Examining the origins of observed terahertz modes from an optically pumped atomistic model protein in aqueous solution.

ABSTRACT: The microscopic origins of terahertz (THz) vibrational modes in biological systems are an active and open area of current research. Recent experiments [Phys Rev X. 8, 031061 (2018)] have revealed the presence of a pronounced mode at ∼0.3 THz in fluorophore-decorated bovine serum albumin (BSA) protein in aqueous solution under nonequilibrium conditions induced by optical pumping. This result was heuristically interpreted as a collective elastic fluctuation originating from the activation of a low-frequency phonon mode. In this work, we show that the sub-THz spectroscopic response emerges in a statistically significant manner (>2σ) from such collective behavior, illustrating how photoexcitation can alter specific THz vibrational modes. We revisit the theoretical analysis with proof-of

SUBMITTER: Azizi K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10416812 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature