Short hydrogen bonds enhance nonaromatic protein-related fluorescence.

ABSTRACT: Fluorescence in biological systems is usually associated with the presence of aromatic groups. Here, by employing a combined experimental and computational approach, we show that specific hydrogen bond networks can significantly affect fluorescence. In particular, we reveal that the single amino acid L-glutamine, by undergoing a chemical transformation leading to the formation of a short hydrogen bond, displays optical properties that are significantly enhanced compared with L-glutamine itself. Ab initio molecular dynamics simulations highlight that these short hydrogen bonds prevent the appearance of a conical intersection between the excited and the ground states and thereby significantly decrease nonradiative transition probabilities. Our findings open the door to the design of new phot

SUBMITTER: Stephens AD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8166056 | biostudies-literature | 2021 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature