Ayato Mizuno, Tomoki Nakayoshi, Eiji Kurimoto, Koichi Kato, Akifumi Oda
{"title":"Quantum Chemical Calculations of the Nonenzymatic Bicarbonate Ion-Catalyzed Lactamization of Ornithine Residues to Identify the Components of Primitive Proteins.","authors":"Ayato Mizuno, Tomoki Nakayoshi, Eiji Kurimoto, Koichi Kato, Akifumi Oda","doi":"10.1021/acs.jpca.4c07299","DOIUrl":"10.1021/acs.jpca.4c07299","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Ornithine (Orn) is biochemically significant amino acid and has a structure similar to lysine, yet a noncanonical amino acid. When Orn is incorporated into a peptide chain, irreversible nonenzymatic C-terminal peptide cleavage and lactamization occur, inhibiting the synthesis of a peptide chain. The Orn reactivity is high, and likely to proceed even in the absence of enzymes. Nonenzymatic reactions could proceed with prebiotic catalysts that existed on the primitive Earth and may have played a crucial role in the origin of proteins. However, the mechanisms of these reactions have not been studied in great detail. In this study, quantum chemical calculations of these reactions were performed using the model compound Ac-Orn-NMe (Ac = acetyl, NMe = methylamino). Two reaction stages were considered: cyclization and C-terminal cleavage. Because the <i>gem</i>-hydroxylamine intermediate structure is diastereomeric, reaction pathways involving both R- and S-configured intermediates were investigated. The activation barriers for the Orn lactamization involving R- and S-intermediates with bicarbonate ions as a catalyst were estimated to be 82.4 and 76.6 kJ mol<sup>-1</sup>, respectively. Thus, the Orn lactamization can proceed easily compared to lysine. The high reactivity of Orn may be the reason for the exclusion of Orn from the Magic 20.</p>","PeriodicalId":59,"journal":{"name":"The Journal of Physical Chemistry A","volume":" ","pages":"2387-2395"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-03-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143497525","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Anjan Chattopadhyay, Maximilian F S J Menger, Dilawar Singh Sisodiya, Horst Köppel
{"title":"Theoretical Study of Spectroscopy and Photodynamics of Decatetraene as a Representative Dimethylated Polyene.","authors":"Anjan Chattopadhyay, Maximilian F S J Menger, Dilawar Singh Sisodiya, Horst Köppel","doi":"10.1021/acs.jpca.4c08185","DOIUrl":"10.1021/acs.jpca.4c08185","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The photodynamics and UV spectroscopy of decatetraene following excitation to the bright 1B<sub>u</sub> state are studied theoretically, based on ab initio computations of the underlying potential energy (PE) surfaces. Both photophysical and photochemical aspects are investigated. The former involves smaller amplitude displacements, and - in addition to determining multidimensional PE surfaces - also a quantal treatment of the ensuing nuclear dynamics. The inclusion of the 1B<sub>u</sub>-2A<sub>g</sub> vibronic interaction allows to compute the vibrational structure of the 1A<sub>g</sub>-1B<sub>u</sub> UV spectral band and the femtosecond 1B<sub>u</sub>-2A<sub>g</sub> internal conversion (population transfer). The results are compared with analogous features of octatetraene and octatriene. The photochemical aspects involving larger-amplitude displacements are investigated from a quantum-chemical point of view, focusing on the stationary points and the seams of conical intersections that are involved. A comparison of decatetraene with octatetraene reveals the contrasting features of their 2A<sub>g</sub> and 1B<sub>u</sub> state minima, where the latter is more stable in the dimethylated system. The small barrier connecting these two states lies between 0.06 and 0.11 eV. The nonradiative decay channels originating from these minima are characterized by comparatively higher barriers in decatetraene and influence the outcome of the radiative processes in a different manner in comparison to that of octatetraene.</p>","PeriodicalId":59,"journal":{"name":"The Journal of Physical Chemistry A","volume":" ","pages":"2442-2453"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-03-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143522126","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ivan Mitrichev, A John Blacker, Michael Chapman, Yuji Kawakami, Mikhail Vasilev, Gert Goltz, Anna Podobedova, Antonia Borissova, Eleonora Koltsova
{"title":"DFT-Assisted Microkinetic Study of Transfer Hydrogenation over Homogeneous and Immobilized Cp*Ir Complexes.","authors":"Ivan Mitrichev, A John Blacker, Michael Chapman, Yuji Kawakami, Mikhail Vasilev, Gert Goltz, Anna Podobedova, Antonia Borissova, Eleonora Koltsova","doi":"10.1021/acs.jpca.4c08718","DOIUrl":"10.1021/acs.jpca.4c08718","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>DFT calculations were done to investigate the kinetic mechanism of benzaldehyde transfer hydrogenation using [Cp*IrCl<sub>2</sub>]<sub>2</sub> complexes in isopropyl alcohol in the presence of potassium <i>tert-</i>butoxide. Predicted energy barriers provide evidence that the inner-sphere (IS) mechanism (effective barrier 53.0 kJ/mol) is favored over the outer-sphere (OS) and Meerwein-Pondorf-Verley (MPV) mechanisms. Reaction kinetics was studied using both homogeneous and immobilized Cp*Ir complexes as catalysts. A mathematical model was developed to simulate the transfer hydrogenation of benzaldehyde on these catalysts, accounting for possible mass transfer limitations for the immobilized catalyst. A microkinetic model was constructed using both our density functional theory calculations and fitting of the kinetic parameters of catalyst activation and deactivation reactions. The simulation results predict that only about a quarter of Ir immobilized complexes are involved in the reaction, and this is the main reason for the observed higher activity of the homogeneous catalyst. The activity of the immobilized catalyst was found to be related to the hydride species concentration, which is a function of the base concentration. The results suggest that the amount of base has a drastic effect on the immobilized catalyst activity.</p>","PeriodicalId":59,"journal":{"name":"The Journal of Physical Chemistry A","volume":" ","pages":"2548-2557"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-03-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143536194","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Breaking Down Polychlorinated Biphenyls and Aryl Chlorides: A Computational Study of Thermal-, Pressure-, and Shear-Induced Decomposition.","authors":"L Pisarova, O A Loboda, I Minami, S J Eder","doi":"10.1021/acs.jpca.4c08086","DOIUrl":"10.1021/acs.jpca.4c08086","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Reactive molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were used to study the decomposition of aryl chlorides, including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), under varying conditions. Using the ReaxFF force field, which models bond breaking and formation, the study focused on PCB 77 (3,3',4,4'-tetrachlorobiphenyl) and compared it to safer alternatives: 1,2-dichlorobenzene (DCB) and 3,4-dichlorotoluene (DCT). Density functional theory (DFT) calculations validated decomposition pathways and enthalpies of C-Cl bond homolytic cleavage, revealing a multistep radical mechanism. Analysis showed that the decomposition rate and product distribution were sensitive to temperature and Cl-binding positions, emphasizing the complexity of PCB breakdown. Decomposition products were analyzed to understand the efficiency and safety of current remediation processes, such as incineration, which can produce hazardous byproducts like dioxins if poorly managed. The results suggested DCT as a promising candidate for further investigation in laboratory experiments due to its decomposition pathways and relevance to PCB analogues. This study advances knowledge of PCB degradation mechanisms, informing safer, sustainable remediation strategies, and highlighting the risks of pyrolysis-based approaches.</p>","PeriodicalId":59,"journal":{"name":"The Journal of Physical Chemistry A","volume":" ","pages":"2568-2583"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-03-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11912490/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143522115","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Infrared Spectroscopy of Radical Cation Clusters (NH<sub>3</sub>)<sub>2</sub><sup>+</sup> and (NH<sub>3</sub>)<sub>3</sub><sup />.","authors":"Amandeep Singh, Arisa Iguchi, Tom C Bernaards, Zane Golpariani, Kenta Mizuse, Asuka Fujii, Hajime Tanuma, Toshiyuki Azuma, Susumu Kuma, Andrey Vilesov","doi":"10.1021/acs.jpca.4c08362","DOIUrl":"10.1021/acs.jpca.4c08362","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The ionization of protic molecules such as H<sub>2</sub>O and NH<sub>3</sub> in the condensed phase initiates ion-molecule reactions, which remain poorly understood. Studies of the structure and reactivity of small ionic clusters in molecular beams have yielded a wealth of information on protonated clusters. However, unprotonated radical cation clusters have a low concentration in a typical experiment and thus remain challenging. Here we report the infrared spectra of the (NH<sub>3</sub>)<sub>2</sub><sup>+</sup> and (NH<sub>3</sub>)<sub>3</sub><sup>+</sup> radical cations solvated in helium nanodroplets. Radical cation clusters often have several isomers with different ionic cores, including proton-transferred and hemibonded structures. Infrared spectra of the cations obtained in this work indicate that the formation of the ammonia dimer ((NH<sub>3</sub>)<sub>2</sub><sup>+</sup>) and trimer ((NH<sub>3</sub>)<sub>3</sub><sup>+</sup>) cations yields the proton-transferred structures, which correspond to the respective global minima of the calculated structures. Spectral assignments are corroborated by density functional theory calculations. The spectra also indicate that the NH<sub>4</sub><sup>+</sup> and NH<sub>3</sub> moieties within the clusters undergo internal rotation with rotational constants close to those in the gas phase.</p>","PeriodicalId":59,"journal":{"name":"The Journal of Physical Chemistry A","volume":" ","pages":"2472-2481"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-03-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143514076","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abylay Katbashev, Marcel Stahn, Thomas Rose, Vahideh Alizadeh, Marvin Friede, Christoph Plett, Pit Steinbach, Sebastian Ehlert
{"title":"Overview on Building Blocks and Applications of Efficient and Robust Extended Tight Binding.","authors":"Abylay Katbashev, Marcel Stahn, Thomas Rose, Vahideh Alizadeh, Marvin Friede, Christoph Plett, Pit Steinbach, Sebastian Ehlert","doi":"10.1021/acs.jpca.4c08263","DOIUrl":"10.1021/acs.jpca.4c08263","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The extended tight binding (xTB) family of methods opened many new possibilities in the field of computational chemistry. Within just 5 years, the GFN2-xTB parametrization for all elements up to <i>Z</i> = 86 enabled more than a thousand applications, which were previously not feasible with other electronic structure methods. The xTB methods provide a robust and efficient way to apply quantum mechanics-based approaches for obtaining molecular geometries, computing free energy corrections or describing noncovalent interactions and found applicability for many more targets. A crucial contribution to the success of the xTB methods is the availability within many simulation packages and frameworks, supported by the open source development of its program library and packages. We present a comprehensive summary of the applications and capabilities of xTB methods in different fields of chemistry. Moreover, we consider the main software packages for xTB calculations, covering their current ecosystem, novel features, and usage by the scientific community.</p>","PeriodicalId":59,"journal":{"name":"The Journal of Physical Chemistry A","volume":" ","pages":"2667-2682"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-03-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143514123","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Gabriela Sánchez Díaz, Michelle Richer, Marco Martínez González, Maximilian van Zyl, Leila Pujal, Alireza Tehrani, Julianna Bianchi, Valerii Chuiko, Jannis Erhard, Fanwang Meng, Paul W Ayers, Farnaz Heidar-Zadeh
{"title":"AtomDB: A Python Library and Database for Atomic and Promolecular Properties.","authors":"Gabriela Sánchez Díaz, Michelle Richer, Marco Martínez González, Maximilian van Zyl, Leila Pujal, Alireza Tehrani, Julianna Bianchi, Valerii Chuiko, Jannis Erhard, Fanwang Meng, Paul W Ayers, Farnaz Heidar-Zadeh","doi":"10.1021/acs.jpca.4c07353","DOIUrl":"10.1021/acs.jpca.4c07353","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>AtomDB is a free and open-source Python library for accessing and manipulating neutral and charged atomic species and their promolecular properties. It serves as a computational toolset, operating on an accompanying \"extended periodic table\" database, with experimental and computational data covering atomic species with a wide range of charges and multiplicities. AtomDB includes facilities for computing promolecules: local promolecular properties, constructed from the corresponding atomic densities, and scalar promolecular properties, computed from the corresponding scalar atomic properties, both taking into account whether properties are extensive or intensive. AtomDB is designed to be easy to use, extend, and maintain: it follows best practices for modern software development, including comprehensive documentation, extensive testing, continuous integration/delivery protocols, and package management. This article is the official release note for the AtomDB library.</p>","PeriodicalId":59,"journal":{"name":"The Journal of Physical Chemistry A","volume":" ","pages":"2598-2611"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-03-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143530934","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ana I Lozano, Juan C Oller, Paulo Limão-Vieira, Gustavo García
{"title":"Electron Attachment to Nitric Oxide (NO) Controversy.","authors":"Ana I Lozano, Juan C Oller, Paulo Limão-Vieira, Gustavo García","doi":"10.1021/acs.jpca.4c07675","DOIUrl":"10.1021/acs.jpca.4c07675","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>We report novel total electron scattering cross sections (TCS) from nitric oxide (NO) in the impact energy range from 1 to 15 eV by using a magnetically confined electron transmission apparatus. The accuracy of the data to within 5% and its consistency across the energy range investigated, shows significant discrepancies from previous works as to the major resonance features and magnitude of the TCS. Within the shape of the TCS, we have identified nine features which have been assigned to electron attachment resonances, most of them reported for the first time, while a comprehensive analysis of those peaking at 7.0, 7.8, and 8.8 eV has led to solve the controversy about dissociative electron attachment (DEA) cross-section that persisted for more than 50 years.</p>","PeriodicalId":59,"journal":{"name":"The Journal of Physical Chemistry A","volume":" ","pages":"2429-2433"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-03-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11912480/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143522117","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Antti Kivimäki, Eetu Pelimanni, Kirill Chernenko, Abdul Rahman Abid, Christian Stråhlman
{"title":"Negative-Ion Formation upon Soft X-ray Photoexcitation of 2-Propanol.","authors":"Antti Kivimäki, Eetu Pelimanni, Kirill Chernenko, Abdul Rahman Abid, Christian Stråhlman","doi":"10.1021/acs.jpca.4c08226","DOIUrl":"10.1021/acs.jpca.4c08226","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This study investigates the formation of negative ion fragments from gas-phase 2-propanol molecules after interaction with soft X-rays near the O K-edge. The experiment was performed by detecting negative and positive ions in coincidence with time-of-flight spectrometry. The analysis of two- and three-ion coincidence data revealed that nine different anions were produced: H<sup>-</sup>, C<sup>-</sup>, CH<sup>-</sup>, CH<sub>2</sub><sup>-</sup>, O<sup>-</sup>, OH<sup>-</sup>, C<sub>2</sub><sup>-</sup>, C<sub>2</sub>H<sup>-</sup>, and C<sub>3</sub><sup>-</sup>. For all anions, the most common three-ion events were those involving two protons. The results highlight the sensitivity of negative-ion/positive-ion coincidence spectroscopy and provide new insight into the fragmentation processes of organic molecules under soft X-ray excitation.</p>","PeriodicalId":59,"journal":{"name":"The Journal of Physical Chemistry A","volume":" ","pages":"2454-2461"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-03-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11912464/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143522119","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Mechanism and Origins of Regio- and Stereoselectivities of NHC-Catalyzed Dearomative Annulation of Benzoazoles and Cinnamaldehydes from DFT.","authors":"Yan Li, Yanlong Kang, Junjie Xiao, Zhiqiang Zhang","doi":"10.1021/acs.jpca.4c08373","DOIUrl":"10.1021/acs.jpca.4c08373","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>A theoretical study on the mechanism, regioselectivity, and enantioselectivity of NHC-catalyzed dearomatizing annulation of benzoxazoles with enals has been conducted using density functional theory calculations. Our calculated results indicate that the favored mechanism occurs through eight reaction steps: initial binding of the NHC to enals, followed by formation of the Breslow intermediate via proton transfer. Subsequent oxidation generates the α,β-unsaturated acylazolium intermediate, which can undergo Michael addition with benzoxazoles. Sequential protonation/deprotonation/cyclization produces the six-membered cyclic intermediate that undergoes catalyst elimination, leading to the final product. DABCO·H<sup>+</sup> was found to play important roles in proton transfer and cyclization. Without DABCO·H<sup>+</sup>, the energy barrier up to 44.2 kcal/mol for step 2 is too high to be accessible. With DABCO·H<sup>+</sup>, the corresponding value is lowered to 18.6 kcal/mol. The energy barrier for cyclization can be lowered by 7.4 kcal/mol by using DABCO·H<sup>+</sup>. The Michael addition step determines both the enantioselectivity and the regioselectivity. According to NCI analysis, the enantioselectivity is controlled by the strong interactions (such as C-H···O, C-H···N, and π···π) between the α,β-unsaturated acylazolium intermediate and benzoxazoles. We also discuss the solvent and substituent effects on the enantioselectivity and the role of the NHC. The mechanistic insights obtained in the present study would help improving current reaction systems or designing new synthetic routes.</p>","PeriodicalId":59,"journal":{"name":"The Journal of Physical Chemistry A","volume":" ","pages":"2482-2492"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-03-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143555358","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}