Systematic investigation of coupling between symmetric and antisymmetric stretches of D2O in CHCl3 by 2D IR.

The coupling between the symmetric (νs) and antisymmetric (νa) OD stretch modes of monomeric D2O in CHCl3 is investigated using polarization-dependent two-dimensional infrared (2D IR) spectroscopy supported by numerical 2D IR simulations based on the exciton-band theory. The relationship between the local modes' and the exciton states' parameters is systematically studied, including center frequencies, diagonal anharmonicities, coupling, and off-diagonal anharmonicity. The mean coupling between νs and νa is accurately evaluated to be -49.96 ± 0.14 cm-1. The degree of relaxation in the harmonic approximation is quantified, and the angle between the exciton-state dipoles is accurately evaluated to be 101.4° ± 3.6°. In addition, the effect of the local-mode frequency correlation on the resulting exciton-state frequency correlation and the spectral shape of the linear and 2D IR spectra are also investigated.

Two-dimensional infrared spectroscopic study of cytochrome c peroxidase activity in deep eutectic solvent.

Deep eutectic solvents (DESs) prepared by mixing hydrogen-bond donor and acceptor molecules have been found to be of use in several applications. Recently, it was shown that DESs can enhance the peroxidation activity of cytochrome c. Here, to elucidate the effects of DESs on the peroxidase activity of cytochrome c, we carried out linear and nonlinear infrared spectroscopic studies of the CO stretch mode of carbon monoxide cytochrome c (COCytc) in ethylammonium chloride (EAC)/urea DES. The FTIR spectrum of COCytc shows a significant spectral shift upon addition of the DES. The broadening and red-shifting of the CO band are observed in both urea and DES solutions, which are induced by the change of the distal ligands around the heme. Although the FTIR study is sensitive to structural changes in the active site, it does not provide quantitative information about structural dynamics related to the catalytic activity itself. Thus, we carried out two-dimensional IR spectroscopy of the CO mode, which suggests that there is a different conformer that could be related to the enhanced catalytic activity in DES. In particular, the spectral diffusion dynamics of that conformer exhibits quite different behavior. The experimental results lead us to propose a hypothesis that the DES increases the population of the conformer with distal ligand lysines close to the reaction center through the combining effect of urea and EAC, which results in the enhancement of the peroxidase activity of cytochrome c. We anticipate that the present experimental work stimulates future investigations of the effects of DES on biocatalysis.

Ionic liquid/ultrasound pretreatment and in situ enzymatic saccharification of bagasse using biocompatible cholinium ionic liquid.

Choline acetate (ChOAc), a cholinium ionic liquid (IL), showed almost the same bagasse pretreatment capability as 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate (EmimOAc), a conventional imidazolium IL used for biomass pretreatment. Moreover, ChOAc showed less of an inhibitory effect on cellulase than EmimOAc. Thus, ChOAc was used for IL/ultrasound-assisted pretreatment and in situ enzymatic saccharification, where IL was not washed out from the pretreated bagasse but diluted with the addition of a buffer solution. When in situ saccharification was performed for 48h in the presence of 10% ChOAc, the cellulose and hemicellulose saccharification percentages were 80% and 72%, respectively. When ChOAc was increased to 20%, the saccharification percentages were 72% and 53%, respectively. However, the values were just 28% and 2%, respectively, in case of 20% EmimOAc. A glucose/xylose solution free from IL and ChOAc aqueous solution without these sugars could be recovered separately by electrodialysis of the hydrolysate of in situ saccharification.

Solute-solvent hydrogen-bonding in room temperature ionic liquids studied by Raman spectroscopy.

The vibrational frequencies of the C=O + C=C band of diphenylcyclopropenone and the NH(2) stretching band of p-aminobenzonitrile were determined in various room temperature ionic liquids (RTILs). The vibrational frequency shifts of the C=O + C=C stretching mode were compared with Kamlet α values, and frequency shifts of the NH(2) stretching mode were compared with Kamlet ß values. A nearly linear relationship was obtained for both parameters, although the solvatochromic parameters were more sensitive to changes of the cation species. Vibrational frequency calculations of a 1 : 1 cluster of p-aminobenzonitrile with the RTIL anions using DFT theory reproduced the observed frequency shifts of the NH(2) stretching mode fairly well. The frequency shifts of the CN stretching mode were well reproduced by the linear combination of dipolarity parameters, the hydrogen-bond donating and accepting parameters determined by the Raman shift of the solute molecule.

Electron transfer reaction dynamics of p-nitroaniline in water from liquid to supercritical conditions.

Photoexcitation dynamics of p-nitroaniline (pNA) have been investigated by femto-second transient absorption spectroscopy in water from liquid to supercritical conditions; along the isochoric line from the ambient condition to 664 K at 40.1 MPa and along the isothermal line from 40.1 to 36.1 MPa at 664 K. The rates of the back electron transfer reaction from the photoexcited charge transfer state to the electronic ground state was determined by the bleach recovery of the ground state absorption, and the successive vibrational relaxation in the electronic ground state was determined by the hot-band decay which was apparent at the red edge of the absorption. The variation of the back electron transfer rate was compared with the prediction based on the electron transfer theory including the Franck-Condon active vibrational modes. The results indicated that both the free energy change of the reaction and the change of the intramolecular vibrational reorganization energy cause the characteristic density (or temperature) dependence of the back electron transfer rate. The density dependence of the vibrational relaxation rate was compared with the collision frequency and the coordination number of the solvent molecule around the solute estimated by the molecular dynamics simulations. The density dependence of the coordination of a water oxygen atom to an amino hydrogen atom of pNA was found to be correlated with the density dependence of vibrational relaxation rate.