism of this efficiency enhancement is not yet clearly elucidated. Here, by adopting excited state nonadiabatic molecular dynamics simulations together with an interpolated quantum chemical potential model of the chromophore, we find that the strong electric field from the protein matrix contributes dominantly to the motional restriction of the chromophore. The delay in twisting motion subsequently obstructs the nonradiative decay that competes with fluorescence, leading naturally to an enhancement in light-emitting efficiency. Surprisingly, steric constraints make only a minor contribution to these aspects. Through residue specific analyses, we identify a group of key residues that control the excited state behavior. Testing a series of mutant GFPs with different brightnesses also supports the view regarding the importance of protein electrostatics. Our findings may provide a useful guide toward designing new fluorescent chemical systems in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jae Woo Park
- Center for Self-assembly and Complexity, Institute for Basic Science (IBS) , Pohang 37673, Korea.,Department of Chemistry, Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH) , Pohang 37673, Korea
| | - Young Min Rhee
- Center for Self-assembly and Complexity, Institute for Basic Science (IBS) , Pohang 37673, Korea.,Department of Chemistry, Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH) , Pohang 37673, Korea
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20
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Lee MK, Coker DF. Modeling Electronic-Nuclear Interactions for Excitation Energy Transfer Processes in Light-Harvesting Complexes. J Phys Chem Lett 2016; 7:3171-3178. [PMID: 27472379 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.6b01440] [Citation(s) in RCA: 91] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
An accurate approach for computing intermolecular and intrachromophore contributions to spectral densities to describe the electronic-nuclear interactions relevant for modeling excitation energy transfer processes in light harvesting systems is presented. The approach is based on molecular dynamics (MD) calculations of classical correlation functions of long-range contributions to excitation energy fluctuations and a separate harmonic analysis and single-point gradient quantum calculations for electron-intrachromophore vibrational couplings. A simple model is also presented that enables detailed analysis of the shortcomings of standard MD-based excitation energy fluctuation correlation function approaches. The method introduced here avoids these problems, and its reliability is demonstrated in accurate predictions for bacteriochlorophyll molecules in the Fenna-Matthews-Olson pigment-protein complex, where excellent agreement with experimental spectral densities is found. This efficient approach can provide instantaneous spectral densities for treating the influence of fluctuations in environmental dissipation on fast electronic relaxation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mi Kyung Lee
- Department of Chemistry, Boston University , 590 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, United States
| | - David F Coker
- Department of Chemistry, Boston University , 590 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, United States
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Lee MK, Huo P, Coker DF. Semiclassical Path Integral Dynamics: Photosynthetic Energy Transfer with Realistic Environment Interactions. Annu Rev Phys Chem 2016; 67:639-68. [DOI: 10.1146/annurev-physchem-040215-112252] [Citation(s) in RCA: 96] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Mi Kyung Lee
- Department of Chemistry, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts 02215;
| | - Pengfei Huo
- Department of Chemistry, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York 14627;
| | - David F. Coker
- Department of Chemistry, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts 02215;
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Abstract
The design of optimal light-harvesting (supra)molecular systems and materials is one of the most challenging frontiers of science. Theoretical methods and computational models play a fundamental role in this difficult task, as they allow the establishment of structural blueprints inspired by natural photosynthetic organisms that can be applied to the design of novel artificial light-harvesting devices. Among theoretical strategies, the application of quantum chemical tools represents an important reality that has already reached an evident degree of maturity, although it still has to show its real potentials. This Review presents an overview of the state of the art of this strategy, showing the actual fields of applicability but also indicating its current limitations, which need to be solved in future developments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carles Curutchet
- Departament de Fisicoquímica, Facultat de Farmàcia, Universitat de Barcelona , Av. Joan XXIII s/n, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Benedetta Mennucci
- Dipartimento di Chimica e Chimica Industriale, University of Pisa , via G. Moruzzi 13, 56124 Pisa, Italy
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Wang X, Ritschel G, Wüster S, Eisfeld A. Open quantum system parameters for light harvesting complexes from molecular dynamics. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2015; 17:25629-41. [DOI: 10.1039/c5cp03891j] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
We elucidate the difference between various parameter extraction methods and demonstrate sensitivity to molecular dynamics equilibration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoqing Wang
- Max-Planck-Institut für Physik komplexer Systeme
- D-01187 Dresden
- Germany
| | - Gerhard Ritschel
- Max-Planck-Institut für Physik komplexer Systeme
- D-01187 Dresden
- Germany
| | - Sebastian Wüster
- Max-Planck-Institut für Physik komplexer Systeme
- D-01187 Dresden
- Germany
| | - Alexander Eisfeld
- Max-Planck-Institut für Physik komplexer Systeme
- D-01187 Dresden
- Germany
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