Mechanistic Photodissociation of CO-Ligated Neuroglobin and Subsequent Rebinding Processes: A Theoretical Study

The photochemistry of transition metal complexes using density functional theory

The use of density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent DFT (TD-DFT) to study the photochemistry of metal complexes is becoming increasingly important among chemists. Computational methods provide unique information on the electronic nature of excited states and their atomic structure, integrating spectroscopy observations on transient species and excited-state dynamics. In this contribution, we present an overview on photochemically active transition metal complexes investigated by DFT. In particular, we discuss a representative range of systems studied up to now, which include CO- and NO-releasing inorganic and organometallic complexes, haem and haem-like complexes dissociating small diatomic molecules, photoactive anti-cancer Pt and Ru complexes, Ru polypyridyls and diphosphino Pt derivatives.

Kinetics of carbon monoxide migration and binding in solvated neuroglobin as revealed by molecular dynamics simulations and quantum mechanical calculations

Neuroglobin (Ngb) is a globular protein that reversibly binds small ligands at the six coordination position of the heme. With respect to other globins similar to myoglobin, Ngb displays some peculiarities as the topological reorganization of the internal cavities coupled to the sliding of the heme, or the binding of the endogenous distal histidine to the heme in the absence of an exogenous ligand. In this Article, by using multiple (independent) molecular dynamics trajectories (about 500 ns in total), the migration pathways of photolized carbon monoxide (CO) within solvated Ngb were analyzed, and a quantitative description of CO migration and corresponding kinetics was obtained. MD results, combined with quantum mechanical calculations on the CO-heme binding-unbinding reaction step in Ngb, allowed construction of a quantitative model representing the relevant steps of CO migration and rebinding.