Trans-to-cis photoisomerization of cyclocurcumin in different environments rationalized by computational photochemistry

International audience; Cyclocurcumin is a turmeric component that attracted much less attention compared to the well known curcumin. In spite of the less deep charcaterization of its properties, cyclocurcumin has shown promising anticancer effects when used in combination with curcumin. Especially, due to its peculiar molecular structure, cyclocurcumin can be regarded as an almost ideal photoswitch, whose capabilities can also be exploited for relevant biological applications. Here, by means of state-of-the-art computational methods for electronic excited-state calculations (TD-DFT, MS-CASPT2, XMS-CASPT2) we analyze in detail the absorption and photoisomerization pathways leading from the …

A theoretical analysis of the structure and properties of B26H30 isomers. Consequences to the laser and semiconductor doping capabilities of large borane clusters

Decaborane(14), nido-B10H14, is the major commercially available molecular building block in boron cluster chemistry. The condensation of two such {nido-B10} blocks gives the known isomers of B18H22 – a molecule used in the fabrication of p-type semiconductors and capable of blue laser emission. Here, we computationally determine the structures and thermodynamic stabilities of 20 possible B26H30 regioisomers constructed from the fusion of three {nido-B10} blocks with the three subclusters conjoined by two-boron atom shared edges. In addition, density functional theory, time-dependent (TD)-DFT and multiconfigurational CASPT2 methods have been used to model and investigate the physical and ph…

Microscopic interactions between ivermectin and key human and viral proteins involved in SARS-CoV-2 infection

The identification of chemical compounds able to bind specific sites of the human/viral proteins involved in the SARS-CoV-2 infection cycle is a prerequisite to design effective antiviral drugs. Here we conduct a molecular dynamics study with the aim to assess the interactions of ivermectin, an antiparasitic drug with broad-spectrum antiviral activity, with the human Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2 (ACE2), the viral 3CLpro and PLpro proteases, and the viral SARS Unique Domain (SUD). The drug/target interactions have been characterized in silico by describing the nature of the non-covalent interactions found and by measuring the extent of their time duration along the MD simulation. Results …

Communication: Electronic UV-Vis transient spectra of the ·OH reaction products of uracil, thymine, cytosine, and 5,6-dihydrouracil by using the complete active space self-consistent field second-order perturbation (CASPT2//CASSCF) theory

Addition of ∙OH radicals to pyrimidine nucleobases is a common reaction in DNA/RNA damage by reactive oxygen species. Among several experimental techniques, transient absorption spectroscopy has been during the last decades used to characterize such compounds. Discrepancies have however appeared in the assignment of the adduct or adducts responsible for the reported transient absorption UV-Vis spectra. In order to get an accurate assignment of the transient spectra and a unified description of the absorption properties of the ∙OH reaction products of pyrimidines, a systematic complete active space self-consistent field second-order perturbation (CASPT2//CASSCF) theory study has been carried…

Photochemistry and Non-adiabatic Photodynamics of the HOSO Radical

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Role of RNA Guanine Quadruplexes in Favoring the Dimerization of SARS Unique Domain in Coronaviruses

ABSTRACTCoronaviruses may produce severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). As a matter of fact, a new SARS-type virus, SARS-CoV-2, is responsible of a global pandemic in 2020 with unprecedented sanitary and economic consequences for most countries. In the present contribution we study, by all-atom equilibrium and enhanced sampling molecular dynamics simulations, the interaction between the SARS Unique Domain and RNA guanine quadruplexes, a process involved in eluding the defensive response of the host thus favoring viral infection of human cells. Our results evidence two stable binding modes involving an interaction site spanning either the protein dimer interface or only one monomer. The …

Hydroxyl Radical Addition to Thymine and Cytosine and Photochemistry of the Adducts at the C6 Position

Iron’s Wake: The Performance of Quantum Mechanical-Derived Versus General-Purpose Force Fields Tested on a Luminescent Iron Complex

Recently synthetized iron complexes have achieved long-lived excited states and stabilities which are comparable, or even superior, to their ruthenium analogues, thus representing an eco-friendly and cheaper alternative to those materials based on rare metals. Most of computational tools which could help unravel the origin of this large efficiency rely on ab-initio methods which are not able, however, to capture the nanosecond time scale underlying these photophysical processes and the influence of their realistic environment. Therefore, it exists an urgent need of developing new low-cost, but still accurate enough, computational methodologies capable to deal with the steady-state and trans…

Hypoxia-Selective Dissociation Mechanism of a Nitroimidazole Nucleoside in a DNA Environment

Photodynamic therapy is a promising approach to treat a variety of superficial tumors and other diseases. One of its major limitations arises from its dependence on molecular oxygen, which decreases the efficiency of the therapy in hypoxia conditions commonly developed by solid tumors. The present contribution reveals the molecular mechanism of a modified thymine bearing a nitroimidazole substituent, a photosensitizer able to produce highly harmful interstrand cross-links in the DNA double strand after irradiation selectively in absence of oxygen. The mechanism is resolved at a fully atomistic and electronic level relying on quantum mechanics (CASPT2, coupled-cluster, DFT, and TD-DFT method…

Triplet stabilization for enhanced drug photorelease from sunscreen-based photocages

[EN] Recently, sunscreen-based drug photocages have been introduced to provide UV protection to photoactive drugs, thus increasing their photosafety. Here, combined experimental and theoretical studies performed on a photocage based on the commercial UVA filter avobenzone (AB) and on the photosensitizing non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug ketoprofen (KP) are presented unveiling the photophysical processes responsible for the light-triggered release. Particular attention is paid to solvent stabilization of the drug and UV filter excited states, respectively, which leads to a switching between the triplet excited state energies of the AB and KP units. Most notably, we show that the stabiliz…

Photoinduced DNA Lesions in Dormant Bacteria. The Peculiar Route Leading to Spore Photoproduct Unraveled by Multiscale Molecular Dynamics

Some bacterial species enter a dormant state in the form of spores to resist to unfavorable external conditions. Spores are resistant to a wide series of stress agents, including UV radiation, and can last for tens to hundreds of years. Due to the suspension of biological functions such as DNA repair, they accumulate DNA damage upon exposure to UV radiation. Differently from active organisms, the most common DNA photoproduct in spores are not cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers, but rather the so-called spore photoproduct. This non-canonical photochemistry results from the dry state of DNA and the binding to small acid soluble proteins that drastically modify the structure and photoreactivity of …

Mechanism of activated chemiluminescence of cyclic peroxides: 1,2-dioxetanes and 1,2-dioxetanones

Almost all chemiluminescent and bioluminescent reactions involve cyclic peroxides. The structure of the peroxide and reaction conditions determine the quantum efficiency of light emission. Oxidizable fluorophores, the so-called activators, react with 1,2-dioxetanones promoting the former to their first singlet excited state. This transformation is inefficient and does not occur with 1,2-dioxetanes; however, they have been used as models for the efficient firefly bioluminescence. In this work, we use the SA-CASSCF/CASPT2 method to investigate the activated chemiexcitation of the parent 1,2-dioxetane and 1,2-dioxetanone. Our findings suggest that ground state decomposition of the peroxide com…

Theoretical Study of the Hydroxyl Radical Addition to Uracil and Photochemistry of the Formed U6OH• Adduct

Hydroxyl radical ((•)OH) is produced in biological systems by external or endogenous agents. It can damage DNA/RNA by attacking pyrimidine nucleobases through the addition to the C5═C6 double bond. The adduct resulting from the attachment at the C5 position prevails in the experimental measurements, although the reasons for this preference remain unclear. The first aim of this work is therefore to shed light on the comprehension of this important process. Thus, the thermal (•)OH addition to the C5═C6 double bond of uracil has been studied theoretically by using DFT, MP2, and the multiconfigurational CASPT2//CASSCF methodologies. The in-vacuo results obtained with the latter protocol plus th…

Theoretical Study on the Photo-Oxidation and Photoreduction of an Azetidine Derivative as a Model of DNA Repair

Photocycloreversion plays a central role in the study of the repair of DNA lesions, reverting them into the original pyrimidine nucleobases. Particularly, among the proposed mechanisms for the repair of DNA (6-4) photoproducts by photolyases, it has been suggested that it takes place through an intermediate characterized by a four-membered heterocyclic oxetane or azetidine ring, whose opening requires the reduction of the fused nucleobases. The specific role of this electron transfer step and its impact on the ring opening energetics remain to be understood. These processes are studied herein by means of quantum-chemical calculations on the two azetidine stereoisomers obtained from photocyc…

Regioselectivity of the OH Radical Addition to Uracil in Nucleic Acids. A Theoretical Approach Based on QM/MM Simulations.

Oxidation of nucleic acids is ubiquitous in living beings under metabolic impairments and/or exposed to external agents such as radiation, pollutants, or drugs, playing a central role in the development of many diseases mediated by DNA/RNA degeneration. Great efforts have been devoted to unveil the molecular mechanisms behind the OH radical additions to the double bonds of nucleobases; however, the specific role of the biological environment remains relatively unexplored. The present contribution tackles the study of the OH radical addition to uracil from the gas phase to a full RNA macromolecule by means of quantum-chemistry methods combined with molecular dynamics simulations. It is shown…

Photochemistry of oxidized Hg(I) and Hg(II) species suggests missing mercury oxidation in the troposphere.

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Experimental and theoretical studies on thymine photodimerization mediated by oxidatively generated DNA lesions and epigenetic intermediates.

[EN] Interaction of nucleic acids with light is a scientific question of paramount relevance not only in the understanding of life functioning and evolution, but also in the insurgence of diseases such as malignant skin cancer and in the development of biomarkers and novel light-assisted therapeutic tools. This work shows that the UVA portion of sunlight, not absorbed by canonical DNA nucleobases, can be absorbed by 5-formyluracil (ForU) and 5-formylcytosine (ForC), two ubiquitous oxidatively generated lesions and epigenetic intermediates present in living beings in natural conditions. We measure the strong propensity of these molecules to populate triplet excited states able to transfer th…

Thermodynamics of the interaction between the spike protein of severe acute respiratory syndrome- coronavirus-2 and the receptor of human angiotensin converting enzyme 2. Effects of possible ligands

Since the end of 2019, the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 has caused more than 180,000 deaths all over the world, still lacking a medical treatment despite the concerns of the whole scientific community. Human Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2 (ACE2) was recently recognized as the transmembrane protein serving as SARS-CoV-2 entry point into cells, thus constituting the first biomolecular event leading to COVID-19 disease. Here, by means of a state-of-the-art computational approach, we propose a rational evaluation of the molecular mechanisms behind the formation of the complex and of the effects of possible ligands. Moreover, binding free energy between ACE2 and the active Receptor Binding Domain (RB…

Towards Iron(II) Complexes with Octahedral Geometry: Synthesis, Structure and Photophysical Properties

The control of ligand-field splitting in iron (II) complexes is critical to slow down the metal-to-ligand charge transfer (MLCT)-excited states deactivation pathways. The gap between the metal-centered states is maximal when the coordination sphere of the complex approaches an ideal octahedral geometry. Two new iron(II) complexes (C1 and C2), prepared from pyridylNHC and pyridylquinoline type ligands, respectively, have a near-perfect octahedral coordination of the metal. The photophysics of the complexes have been further investigated by means of ultrafast spectroscopy and TD-DFT modeling. For C1, it is shown that&mdash

Substitution of the laser borane anti-B18H22 with pyridine: a structural and photophysical study of some unusually structured macropolyhedral boron hydrides

Reaction of anti-B18H221 with pyridine in neutral solvents gives sparingly soluble B16H18-3',8'-Py23a as the major product (ca. 53%) and B18H20-6',9'-Py22 (ca. 15%) as the minor product, with small quantities of B18H20-8'-Py 4 (ca. 1%) also being formed. The three new compounds 2, 3a and 4 are characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analyses and by multinuclear multiple-resonance NMR spectroscopy. Compound 2 is of ten-vertex nido:ten-vertex arachno two-atoms-in-common architecture, long postulated for a species with borons-only cluster constitution, but previously elusive. Compound 3a is of unprecedented ten-vertex nido:eight-vertex arachno two-atoms-in-common architecture. The si…

Thermochromic Fluorescence from B18H20(NC5H5)2: An Inorganic–Organic Composite Luminescent Compound with an Unusual Molecular Geometry

BH(NCH) is a rare example of two conjoined boron hydride subclusters of nido and arachno geometrical character. At room temperature, solutions of BH(NCH) emit a 690 nm fluorescence. In the solid state, this emission is shifted to 620 nm and intensifies due to restriction of the rotation of the pyridine ligands. In addition, there is a thermochromicity to the fluorescence of BH(NCH). Cooling to 8 K engenders a further shift in the emission wavelength to 585 nm and a twofold increase in intensity. Immobilization in a polystyrene thin-film matrix results in an efficient absorption of pumping excitation energy at 414 nm and a 609 nm photostable fluorescence. Such fluorescence from polystyrene t…

Photoinduced intersystem crossing in DNA oxidative lesions and epigenetic intermediates

[EN] The propensity of 5-formyluracil and 5-formylcytosine, i.e. oxidative lesions and epigenetic intermediates, in acting as intrinsic DNA photosensitizers is unraveled by using a combination of molecular modeling, simulation and spectroscopy. Exploration of potential energy surfaces and non-adiabatic dynamics confirm a higher intersystem crossing rate for 5-formyluracil, whereas the kinetic models evidence different equilibria in the excited states for both compounds.

Mechanism of the OH Radical Addition to Adenine from Quantum-Chemistry Determinations of Reaction Paths and Spectroscopic Tracking of the Intermediates.

The OH radical is a well-known mediator in the oxidation of biological structures like DNA. Over the past decades, the precise events taking place after reaction of DNA nucleobases with OH radical have been widely investigated by the scientific community. Thirty years after the proposal of the main routes for the reaction of •OH with adenine (Vieira, A.; Steenken, S. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1990, 112, 6986−6994), the present work demonstrates that the OH radical addition to C4 position is a minor pathway. Instead, the dehydration process is mediated by the A5OH adduct. Conclusions are based on density functional theory calculations for the ground-state reactivity and highly accurate multiconfigur…

Photoinduced DNA Lesions in Dormant Bacteria: The Peculiar Route Leading to Spore Photoproducts Characterized by Multiscale Molecular Dynamics

International audience; Some bacterial species enter a dormant state in the form of spores to resist to unfavorable external conditions. Spores are resistant to a wide series of stress agents, including UV radiation, and can last for tens to hundreds of years. Due to the suspension of biological functions, such as DNA repair, they accumulate DNA damage upon exposure to UV radiation. Differently from active organisms, the most common DNA photoproducts in spores are not cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers, but rather the so‐called spore photoproducts. This noncanonical photochemistry results from the dry state of DNA and its binding to small, acid‐soluble proteins that drastically modify the struct…

Bidentate pyridyl‐NHC ligands: synthesis, ground and excited state properties of their iron(II) complexes and role of the fac/mer isomerism

International audience; Iron complexes are promising candidates for the development of sustainable molecular photoactive materials as an alternative to those based on precious metals such as Ir, Pt or Ru. These compounds possess metal-ligand charge transfer (MLCT) transitions potentially of high interest for energy conversion or photocatalysis applications if the ultrafast deactivation via lower-lying metal-centred (MC) states can be impeded. Following an introduction describing the main design strategies used so far to increase the MLCT lifetimes, we review some of our latest contributions to the field regarding bidentate Fe(II) complexes comprising N-heterocyclic carbene ligands. The disc…

Quantum Chemistry of Excited States in Polyhedral Boranes

In this Chapter we describe the electronic structure of ground states and excited states of the two isomers of octadecaborane (22), anti- and syn-B18H22, and the new derivative of anti-B18H22, the polyhedral substituted borane 4,4′-(HS)2-anti-B18H20. A theoretical interpretation is given on the fluorescence of the anti-B18H22 isomer, and the non-radiative decay of the syn-B18H22 isomer, an unsolved problem since 1962. For the new derivative of anti-B18H22, substitution of hydrogen atoms in positions 4 and 4′ by SH groups allows the tuning of the photophysical properties in 4,4′-(HS)2-anti-B18H20, facilitating intersystem crossing from the excited singlet state to the triplet state.

Light‐Induced On/Off Switching of the Surfactant Character of the o ‐Cobaltabis(dicarbollide) Anion with No Covalent Bond Alteration

Cobaltabis(dicarbollide) anion ([o-COSAN]- ) is a well-known metallacarborane with multiple applications in a variety of fields. In aqueous solution, the cisoid rotamer is the most stable disposition in the ground state. The present work provides theoretical evidence on the possibility to photoinduce the rotation from the cisoid to the transoid rotamer, a conversion that can be reverted when the ground state is repopulated. The non-radiative decay mechanisms proposed in this work are coherent with the lack of fluorescence observed in 3D fluorescence mapping experiments performed on [o-COSAN]- and its derivatives. This phenomenon induced by light has the potential to destruct the vesicles an…

Assessment of the Potential Energy Hypersurfaces in Thymine within Multiconfigurational Theory: CASSCF vs. CASPT2

The present study provides new insights into the topography of the potential energy hypersurfaces (PEHs) of the thymine nucleobase in order to rationalize its main ultrafast photochemical decay paths by employing two methodologies based on the complete active space self-consistent field (CASSCF) and the complete active space second-order perturbation theory (CASPT2) methods: (i) CASSCF optimized structures and energies corrected with the CASPT2 method at the CASSCF geometries and (ii) CASPT2 optimized geometries and energies. A direct comparison between these strategies is drawn, yielding qualitatively similar results within a static framework. A number of analyses are performed to assess t…

Thermodynamics of the Interaction between the Spike Protein of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 and the Receptor of Human Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2. Effects of Possible Ligands

Since the end of 2019, the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 has caused more than 1000000 deaths all over the world and still lacks a medical treatment despite the attention of the whole scientific community. Human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) was recently recognized as the transmembrane protein that serves as the point of entry of SARS-CoV-2 into cells, thus constituting the first biomolecular event leading to COVID-19 disease. Here, by means of a state-of-the-art computational approach, we propose a rational evaluation of the molecular mechanisms behind the formation of the protein complex. Moreover, the free energy of binding between ACE2 and the active receptor binding domain of the SARS…

Photochemistry of HOSO2 and SO3 and Implications for the Production of Sulfuric Acid

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DNA Photodamage and Repair: Computational Photobiology in Action

DNA is constantly exposed to external and metabolic stress agents, including the solar radiation and in particular the UV portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. Such source of stress can induce photochemical modification of the structure of DNA and of its basic components, i.e. the nucleobases. DNA lesions may ultimately lead to genomic instability, mutations, and even to carcinogenesis. Hence, cells dispose of complex biochemical repair pathways in charge of remove the DNA lesions and avoid their accumulation. In this Chapter, we present the complexity of the DNA lesion chemical and structural space, also complicated by the intricate coupling with the biological relevant signaling pathwa…

Photochromic System among Boron Hydrides: The Hawthorne Rearrangement

Photoswitchable molecules have attracted wide interest for many applications in chemistry, physics, and materials science. In this work, we revisit the reversible photochemical and thermal rearrangements of the two B20H182– isomers reported by Hawthorne and Pilling in 1966, whose mechanism had not been understood so far. We investigate the rearrangements by means of a joint experimental and computational study with the outcome that B20H182– represents the first boron-based photochromic system ever reported. Both photochemical and thermal isomerizations occur through the same intermediate and involve a diamond–square–diamond (DSD) mechanism. Given the absence within boron chemistry of named …

Photodissociation Mechanisms of Major Mercury(II) Species in the Atmospheric Chemical Cycle of Mercury

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A Series of Ultra-Efficient Blue Borane Fluorophores

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NHC-Based Iron Sensitizers for DSSCs

International audience; Nanostructured dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) are promising photovoltaic devices because of their low cost and transparency. Ruthenium polypyridine complexes have long been considered as lead sensitizers for DSSCs, allowing them to reach up to 11% conversion efficiency. However, ruthenium suffers from serious drawbacks potentially limiting its widespread applicability, mainly related to its potential toxicity and scarcity. This has motivated continuous research efforts to develop valuable alternatives from cheap earth-abundant metals, and among them, iron is particularly attractive. Making iron complexes applicable in DSSCs is highly challenging due to an ultrafa…

Experimental and Theoretical Study on the Cycloreversion of a Nucleobase-Derived Azetidine by Photoinduced Electron Transfer.

[EN] Azetidines are interesting compounds in medicine and chemistry as bioactive scaffolds and synthetic intermediates. However, photochemical processes involved in the generation and fate of azetidine-derived radical ions have scarcely been reported. In this context, the photoreduction of this four-membered heterocycle might be relevant in connection with the DNA (6-4) photoproduct obtained from photolyase. Herein, a stable azabipyrimidinic azetidine (AZT(m)), obtained from cycloaddition between thymine and 6-azauracil units, is considered to be an interesting model of the proposed azetidine-like intermediate. Hence, its photoreduction and photo-oxidation are thoroughly investigated throug…

Multiconfigurational Quantum Chemistry Determinations of Absorption Cross Sections (σ) in the Gas Phase and Molar Extinction Coefficients (ε) in Aqueous Solution and Air–Water Interface

Theoretical determinations of absorption cross sections (σ) in the gas phase and molar extinction coefficients (e) in condensed phases (water solution, interfaces or surfaces, protein or nucleic acids embeddings, etc.) are of interest when rates of photochemical processes, J = ∫ ϕ(λ) σ(λ) I(λ) dλ, are needed, where ϕ(λ) and I(λ) are the quantum yield of the process and the irradiance of the light source, respectively, as functions of the wavelength λ. Efficient computational strategies based on single-reference quantum-chemistry methods have been developed enabling determinations of line shapes or, in some cases, achieving rovibrational resolution. Developments are however lacking for stron…

Mechanism of excited state deactivation of indan-1-ylidene and fluoren-9-ylidene malononitriles.

Herein, we report complementary computational and experimental evidence supporting the existence, for indan-1-ylidene malononitrile and fluoren-9-ylidene malononitrile, of a non-radiative decay channel involving double bond isomerisation motion. The results of UV-Vis transient absorption spectroscopy highlight that the decay takes place within hundreds of picoseconds. In order to understand the related molecular mechanism, photochemical reaction paths were computed by employing multiconfigurational quantum chemistry. The results indicate that the excited state deactivation occurs via concerted double bond twisting of the dicyanovinyl (DCV) unit coupled with a pyramidalisation of its substit…

A Combined Experimental and Theoretical Approach to the Photogeneration of 5,6-Dihydropyrimidin-5-yl Radicals in Nonaqueous Media

The chemical fate of radical intermediates is relevant to understand the biological effects of radiation and to explain formation of DNA lesions. A direct approach to selectively generate the putative reactive intermediates is based on the irradiation of photolabile precursors. But, to date, radical formation and reactivity have only been studied in aqueous media, which do not completely mimic the micro environment provided by the DNA structure and its complexes with proteins. Thus, it is also important to evaluate the photogeneration of nucleoside-based radicals in nonaqueous media. The attention here is focused on the independent generation of 5,6-dihydropyrimidin-5-yl radicals in organic…

Effect of Iodination on the Photophysics of the Laser Borane anti-B18H22: Generation of Efficient Photosensitizers of Oxygen

Treatment of the laser borane anti-B18H22 (compound 1) with iodine in ethanol gives the monoiodinated derivative 7-I-anti-B18H21 (compound 2) in 67% yield, or, by reaction with iodine or ICl in the presence of AlCl3 in dichloromethane, the diiodinated derivative 4,4'-I2-anti-B18H20 (compound 3) in 85% yield. On excitation with 360 nm light, both compounds 2 and 3 give strong green phosphorescent emissions (λmax = 525 nm, ΦL = 0.41 and λmax = 545 nm, ΦL = 0.71 respectively) that are quenched by dioxygen to produce O2(1Δg) singlet oxygen with quantum yields of ΦΔ = 0.52 and 0.36 respectively. Similarly strong emissions can be stimulated via the nonlinear process of two-photon absorption when …

Complete-active-space second-order perturbation theory (CASPT2//CASSCF) study of the dissociative electron attachment in canonical DNA nucleobases caused by low-energy electrons (0-3 eV).

Low-energy (0-3 eV) ballistic electrons originated during the irradiation of biological material can interact with DNA/RNA nucleobases yielding transient-anion species which undergo decompositions. Since the discovery that these reactions can eventually lead to strand breaking of the DNA chains, great efforts have been dedicated to their study. The main fragmentation at the 0-3 eV energy range is the ejection of a hydrogen atom from the specific nitrogen positions. In the present study, the methodological approach introduced in a previous work on uracil [I. González-Ramírez et al., J. Chem. Theory Comput. 8, 2769-2776 (2012)] is employed to study the DNA canonical nucleobases fragmentations…

Unveiling the role of upper excited electronic states in the photochemistry and laser performance of: anti -B18H22

13 pags., 7 figs., -- This article is part of the themed collection: Journal of Materials Chemistry C HOT Papers

Molecular basis of SARS-CoV-2 infection and rational design of potential antiviral agents: Modeling and simulation approaches

International audience; The emergence in late 2019 of the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 has resulted in the breakthrough of the COVID-19 pandemic that is presently affecting a growing number of countries. The development of the pandemic has also prompted an unprecedented effort of the scientific community to understand the molecular bases of the virus infection and to propose rational drug design strategies able to alleviate the serious COVID-19 morbidity. In this context, a strong synergy between the structural biophysics and molecular modeling and simulation communities has emerged, resolving at the atomistic level the crucial protein apparatus of the virus and revealing the dynamic aspects of k…

Photophysical Investigation of Iron(II) Complexes Bearing Bidentate Annulated Isomeric Pyridine-NHC Ligands

The possibility of achieving luminescent and photophysically active metal-organic compounds relies on the stabilization of charge transfer states and kinetically and thermodynamically blocking non-...

Dynamics of the excited-state hydrogen transfer in a (dG)·(dC) homopolymer: intrinsic photostability of DNA

Multiscale molecular dynamics simulations reveal out-of-plane distortions that favour DNA photostability. A novel photostability mechanism involving four proton transfers and triggered by a nearby Na+ ion is also unveiled.

CCDC 1444537: Experimental Crystal Structure Determination

Related Article: Isabel Aparici-Espert, Antonio Francés-Monerris, Gemma M. Rodríguez-Muñiz, Daniel Roca-Sanjuán, Virginie Lhiaubet-Vallet, Miguel A. Miranda|2016|J.Org.Chem.|81|4031|doi:10.1021/acs.joc.6b00314

CCDC 1441506: Experimental Crystal Structure Determination

Related Article: Michael G. S. Londesborough, Jiří Dolanský, Tomáš Jelínek, John D. Kennedy, Ivana Císařová, Robert D. Kennedy, Daniel Roca-Sanjuán, Antonio Francés-Monerris, Kamil Lang, William Clegg|2018|Dalton Trans.|47|1709|doi:10.1039/C7DT03823B

CCDC 1982173: Experimental Crystal Structure Determination

Related Article: Mohamed Darari, Antonio Francés-Monerris, Bogdan Marekha, Abdelatif Doudouh, Emmanuel Wenger, Antonio Monari, Stefan Haacke, Philippe C. Gros|2020|Molecules|25|5991|doi:10.3390/molecules25245991

CCDC 1514165: Experimental Crystal Structure Determination

Related Article: Michael G. S. Londesborough, Jiří Dolanský, Luis Cerdán, Kamil Lang, Tomáš Jelínek, Josep M. Oliva, Drahomír Hnyk, Daniel Roca-Sanjuán, Antonio Francés-Monerris, Jiří Martinčík, Martin Nikl, John D. Kennedy|2017|Adv. Opt. Mater.|5|1600694|doi:10.1002/adom.201600694

CCDC 1859436: Experimental Crystal Structure Determination

Related Article: Michael G. S. Londesborough, Jiří Dolanský, Jonathan Bould, Jakub Braborec, Kaplan Kirakci, Kamil Lang, Ivana Císařová, Pavel Kubát, Daniel Roca-Sanjuán, Antonio Francés-Monerris, Lenka Slušná, Eva Noskovičová, Dušan Lorenc|2019|Inorg.Chem.|58|10248|doi:10.1021/acs.inorgchem.9b01358

CCDC 1441507: Experimental Crystal Structure Determination

Related Article: Michael G. S. Londesborough, Jiří Dolanský, Tomáš Jelínek, John D. Kennedy, Ivana Císařová, Robert D. Kennedy, Daniel Roca-Sanjuán, Antonio Francés-Monerris, Kamil Lang, William Clegg|2018|Dalton Trans.|47|1709|doi:10.1039/C7DT03823B

CCDC 1441504: Experimental Crystal Structure Determination

Related Article: Michael G. S. Londesborough, Jiří Dolanský, Tomáš Jelínek, John D. Kennedy, Ivana Císařová, Robert D. Kennedy, Daniel Roca-Sanjuán, Antonio Francés-Monerris, Kamil Lang, William Clegg|2018|Dalton Trans.|47|1709|doi:10.1039/C7DT03823B

CCDC 1859437: Experimental Crystal Structure Determination

Related Article: Michael G. S. Londesborough, Jiří Dolanský, Jonathan Bould, Jakub Braborec, Kaplan Kirakci, Kamil Lang, Ivana Císařová, Pavel Kubát, Daniel Roca-Sanjuán, Antonio Francés-Monerris, Lenka Slušná, Eva Noskovičová, Dušan Lorenc|2019|Inorg.Chem.|58|10248|doi:10.1021/acs.inorgchem.9b01358

CCDC 1441505: Experimental Crystal Structure Determination

Related Article: Michael G. S. Londesborough, Jiří Dolanský, Tomáš Jelínek, John D. Kennedy, Ivana Císařová, Robert D. Kennedy, Daniel Roca-Sanjuán, Antonio Francés-Monerris, Kamil Lang, William Clegg|2018|Dalton Trans.|47|1709|doi:10.1039/C7DT03823B

CCDC 1992132: Experimental Crystal Structure Determination

Related Article: Mohamed Darari, Antonio Francés-Monerris, Bogdan Marekha, Abdelatif Doudouh, Emmanuel Wenger, Antonio Monari, Stefan Haacke, Philippe C. Gros|2020|Molecules|25|5991|doi:10.3390/molecules25245991