| 1. |
- Barreiro-Lage, Darío, et al.
(author)
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Photofragmentation specificity of photoionized cyclic amino acids (diketopiperazines) as precursors of peptide building blocks
- 2023
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In: Physical Chemistry, Chemical Physics - PCCP. - 1463-9076 .- 1463-9084. ; 25:23, s. 15635-15646
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The photoionisation and photofragmentation of the two cyclic dipetides cyclo(alanyl-glycine) cGA and cyclo(glycyl-glycine) cGG, have been studied combining experiments and simulations. State selected fragments from the ionized molecules are detected using photo-electron photo-ion coincidence (PEPICO) measurements and specific fragmentation paths are identified and characterized via the use of ion-neutral coincidence maps. The simulations, performed using Quantum Chemistry methods, allow us to infer the fragmentation mechanisms of the ionized and excited molecules. We show that ring opening is followed by emission of the neutral fragments CO and HNCO. In the case of cGG the emission of neutral CO leads to a metastable structure that breaks producing small cationic fragments. The studied cyclic dipeptides evolve under ionizing radiation generating different small aziridin moieties and oxazolidinones. These two species are key reactants to elongate producing peptide chains. The corresponding mechanisms have been computed and show that the reaction requires very low energy and may occur in the presence of ionizing radiation.
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| 2. |
- Barreiro-Lage, Darío, et al.
(author)
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"Smart Decomposition" of Cyclic Alanine-Alanine Dipeptide by VUV Radiation : A Seed for the Synthesis of Biologically Relevant Species
- 2021
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In: The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 1948-7185. ; 12:30, s. 7379-7386
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- A combined experimental and theoretical study shows how the interaction of VUV radiation with cyclo-(alanine-alanine), one of the 2,5-diketopiperazines (DKPs), produces reactive oxazolidinone intermediates. The theoretical simulations reveal that the interaction of these intermediates with other neutral and charged fragments, released in the molecular decomposition, leads either to the reconstruction of the cyclic dipeptide or to the formation of longer linear peptide chains. These results may explain how DKPs could have, on one hand, survived hostile chemical environments and, on the other, provided the seed for amino acid polymerization. Shedding light on the mechanisms of production of such prebiotic building blocks is of paramount importance to understanding the abiotic synthesis of relevant biologically active compounds.
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| 3. |
- Chiarinelli, Jacopo, et al.
(author)
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Electron and ion spectroscopy of the cyclo-alanine–alanine dipeptide
- 2022
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In: Physical Chemistry, Chemical Physics - PCCP. - : Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC). - 1463-9076 .- 1463-9084. ; 24:10, s. 5855-5867
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The VUV photoionisation and photofragmentation of cyclo-alanine–alanine (cAA) has been studied in a joint experimental and theoretical work. The photoelectron spectrum and the photoelectron–photoion coincidence (PEPICO) measurements, which enable control of the energy being deposited, combined with quantum chemistry calculations, provide direct insight into the cAA molecular stability after photoionisation. The analysis of the ion-neutral coincidence experiments with the molecular dynamics simulations and the exploration of the potential energy surface allows a complete identification of the fragmentation pathways. It has been found that the fragmentation always starts with the ring opening through the C–C bond cleavage, followed by release of neutral CO or HNCO moieties.
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