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Theoretical insight into the photodegradation of a disulfide bridged cyclic tetrapeptide in solution and subsequent fast unfolding-refolding events

Journal of Physical Chemistry B, ISSN: 1520-5207, Vol: 114, Issue: 15, Page: 5206-5214
2010
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Article Description

We report the photoinduced peptide bond (C-N) of an amide unit and S-S bond fission mechanisms of the cyclic tetrapeptide [cyclo(Boc-Cys-Pro-Aib-Cys-OMe)] in methanol solvent by using high-level CASSCF/CASPT2/Amber quantum mechanical/molecular mechanical (QM/MM) calculations. The subsequent energy transport and unfolding-refolding events are characterized by using a semiempirical QM/MM molecular dynamics (MD) simulation methodology that is developed in the present work. In the case of high-energy excitation with <193 nm light, the tetrapeptide molecule in the nπ* surface overcomes two barriers with ∼10.0 kcal/mol, respectively, and uses energy consumption for breaking the hydrogen bond as well as the N-C bond in the amide unit, ultimately leading to the ground state via a conical intersection of CI (S/S) by structural changes of an increased N-C distance and a O-C-C angle in the amide unit (a two-dimensional model of the reaction coordinates). Following this point, relaxation to a hot molecule with its original structure in the ground state is the predominant decay channel. A large amount of heat (∼110.0 kcal/mol) is initially accumulated in the region of the targeted point of the photoexcitation, and more than 60% of the heat is rapidly dissipated into the solvent on the femtosecond time scale. The relatively slower propagation of heat along the peptide backbone reaches a phase of equilibration within 3 ps. A 300 nm photon of light initiates the relaxation along the repulsive S(σσ) state and this decays to the CI (S/S) in concomitance with the separation of the disulfide bond. Once cysteinyl radicals are generated, the polar solvent of methanol molecules rapidly diffuses around the radicals, forming a solvent cage and reducing the possibility of close contact in a physical sense. The fast unfolding-refolding event is triggered by S-S bond fission and powered by dramatic thermal motion of the methanol solvent that benefits from heat dissipation. The β-turn opening (unfolding) can be achieved in about 120 ps without the inclusion of the time associated with the photochemical steps and eventually relaxes to a 3-helix structural architecture (refolding) within 200 ps. © 2010 American Chemical Society.

Bibliographic Details

Chen, Xuebo; Gao, Lianghui; Fang, Weihai; Phillips, David Lee

American Chemical Society (ACS)

Chemistry; Materials Science

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