1
|
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.
Collapse
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
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
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.
Collapse
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.
| |
Collapse
|