Structures of bare and hydrated [Pb(aminoacid-H)]+ complexes using infrared multiple photon dissociation spectroscopy

A novel double-network hydrogel made from electrolytic manganese slag and polyacrylic acid-polyacrylamide for removal of heavy metals in wastewater

Electrolytic manganese slag (EMS), a bulk waste generated in industrial electrolytic manganese production, can be a cost-effective adsorbent for heavy metals removal after appropriate modification. In this study, EMS was activated by NaOH and then used to make the EMS-based double-network hydrogel (an EMS/PAA hydrogel) via a one-pot method. The results showed that the EMS/PAA hydrogel exhibits a high selective adsorption capacity of 153.85, 113.63 and 54.35 mg·g-1 for Pb (II), Cd (II) and Cu (II), respectively. In addition, Density Functional Theory (DFT) suggests that the adsorption energies (Ead) of Pb, Cd and Cu on SiO2/PAA of the EMS/PAA gels are - 4.15, - 1.96, and - 2.83 eV, respectively, and SiO2/PAA, with a strong affinity to Pb2+, is one of the reasons for the selective adsorption capacity of EMS/PAA gel for Pb2+. The removal efficiency of the EMS/PAA gel for Pb2+, Cd2+, Cu2+ decreased after four adsorption-desorption cycles by 20.00 %, 24.56 % and 46.56 %, respectively. Mechanism studies suggested that the elimination of the heavy metals by EMS/PAA gels mainly involves electrostatic attraction, inner-sphere complexation, and coordination interactions. The EMS/PAA hydrogels not only have high adsorption capacity, but are also easy to prepare and circulate, making them ideal for practical applications.

Removal of Lead(II) from Aqueous Solution Using Triton X-114 in the Presence of Alanine or Phenylalanine as Biodegradable System

The Cloud Point Extraction (CPE) of Pb(II) ion, using Triton X-114/ alanine and Triton X-114/phenyalanine as biodegradable systems, was carried out. The experimental results are expressed by four responses to surfactant concentration, amino acid concentration and temperature variations: extent of solute extraction (E), remaining solute (Xm,w) and surfactant (Xt,w) concentrations in dilute phase and volume fraction of coacervate (}C) at equilibrium. An empirical smoothing method was used, where the results were represented on three dimensional plots using the Box-Behnken design (BBD) and the response surface methodology (RSM). High extraction efficiencies (94% with alanine and 98% with phenylalanine) are reached in optimal conditions. Thereby, solute concentration reduction in the dilute phase is about 4 and 12 times with alanine and phenylalanine, respectively. The pH effect is also studied. Finally, the possibility of recycling the surfactant/amino acid system by pH change is proved.

Molecular Properties of Bare and Microhydrated Vitamin B5-Calcium Complexes

Pantothenic acid, also called vitamin B5, is an essential nutrient involved in several metabolic pathways. It shows a characteristic preference for interacting with Ca(II) ions, which are abundant in the extracellular media and act as secondary mediators in the activation of numerous biological functions. The bare deprotonated form of pantothenic acid, [panto-H]⁻, its complex with Ca(II) ion, [Ca(panto-H)]⁺, and singly charged micro-hydrated calcium pantothenate [Ca(panto-H)(H₂O)]⁺ adduct have been obtained in the gas phase by electrospray ionization and assayed by mass spectrometry and IR multiple photon dissociation spectroscopy in the fingerprint spectral range. Quantum chemical calculations at the B3LYP(-D3) and MP2 levels of theory were performed to simulate geometries, thermochemical data, and linear absorption spectra of low-lying isomers, allowing us to assign the experimental absorptions to particular structural motifs. Pantothenate was found to exist in the gas phase as a single isomeric form showing deprotonation on the carboxylic moiety. On the contrary, free and monohydrated calcium complexes of deprotonated pantothenic acid both present at least two isomers participating in the gas-phase population, sharing the deprotonation of pantothenate on the carboxylic group and either a fourfold or fivefold coordination with calcium, thus justifying the strong affinity of pantothenate for the metal.

Vibrational signatures of curcumin's chelation in copper(II) complexes: An appraisal by IRMPD spectroscopy

Curcumin (Cur) is a natural polyphenol with a wide spectrum of biological activities and appealing therapeutic potential. Herein, it has been delivered by electrospray ionization as gaseous protonated species, [Cur + H]⁺, and as a Cu(ii) complex, [Cu(Cur - H)]⁺, a promising antioxidant and radical scavenger. The gas phase structures were assayed by infrared multiple photon dissociation (IRMPD) spectroscopy in both the fingerprint (800-2000 cm^-1) and hydrogen stretching (3100-3750 cm^-1) ranges. Comparison between the experimental features and linear IR spectra of the lowest energy structures computed at the B3LYP/6-311+G(d,p) level reveals that bare [Cu(Cur - H)]⁺ exists in a fully planar and symmetric arrangement, where the metal interacts with the two oxygens of the syn-enolate functionality of deprotonated Cur and both OCH₃ groups are engaged in H-bonding with the ortho OH. The effect of protonation on the energetic and geometric determinants of Cur has been explored as well, revealing that bare [Cur + H]⁺ may exist as a mixture of two close-lying isomers associated with the most stable binding motifs. The additional proton is bound to either the diketo or the keto-enol configuration of Cur, in a bent or nearly planar arrangement, respectively.

Strong intramolecular hydrogen bonding in protonated β-methylaminoalanine: A vibrational spectroscopic and computational study

The gas-phase structure of protonated β-methylaminoalanine was investigated using infrared multiple photon dissociation spectroscopy in the C-H, N-H, O-H stretching region (2700-3800 cm^-1) and the fingerprint region (1000-1900 cm^-1). Calculations using density functional theory methods show that the lowest energy structures prefer protonation of the secondary amine. Formation of hydrogen bonds between the primary and secondary amine, and the secondary amine and carboxylic oxygen further stabilize the lowest energy structure. The infrared spectrum of the lowest energy structure originating with harmonic density functional theory has features that generally match the positions of the experimental spectra; however, the overall agreement with the experimental spectrum is poor. Molecular dynamics calculations were used to generate a gas-phase infrared spectrum. With these calculations a reasonable match with the experimental spectrum, especially in the high-energy region, was obtained. The results of the molecular dynamics simulation support the density functional theory calculations, with protonation of the secondary amine and the formation of a hydrogen bond between the protonated secondary amine and the primary amine. This work shows the importance of accounting for anharmonic effects in systems with very strong intramolecular hydrogen bonding.

Infrared Multiple Photon Dissociation Spectroscopy of Cationized Canavanine: Side-Chain Substitution Influences Gas-Phase Zwitterion Formation†

Infrared multiple photon dissociation spectroscopy was performed on protonated and cationized canavanine (Cav), a non-protein amino acid oxy-analog of arginine. Infrared spectra in the XH stretching region (3000 - 4000 cm^-1) were obtained at the Centre Laser Infrarouge d'Orsay (CLIO) facility. Comparison of the experimental infrared spectra with scaled harmonic frequencies at the B3LYP/6-31+G(d,p) level of theory indicates that canavanine is in a canonical neutral form in CavH⁺, CavLi⁺, and CavNa⁺; therefore, these cations are charge-solvated structures. The infrared spectrum of CavK⁺ is consistent with a mixture of Cav in canonical and zwitterionic forms leading to both charge-solvated and salt-bridged cationic structures. The Cav moiety in CavCs⁺ is shown to be zwitterionic, forming a salt-bridged structure for the cation. Infrared spectra in the fingerprint region (1000 - 2000 cm^-1) obtained at the FELIX Laboratory in Nijmegen, Netherlands support these assignments. These results show that that a single oxygen atom substitution in the side chain reduces the stability of the zwitterion compared to that of the protein amino acid arginine (Arg), which has been shown previously to adopt a zwitterionic structure in ArgNa⁺ and ArgK⁺. This difference can be explained in part due to the decreased basicity of Cav (PA = 1001 kJ/mol) as compared to arginine (PA = 1051 kJ/mol), but not entirely, as lysine, which has nearly the same proton affinity as Cav, (~993 kJ/mol) forms only canonical structures with Na⁺, K⁺, and Cs⁺. A major difference between the zwitterionic forms of ArgM⁺ and CavM⁺ is that the protonation site is on the side chain for Arg and on the N-terminus for Cav. This results in systematically weaker salt bridges in the Cav zwitterions. In addition, the presence of another hydrogen-bonding acceptor atom in the side chain contributes to the stability of the canonical structures for the smaller alkali cations.

The protonated and sodiated dimers of proline studied by IRMPD spectroscopy in the N-H and O-H stretching region and computational methods

IRMPD spectroscopy and computational chemistry techniques have been used to determine that the proton- and sodium-bound dimers of proline exist as a mixture of a number of different structures. Simulated annealing computations were found to be helpful in determining the unique structures of the protonated and sodiated dimers, augmenting chemical intuition. The experimental and computational results are consistent with the proton-bound dimer of N-protonated proline bound to zwitterionic proline. There was no spectroscopic evidence in the 3200-3800 cm(-1) region for a canonical structure which is predicted to have a weak N-H stretch at about 3440 cm(-1). A well resolved band at 1733 cm(-1) from a previous spectroscopic study (DOI: 10.1021/ja068715a ) was reassigned from a high energy canonical isomer to the C=O stretch of a lower energy zwitterionic structure. This band is a free carboxylate C=O stretch where protonated proline is hydrogen bonded to the other carboxylate oxygen which is also involved in an intramolecular hydrogen bond. Fifteen structures of the sodium bound proline dimer were computed to be within 10 kJ mol(-1) of Gibbs energy and eight structures were within 5 kJ mol(-1). None of these structures can be ruled out based on the experimental IRMPD spectrum. They all have an N-H stretching band predicted in a position that agrees with the experimental spectrum. However, only structures where one of the proline monomers is in the canonical form and having a free O-H bond can produce the band at ∼3600 cm(-1).

Differentiating sulfopeptide and phosphopeptide ions via resonant infrared photodissociation

The post-translational modifications sulfation and phosphorylation pose special challenges to mass spectral analysis due to their isobaric nature and their lability in the gas phase, as both types of peptides dissociate through similar channels upon collisional activation. Here, we present resonant infrared photodissociation based on diagnostic sulfate and phosphate OH stretches, as a means to differentiate sulfated from phosphorylated peptides within the framework of a mass spectrometry platform. The approach is demonstrated for a number of tyrosine-containing peptides, ranging from dipeptides (YG, pYG, and sYG) over tripeptides (GYR, GpYR, and GsYR), to more biologically relevant enkephalin peptides (YGGFL, pYGGFL, and sYGGFL). In all cases, the diagnostic ranges for sulfate OH stretches are established as 3580-3600 cm(-1) and can thus be distinguished from other characteristic hydrogen stretches, such as carboxylic acid OH, alcohol OH, and phosphate OH stretches.

The unimolecular chemistry of [Zn(amino acid)2-H]+ in the gas phase: H2 elimination when the amino acid is a secondary amine

The unimolecular chemistry of the [Zn(Pro-H)(Pro)](+) complex following collisional or infrared multiple photon activation was studied, and interestingly was found to lose H2 as one of the main dissociation pathways. Furthermore a second dehydrogenation step, forming [Zn(Pro-H)(Pro)-2H2](+), was also observed. When proline was substituted for sarcosine, also a secondary amine, a single dehydrogenation was observed. In contrast, [Zn(Gly-H)(Gly)](+) and [Zn(Ala-H)(Ala)](+) were found to lose H2O as their primary fragmentation route with no dehydrogenation observed. Tandem mass spectrometry, deuterium substitution, and infrared spectroscopy were used to determine the origin of the H atoms in the losses of H2, as well as for other fragmentation routes, including the loss of H2O. The hydrogen atoms for H2 loss from [Zn(Pro-H)(Pro)](+) was found to originate on the amine group and primarily from C5 on the non-deprotonated proline, with a smaller contribution from the C2 hydrogen. Both hydrogens for H2O loss were determined to be from labile hydrogens. Potential energy surfaces were computed for the H2 loss and H2O loss routes for both [Zn(Pro-H)(Pro)](+) and [Zn(Gly-H)(Gly)](+) and were compared. For [Zn(Pro-H)(Pro)](+), H2 loss was found to be the pathway with the lower energy requirement than for H2O loss, and the opposite was found for [Zn(Gly-H)(Gly)](+). The greater basicities of proline and sarcosine are most likely responsible for stabilizing the 3 coordinate Zn(2+) transition states en route to H2 loss, compared to those complexes formed with the much less basic glycine or alanine.

Structures and unimolecular reactivity of gas-phase [Zn(proline-H)]+ and [Zn(proline-H)(H2O)]+

A combination of IRMPD spectroscopy, collision-induced dissociation, deuterium isotopic substitution, and computational chemistry was used to determine the structure and unimolecular chemistry of [Zn(Pro-H)](+) and the singly hydrated complex in the gas phase. Five competing dissociation channels were observed: loss of H2O, CO, CO2, and HCOOH and the main fragmentation pathway, loss of neutral Zn. By comparing the IRMPD spectrum with the predicted IR spectra of the lowest energy structures, it was confirmed that [Zn(Pro-H)](+) complex is deprotonated at the amine moiety, and a hydrogen from either C2 or C5 migrated to Zn(2+). In this H-type complex, ZnH(+) was chelated between the amine nitrogen and the carbonyl oxygen. Calculations of the potential energy surface revealed that the loss of neutral zinc is energetically more favorable than the loss of dehydrogenated proline leading to ZnH(+) product. Furthermore, calculations on all five primary decomposition routes, all beginning with the lowest energy structure, revealed that loss of Zn has the lowest energy requirement, consistent with it being the most abundant product of unimolecular dissociation following collisional or IR multiphoton activation. For the singly hydrated complex, [Zn(Pro-H)(H2O)](+), IRMPD spectroscopy confirms a structure with water added to the H-type structure and intramolecularly hydrogen bonded to the deprotonated amine site. This structure is not the lowest-energy [Zn(Pro-H)(H2O)](+) isomer, but it is the one where water is added to the lowest energy [Zn(Pro-H)](+) isomer.

Structures and physical properties of gaseous metal cationized biological ions

Metal chelation can alter the activity of free biomolecules by modifying their structures or stabilizing higher energy tautomers. In recent years, mass spectrometric techniques have been used to investigate the effects of metal complexation with proteins, nucleobases and nucleotides, where small conformational changes can have significant physiological consequences. In particular, infrared multiple photon dissociation spectroscopy has emerged as an important tool for determining the structure and reactivity of gas-phase ions. Unlike other mass spectrometric approaches, this method is able to directly resolve structural isomers using characteristic vibrational signatures. Other activation and dissociation methods, such as blackbody infrared radiative dissociation or collision-induced dissociation can also reveal information about the thermochemistry and dissociative pathways of these biological ions. This information can then be used to provide information about the structures of the ionic complexes under study. In this article, we review the use of gas-phase techniques in characterizing metal-bound biomolecules. Particular attention will be given to our own contributions, which detail the ability of metal cations to disrupt nucleobase pairs, direct the self-assembly of nucleobase clusters and stabilize non-canonical isomers of amino acids.