Calculating the fluorescence of 5-hydroxytryptophan in proteins

J Phys Chem B. 2009 Oct 29;113(43):14521-8. doi: 10.1021/jp9071108.

Abstract

5-Hydroxytryptophan is a non-natural amino acid that has attracted a lot of recent interest as a fluorescent probe of protein structure, dynamics, and function. We have investigated its fluorescence in various protein environments, using a decoupled quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics approach. Classical, all-atom molecular dynamics simulations of several proteins containing single tryptophans were performed for both the wild-type and the 5-hydroxy derivatives. The excited state of the fluorophore was described using parameters from complete active space self-consistent field calculations. Time-dependent density functional theory calculations on 5-hydroxytryptophan and a significant portion of its explicit immediate surrounding environment, sampled by the simulations, show that the emission energies of 5-hydroxytryptophan shift, depending on the strength of hydrogen bonding and pi-pi stacking interactions. This quantitative description of how the fluorescence responds to different protein environments should enhance the insight that fluorescence studies using 5-hydroxytryptophan can provide at a molecular level.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • 5-Hydroxytryptophan / chemistry*
  • Fluorescence
  • Molecular Conformation
  • Molecular Dynamics Simulation
  • Proteins / chemistry*
  • Thermodynamics

Substances

  • Proteins
  • 5-Hydroxytryptophan