Non-Degenerate Two-Photon Absorption of Fluorescent Protein Chromophores.

Two-photon absorption (2PA), where a pair of photons are absorbed simultaneously, is recognized as a potent bioimaging technique, which depends on the quantified 2PA probability, defined as cross-section (σ2PA). The absorbed photons either have equivalent (ω1 = ω2) or different frequencies (ω1 ≠ ω2), where the former is degenerate 2PA (D-2PA) and the latter is nondegenerate 2PA (ND-2PA). ND-2PA is of particular interest since it is a promising imaging technology with flexibility of photon frequencies and enhanced cross sections, however, it remains a relatively unexplored area compared to D-2PA. This work utilizes time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) and second-order approximate coupled-cluster with the resolution-of-identity approximation (RI-CC2), for the excitation from S0 to S1, to investigate σD-2PA and σND-2PA of FP chromophore models. Interestingly, comparing CAM-B3LYP with the RI-CC2 computations shows qualitative and, in fact, near quantitative agreement in the computed improvements of σND-2PA for comparable (relative) frequency detunings, despite the known underestimations of 2PA cross sections, for TD-DFT results relative to RI-CC2 values. As expected from the 2-state model, the computed values of σND-2PA are quantitatively larger than σD-2PA, where chromophores with the largest values of σD-2PA show greater potential for σND-2PA improvement. Anionic chromophores demonstrated improvements up to 14%, while substantial enhancements were observed in neutral chromophores with some achieving a 30% increase. This work investigates the ND-2PA photophysical characteristics of FP chromophores and identifies qualitative patterns in the computed properties of ND-2PA relative to D-2PA.

Degenerate and non-degenerate two-photon absorption of coumarin dyes.

Two-photon absorption (2PA) spectroscopy is a robust bioimaging tool that depends on the determined cross-sections (σ2PA). The absorption of both photons occurs simultaneously with equivalent (degenerate) or different (non-degenerate) photon energies, D-2PA and ND-2PA, respectively. The former has been investigated experimentally and computationally for many systems, while the latter remains relatively unexplored computationally and limited experimentally. In this study, response theory using time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) and the 2-state model (2SM) have been utilized to investigate σD-2PA and σND-2PA for the excitation to the lowest energy singlet state (S1) of coumarin, coumarin 6, coumarin 120, coumarin 307, and coumarin 343. Solvents involved were methanol (MeOH), chloroform (ClForm), and dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO), where the latter leads to the largest σ2PA. Values of σ2PA are largest for coumarin 6 and lowest for coumarin, which illustrates the effect of substituents. The 2SM clarifies how the largest cross-sections correspond to molecules with the largest transition dipole moments, µ01. In general, σD-2SM computations agree with σD-2PA. Moreover, σND-2SM are in qualitative agreement with σND-2PA with comparable enhancement relative to σD-2PA. Overall, σND-2PA are larger than σD-2PA where the increase is in the range of 22% to 49%, depending on the coumarin as well as the relative energies of the two photons. This work aids in future investigations into various fluorophores to understand their photophysical properties for ND-2PA.

ΔNO and the complexities of electron correlation in simple hydrogen clusters.

The Δ natural orbital (ΔNO) two-electron density matrix (2-RDM) and energy expression are derived from a multideterminantal wave function. The approximate ΔNO 2-RDM is combined with an on-top density functional and a double-counting correction to capture electron correlation. A trust-region Newton's method optimization algorithm for the simultaneous optimization of ΔNO orbitals and occupancies is introduced and compared to the previous iterative diagonalization algorithm. The combination of ΔNO and two different on-top density functionals, Colle-Salvetti (CS) and Opposite-spin exponential cusp and Fermi-hole correction (OF), is assessed on small hydrogen clusters and compared to density functional, single-reference coupled-cluster, and multireference perturbation theory (MRMP2) methods. The ΔNO-CS and ΔNO-OF methods outperform the single-reference methods and are comparable to MRMP2. However, there is a distinct qualitative error in the ΔNO potential energy surface for H4 compared to the exact. This discrepancy is explained through analysis of the ΔNO orbitals, occupancies, and the two-electron density.

Beyond Explored Functionals: A Computational Journey of Two-Photon Absorption.

We present a thorough investigation into the efficacy of 19 density functional theory (DFT) functionals, relative to RI-CC2 results, for computing two-photon absorption (2PA) cross sections (σ2PA) and key dipole moments (|µ00|, |µ11|, |Δµ|, |µ01|) for a series of coumarin dyes in the gas-phase. The functionals include different categories, including local density approximation (LDA), generalized gradient approximation (GGA), hybrid-GGA (H-GGA), range-separated hybrid-GGA (RSH-GGA), meta-GGA (M-GGA), and hybrid M-GGA (HM-GGA), with 14 of them being subjected to analysis for the first time with respect to predicting σ2PA values. Analysis reveals that functionals integrating both short-range (SR) and long-range (LR) corrections, particularly those within the RSH-GGA and HM-GGA classes, outperform the others. Furthermore, the range-separation approach was found more impactful compared to the varying percentages of Hartree-Fock exchange (HF Ex) within different functionals. The functionals traditionally recommended for 2PA do not appear among the top 9 in our study, which is particularly interesting, as these top-performing functionals have not been previously investigated in this context. This list is dominated by M11, QTP variants, ωB97X, ωB97X-V, and M06-2X, surpassing the performance of other functionals, including the commonly used CAM-B3LYP.

An enantioselective and modular platform for C4'-modified nucleoside analogue synthesis enabled by intramolecular trans-acetalizations.

C4'-modified nucleoside analogues continue to attract global attention for their use in antiviral drug development and oligonucleotide-based therapeutics. However, current approaches to C4'-modified nucleoside analogues still involve lengthy (9-16 steps), non-modular routes that are unamenable to library synthesis. Towards addressing the challenges associated with their syntheses, we report a modular 5-step process to a diverse collection of C4'-modified nucleoside analogues through a sequence of intramolecular trans-acetalizations of readily assembled polyhydroxylated frameworks. Overall, the 2-3 fold reduction in step-count compares favorably to even recently reported biocatalytic approaches and should ultimately enable new opportunities in drug design around this popular chemotype.

Unimolecular Decomposition Reactions of Propylamine and Protonated Propylamine.

A detailed computational study of the decomposition reaction mechanisms of cis-propylamine (cis-PA), trans-propylamine (trans-PA), and the cis-isomer of its protonated form (cis-HPA) has been carried out. Fourteen major pathways with their kinetic and thermodynamic parameters are reported. All reported reactions have been located with a concerted transition state, leading to significant products that agree with previous theoretical and experimental studies. Among six decomposition pathways of trans-PA, the formation of propene and NH3 is the significant one, kinetically and thermodynamically, with an activation energy barrier of 281 kJ mol-1. The production of two carbenes is found via two different transition states, where the reactions are thermodynamically controlled and reversible. Furthermore, five decomposition pathways of cis-PA have been considered where the formation of ethene, methylimine, and H2 is the most plausible one with an activation energy barrier of 334 kJ mol-1. The results show that the formation of propene and NH4 + from the decomposition of cis-HPA is the most favorable reaction with an activation barrier of 184 kJ mol-1, that is, the lowest activation energy calculated for all decomposition pathways.

Hydration and Secondary Ozonide of the Criegee Intermediate of Sabinene.

A computational study of the formation of secondary ozonide (SOZ) from the Criegee intermediates (CIs) of sabinene, including hydration reactions with H2O and 2H2O, was performed. All of the geometries were optimized at the B3LYP and M06-2X with several basis sets. Further single-point energy calculation at the CCSD(T) was performed. Two major pathways of SOZ formation suggest that it is mainly formed from the sabinene CI and formaldehyde rather than sabina ketone and formaldehyde-oxide. However, in both pathways, the activation energies are within a range of ±5 kJ mol-1. Furthermore, the hydration reactions of the anti-CI with H2O and 2H2O showed that the role of the second water molecule is a mediator (catalyst) in this reaction. The dimer hydration reaction has lower activation energies than the monomer by 60 and 69 kJ mol-1, at the M06-2X/6-31G(d) and CCSD(T)+CF levels of the theory, respectively. A novel water-mediated vinyl hydroperoxide (VHP) channel from both the monomer and dimer has been investigated. The results indicate that the direct nonmediated VHP formation and dissociation is interestingly more possible than the water-mediated VHP. The density functional theory calculations show that the monomer is faster than the dimer by roughly 22 kJ mol-1. Further, the infrared spectrum of sabina ketone was calculated at B3LYP/6-311+G(2d,p); the calculated carbonyl stretching of 1727 cm-1 is in agreement with the experimental range of 1700-1800 cm-1.