Nonadiabatic effects on peptide vibrational dynamics induced by conformational changes

Impulsive UV-pump/X-ray probe study of vibrational dynamics in glycine

We report an ab-initio study of a pump-probe experiment on the amino-acid glycine. We consider an UV pump followed by an X-ray probe tuned to carbon K-edge and study the vibronic structure of the core transition. The simulated experiment is feasible using existing free electron laser or high harmonic generation sources and thanks to the localization of the core orbitals posseses chemical selectivity. The present theory applies to other experimental schemes, including the use of a THz probe, available with present soft X-ray free electron lasers and/or high harmonic generation sources.

Effective representation of amide III, II, I, and A modes on local vibrational modes: Analysis of ab initio quantum calculation results

The Hamiltonian matrix for the first excited vibrational states of a protein can be effectively represented by local vibrational modes constituting amide III, II, I, and A modes to simulate various vibrational spectra. Methods for obtaining the Hamiltonian matrix from ab initio quantum calculation results are discussed, where the methods consist of three steps: selection of local vibrational mode coordinates, calculation of a reduced Hessian matrix, and extraction of the Hamiltonian matrix from the Hessian matrix. We introduce several methods for each step. The methods were assessed based on the density functional theory calculation results of 24 oligopeptides with four different peptide lengths and six different secondary structures. The completeness of a Hamiltonian matrix represented in the reduced local mode space is improved by adopting a specific atom group for each amide mode and reducing the effect of ignored local modes. The calculation results are also compared to previous models using C=O stretching vibration and transition dipole couplings. We found that local electric transition dipole moments of the amide modes are mainly bound on the local peptide planes. Their direction and magnitude are well conserved except amide A modes, which show large variation. Contrary to amide I modes, the vibrational coupling constants of amide III, II, and A modes obtained by analysis of a dipeptide are not transferable to oligopeptides with the same secondary conformation because coupling constants are affected by the surrounding atomic environment.

Infrared spectroscopy of proteins

This review discusses the application of infrared spectroscopy to the study of proteins. The focus is on the mid-infrared spectral region and the study of protein reactions by reaction-induced infrared difference spectroscopy.

Time-Domain Calculations of the Infrared and Polarized Raman Spectra of Tetraalanine in Aqueous Solution

The IR and polarized (isotropic and anisotropic) Raman spectra are calculated for the amide I band of tetraalanine ((Ala)4) in aqueous solution by using a time-domain computational method, which includes the effects of the diagonal frequency modulations (of individual peptide groups), the off-diagonal (interpeptide) vibrational couplings, and structural dynamics. It is shown that the calculated band profiles, especially the existence of a large negative noncoincidence effect (i.e., large frequency separations between the IR, isotropic Raman, and anisotropic Raman bands, with the isotropic Raman being higher in frequency), are in reasonable agreement with the experimental results. This negative noncoincidence effect derives from two conditions: the positive coupling between the amide I vibrations of peptide groups and the angle larger than 90 degrees between the transition dipoles of the coupled vibrations. This result means that the dynamically changing structures mainly in the polyproline II and beta-type conformations containing some repeated interconversions obtained from the molecular dynamics calculation are consistent with the existence of a large negative noncoincidence effect, as far as the structures satisfy the above two conditions. It is also shown that the electric fields from solvent water molecules induce larger frequency shifts than those of intrachain interactions, with rapid underdamped oscillatory modulations ( approximately 43 fs) due to the librational motions of water molecules that give rise to motional narrowing effect on the spectra. The reason for the difference from the behavior seen for the O-H stretching mode of liquid water is discussed. The time-domain analysis of the mode identity shows that the system proceeds halfway to complete mode mixing with a similar time scale ( approximately 60 fs), suggesting the importance of the nonadiabatic effect, which is included in a natural way in the present computational method.

Quantum-classical description of the amide I vibrational spectrum of trialanine

A quantum-classical description of the amide I vibrational spectrum of trialanine cation in D2O is given that combines (i) a classical molecular dynamics simulation of the conformational distribution of the system, (ii) comprehensive density functional theory calculations of the conformation-dependent and solvent-induced frequency fluctuations, and (iii) a semiclassical description of the vibrational line shapes which includes nonadiabatic transitions between vibrational eigenstates. Various assumptions that are usually employed in the calculation of condensed-phase vibrational spectra are tested, including the adiabatic, the Franck-Condon, and the second-order cumulant approximations, respectively. All three parts of the theoretical formulation are shown to have a significant impact on the simulated spectrum, suggesting that the interpretation of peptide amide I spectra may require substantial theoretical support.

Vibrational excitons in α-helical polypeptides: Multiexciton self-trapping and related infrared transient absorption

Based on the multiexciton expansion of a model Hamiltonian, an accurate quantum-dynamical description of vibrational states formed by amide modes in alpha-helical polypeptides is presented. Using the multiconfiguration time-dependent Hartree method, linear and pump-probe infrared absorption spectra are calculated by numerical time propagation of the exciton-chain vibrational wave function. The formation of self-trapped exciton states is discussed within the approximation of adiabatic excitons and within the full quantum description.

Ab initio-based exciton model of amide I vibrations in peptides: Definition, conformational dependence, and transferability

Various aspects of the ab initio-based parametrization of an exciton model of amide I vibrations in peptides are discussed. Adopting "glycine dipeptide" (Ac-Gly-NHCH3) as a simple building-block model that describes the vibrational interaction between two peptide units, we perform comprehensive quantum-chemical calculations to investigate the effect and importance of the level of theory, the choice of local coordinates, and the localization method. A solvent continuum model description turns out important to obtain planar CONH peptide units when a full geometry optimization (which is necessary to obtain the correct frequencies) is performed. To study the conformational dependence of the amide I vibrations, we calculate (phi,psi) maps of the local-mode frequencies and couplings. Performing conformational averages of the (phi,psi) maps with respect to the most important peptide conformational states in solution (alpha, beta, P(II), and C5), we discuss the relation between these measurable quantities and the corresponding conformation of the peptide. Finally, the transferability of these maps to dipeptides with hydrophilic and hydrophobic side chains as well as to tripeptides with charged end groups is investigated.