Artifact-free balanced detection for the measurement of circular dichroism with a sub-picosecond time resolution.

Here we present the development of a subpicosecond spectropolarimeter enabling high sensitivity balanced detection of time-resolved circular dichroism (TRCD) signals from chiral sample in solution. The signals are measured with a conventional femtosecond pump-probe set-up using the combination of a quarter-waveplate and a Wollaston prism. This simple and robust method allows access to TRCD signals with improved signal-to-noise ratio and very short acquisition times.

Multiscale conformational dynamics probed by time-resolved circular dichroism from seconds to picoseconds.

Time-resolved circular dichroism has been developed for a few decades to investigate rapid conformational changes in (bio)molecules. In our group, we have come up with several experimental set-ups allowing us to study pico-nanosecond local phenomena in molecular systems as well as much slower effects occurring in proteins and DNA in the folding processes. After an overview of the worldwide realizations in this domain, we present emblematic experiments that we have carried out, spanning time domain from picoseconds to seconds.

Size-Exclusion Mechanism Driving Host-Guest Interactions between Octahedral Rhenium Clusters and Cyclodextrins.

In aqueous solution, cyclodextrins (CDs) are able to bind strongly either hydrophobic species or also hydrophilic molecules such as octahedral hexametallic cluster. Systematic investigation of the reactivity between native CDs (α- or β-CD) and water-soluble rhenium clusters [ReQ(CN)] with Q = S, Se, and Te were performed, leading to six new crystal structures revealing different types of supramolecular arrangements. Encapsulation of [ReQ(CN)] (Q = S, Se, or Te) within two β-CDs is observed regardless of the cluster size.

Unveiling Excited-State Chirality of Binaphthols by Femtosecond Circular Dichroism and Quantum Chemical Calculations.

Time-resolved circular dichroism (TR-CD) is a powerful tool for probing conformational dynamics of biomolecules over large time scales that are crucial for establishing their structure-function relationship. However, such experiments, notably in the femtosecond regime, remain challenging due to their extremely weak signals, prone to polarization artifacts. By using binol and two bridged derivatives (PL1 and PL2) as chiral prototypes, we present here the first comprehensive study of this type in the middle UV, combining femtosecond TR-CD and quantum mechanical calculations (TD-DFT).

Comparative study of the folding/unfolding dynamics of poly(glutamic acid) in light and heavy water.

The folding/unfolding equilibrium is investigated in poly(glutamic acid) (PGA) by two complementary sets of experiments: temperature-dependent steady-state circular dichroism spectra on the one hand and time-resolved circular dichroism measurements coupled with a T-jump experiment on the other hand. The experiments are performed for PGA dissolved in water for various pH values, as well as in heavy water. The kinetic and thermodynamic parameters extracted from these measurements are shown to be markedly different between light and heavy water, which is assigned to the difference in hydrogen bond energies in both solvents.

Ultrafast carbonyl motion of the photoactive yellow protein chromophore probed by femtosecond circular dichroism.

Motions of the trans-p-coumaric acid carbonyl group following the photoexcitation of the R52Q mutant of photoactive yellow protein (PYP) are investigated, for the first time, by ultrafast time-resolved circular dichroism (TRCD) spectroscopy. TRCD is monitored in the near-ultraviolet, over a time scale of 10 ps. Immediately after excitation, TRCD is found to exhibit a large negative peak, which decays within a few picoseconds.

A bottom-up approach to build the hyperpolarizability of peptides and proteins from their amino acids.

We experimentally demonstrate that some peptides and proteins lend themselves to an elementary analysis where their first hyperpolarizability can be decomposed into the coherent superposition of the first hyperpolarizability of their elementary units. We then show that those elementary units can be associated with the amino acids themselves in the case of nonaromatic amino acids and nonresonant second harmonic generation. As a case study, this work investigates the experimentally determined first hyperpolarizability of rat tail Type I collagen and compares it to that of the shorter peptide [(PPG)10]3, where P and G are the one-letter code for Proline and Glycine, respectively, and that of the triamino acid peptides PPG and GGG.

Nanosecond T-jump experiment in poly(glutamic acid): a circular dichroism study.

Poly(glutamic acid) has been studied with a nanosecond T-jump experiment. A new experimental set-up based on the frequency-quadrupling of an 82 MHz Titanium-Sapphire laser allows rapid CD measurements to be performed. Combining time-resolved absorption and circular dichroism at 204 and 220 nm, we are able to measure precisely the unfolding relaxation time as well as the helical fraction evolution.

Picosecond time scale modification of forward scattered light induced by absorption inside particles.

The aim of this work is to evaluate the influence of absorption processes on the Time Of Flight (TOF) of the light scattered out of a thick medium in the forward direction. We use a Monte-Carlo simulation with temporal phase function and Debye modes. The main result of our study is that absorption inside the particle induces a decrease of the TOF on a picosecond time scale, measurable with a femtosecond laser apparatus.

Measurement of circular dichroism dynamics in a nanosecond temperature-jump experiment.

The use of a fast temperature jump (T-jump) is a very powerful experiment aiming at studying protein denaturation dynamics. However, probing the secondary structure is a difficult challenge and rarely yields quantitative values. We present the technical implementation of far-UV circular dichroism in a nanosecond T-jump experiment and show that this experiment allows us to follow quantitatively the change in the helical fraction of a poly(glutamic acid) peptide during its thermal denaturation with 12 ns time resolution.

Measurement of the second-order hyperpolarizability of the collagen triple helix and determination of its physical origin.

We performed Hyper-Rayleigh Scattering (HRS) experiments to measure the second-order nonlinear optical response of the collagen triple helix and determine the physical origin of second harmonic signals observed in collagenous tissues. HRS experiments yielded a second-order hyperpolarizability of 1.25 x 10(-27) esu for rat-tail type I collagen, a surprisingly large value considering that collagen presents no strong harmonophore in its amino acid sequence.

Conformational changes in photoexcited (R)-(+)-1,1'-bi-2-naphthol studied by time-resolved circular dichroism.

Conformational changes following photoexcitation of ( R)-(+)-1,1'-bi-2-naphthol are studied with a time-resolved circular dichroism (CD) experiment. Two wavelengths are investigated. For lambda = 237 nm, we observe a bleaching of the ground-state absorption and a transient CD structure.

Excited-state absorption and circular dichroism of ruthenium(II) tris(phenanthroline) in the ultraviolet region.

Excitation of ruthenium(II) tris(phenanthroline) in the visible region results in the tranfer of an electron from the central atom toward one of the ligands. To probe this excited state, we have performed pump-induced absorption and circular dichroism in the ultraviolet wavelengths, in the intraligand pi-pi* transition region. On top of the bleaching of the ground state transitions, new structures appear in the absorption and CD spectra.

Subpicosecond UV spectroscopy of carbonmonoxy-myoglobin: absorption and circular dichroism studies.

A thorough absorption and circular dichroism study is performed in carbonmonoxy-myoglobin with a sub-picosecond visible pump, ultraviolet probe experiment. Differential absorption in the 220-360 nm range shows that the time-resolved response mainly comes from the heme and that aromatic amino acids do not contribute significantly. Time-resolved CD at 260 nm shows no dynamics and confirms this result.

Time-resolved observation of the Eigen cation in liquid water.

Experimental observation and time relaxation measurement of the hydrated proton Eigen form [H(3)O(+)(H(2)O)(3)] are presented here. Vibrational time-resolved spectroscopy is used with an original method of investigating the proton excess in water. The anharmonicity of the time-resolved spectra is characteristic of the Eigen-type proton geometry.

Time-resolved circular dichroism in carbonmonoxy-myoglobin: the central role of the proximal histidine.

A calculation of the circular dichroism (CD) spectra of carbonmonoxy- and deoxy-myoglobin is carried out in relation to a time-resolved CD experiment. This calculation allows us to assign a dominant role to the proximal histidine in the definition of the electronic normal modes and to interpret the transient CD structure observed in a strain of the proximal histidine. This strain builds up in 10 ps and relaxes in 50 ps as the protein evolves towards its deoxy form.

Calculation of the circular dichroism spectra of carbon monoxy- and deoxy myoglobin: interpretation of a time-resolved circular dichroism experiment.

A calculation of the circular dichroism (CD) spectra of carbon monoxy- and deoxy myoglobin is carried out in relation with a time-resolved CD experiment. The calculation is based on the polarizability theory and the parameters are adjusted to fit the experimental absorption and CD spectra. By performing the calculation for intermediate configurations of the protein, we are able to propose an explanation of the CD structure observed on a sub-100 ps time scale.

Nonlinear optical spectroscopy of chiral molecules.

We review nonlinear optical processes that are specific to chiral molecules in solution and on surfaces. In contrast to conventional natural optical activity phenomena, which depend linearly on the electric field strength of the optical field, we discuss how optical processes that are nonlinear (quadratic, cubic, and quartic) functions of the electromagnetic field strength may probe optically active centers and chiral vibrations. We show that nonlinear techniques open entirely new ways of exploring chirality in chemical and biological systems: The cubic processes give rise to nonlinear circular dichroism and nonlinear optical rotation and make it possible to observe dynamic chiral processes at ultrafast time scales.

Libration induced stretching mode excitation for pump-probe spectroscopy in pure liquid water.

We developed an experimental approach to study pure liquid water in the infrared and avoid thermal effects. This technique is based on libration induced stretching excitation of water molecules. A direct correspondence between frequencies within the libration and OH stretching bands is demonstrated.