A computational study of conformational interconversions in 1,4-dithiacyclohexane (1,4-dithiane)

Ab initio molecular orbital theory with the 6-31G(d), 6-31G(d,p), 6-31+G(d), 6-31+G(d,p), 6-31+G(2d,p), 6-311G(d), 6-311G(d,p), and 6-311+G(2d,p) basis sets and density functional theory (BLYP, B3LYP, B3P86, B3PW91) have been used to locate transition states involved in the conformational interconversions of 1,4-dithiacyclohexane (1,4-dithiane) and to calculate the geometry optimized structures, relative energies, enthalpies, entropies, and free energies of the chair and twist conformers. In the chair and 1,4-twist conformers the C-Hax and C-Heq bond lengths are equal at each carbon, which suggest an absence of stereoelectronic hyperconjugative interactions involving carbon-hydrogen bonds. The 1,4-boat transition state structure was 9.53 to 10.5 kcal/mol higher in energy than the chair conformer and 4.75 to 5.82 kcal/mol higher in energy than the 1,4-twist conformer. Intrinsic reaction coordinate (IRC) calculations showed that the 1,4-boat transition state structure was the energy maximum in the interconversion of the enantiomers of the 1,4-twist conformer. The energy difference between the chair conformer and the 1,4-twist conformer was 4.85 kcal/mol and the chair-1,4-twist free energy difference (deltaG degrees (c-t)) was 4.93 kcal/mol at 298.15 K. Intrinsic reaction coordinate (IRC) calculations connected the transition state between the chair conformer and the 1,4-twist conformer. This transition state is 11.7 kcal/mol higher in energy than the chair conformer. The effects of basis sets on the 1,4-dithiane calculations and the relative energies of saturated and unsaturated six-membered dithianes and dioxanes are also discussed.     

Resonantly enhanced multiphoton ionization and zero kinetic energy photoelectron spectroscopy of 2-indanol conformers

We report studies of a supersonically cooled 2-indanol using two-color resonantly enhanced multiphoton ionization (REMPI) and two-color zero kinetic energy (ZEKE) photoelectron spectroscopy. In the REMPI experiment, we have identified three conformers of 2-indanol and assigned the vibrational structures of the first electronically excited state for the two major conformers. Conformer Ia contains an intramolecular hydrogen bond between the -OH group and the phenyl ring, while conformer IIb has the -OH group in the equatorial position. We have further investigated the vibrational spectroscopy of the cation for the two major conformers using the ZEKE spectroscopy. The two conformers display dramatically different vibrational distributions. The ZEKE spectrum of conformer Ia shows an extensive progression in the puckering mode of the five member ring, indicating a significant geometry change upon ionization. The ZEKE spectra of conformer IIb are dominated by single vibronic transitions, and the intensity of the ZEKE signal is much stronger than that of conformer Ia. These results indicate an invariance of the molecular frame during ionization for conformer IIb. We have performed ab initio and density functional theory calculations to obtain potential energy surfaces along the dihedral angle involving the -OH group for all three electronic states. In addition, we have also calculated the vibrational distribution of the ZEKE spectrum for the puckering mode of the five member ring. Not only the vibrational frequencies but also the intensity distributions for both conformers have been reproduced satisfactorily. The adiabatic ionization energies have been determined to be 68 593+/-5 cm(-1) for conformer Ia and 68 981+/-5 cm(-1) for conformer IIb.     

Comparison of conformer distributions in the crystalline state with conformational energies calculated by ab initio techniques

Summary The conformational preferences of 12 molecular substructures in the crystalline state have been determined and compared with those predicted for relevant model compounds by ab initio molecular orbital calculations. Least-squares regression shows that there is a statistically significant correlation between the crystal-structure conformer distributions and the calculated potential-energy differences, even though the calculations relate to a gas-phase environment. Torsion angles associated with high strain energy (>1 kcal mol^-1) appear to be very unusual in crystal structures and, in general, high-energy conformers are underrepresented in crystal structures compared with a gas-phase, room-temperature Boltzmann distribution. It is concluded that crystal packing effects rarely have a strong systematic effect on molecular conformations. Therefore, the conformational distribution of a molecular substructure in a series of related crystal structures is likely to be a good guide to the corresponding gas-phase potential energy surface.     

Investigation of an acid-base and redox molecular switch: from bulk to the single-molecule level

In this work we investigate a new fluorescent molecular switch based on the interconversion between the fluorescent zwitterionic form (ZW1) and the non-fluorescent anionic state (MC2) of a spirocyclic Meisenheimer complex of 1,3,5-trinitrobenzene. Density functional theory molecular orbital calculations reveal that photo-induced electron transfer from a guanidine group to the trinitrocyclohexadiene fluorophore of the complex quenches the emission from MC2. Protonation, as well as coordination of other Lewis acids to the guanidine group, suppress the quenching mechanism and allow the complex to fluoresce. In agreement with the calculations, reversible on-off fluorescence switching of the ZW1-MC2 bulk system occurs by protonation-deprotonation of the guanidine moiety upon acid-base addition. Interestingly, spectroelectrochemical ensemble measurements show that switching of the ZW1-MC2 pair can also be attained electrochemically, thus unraveling the versatile functioning of this system. The ultimate limit of monitoring the reversible on-off operation of individual switch molecules is reached by means of single-molecule fluorescence spectroscopy, which demonstrates the potential of the ZW1-MC2 system to be used as a true single-molecule switch on the nanometer scale.     

A High Contrast Tri‐state Fluorescent Switch: Properties and Applications

A high contrast tri‐state fluorescent switch (FSPTPE) with both emission color change and on/off switching is achieved in a single molecular system by fusing the aggregation‐induced emissive tetraphenylethene (TPE) with a molecular switch of spiropyran (SP). In contrast to most of the reported solid‐state fluorescent switches, FSPTPE only exists in the amorphous phase in the ring‐closed form owing to its highly asymmetric molecular geometry and weak intermolecular interactions, which leads to its grinding‐inert stable cyan emission in the solid state. Such an amorphous phase facilitates the fast response of FSPTPE to acidic gases and induces the structural transition from the ring‐closed form to ring‐open form, accompanied with the “Off” state of the fluorescence. The structural transition leads to a planar molecular conformation and high dipole moment, which further results in strong intermolecular interactions and good crystallinity, so when the acid is added together with a solvent, both the ring‐opening reaction and re‐crystallization can be triggered to result in an orange emissive state. The reversible control between any two of the three states (cyan/orange/dark) can be achieved with acid/base or mechanical force/solvent treatment. Because of the stable initial state and high color contrast (Δλ=120 nm for cyan/orange switch, dark state Φ_F<0.01 %), the fluorescent switch is very promising for applications such as displays, chemical or mechanical sensing, and anti‐counterfeiting.     

Influence of turn (or fold) and local charge in fragmentation of the peptide analogue molecule CH3CO-Gly-NH2 following single-photon VUV (118.22 nm) ionization

The radical cationic reactivity of the peptide analogue molecule CH(3)CO-Gly-NH(2) is addressed both experimentally and theoretically. The radical cation intermediate of CH(3)CO-Gly-NH(2) is created by single-photon ionization of this molecule at 118.22 nm (~10.5 eV). The two most stable conformers (C(7) and C(5)) of this molecule exhibit different folds along the backbone: the C(7) conformer has a γ-turn structure, and the C(5) conformer has a β-strand structure. The experimental results show that the radical cation intermediate of CH(3)CO-Gly-NH(2) dissociates and generates a fragment-ion signal at 73 amu that is observed through TOFMS. Theoretical results show how the fragment-ion signal at 73 amu is generated by only one conformer of CH(3)CO-Gly-NH(2) (C(7)) and how local charge and specific hydrogen bonding in the molecule influence fragmentation of the radical cation intermediate of CH(3)CO-Gly-NH(2). The specific fold of the molecule controls fragmentation of this reactive radical cation intermediate. Whereas the radical cation of the C(7) conformer dissociates through a hydrogen-transfer mechanism followed by HNCO elimination, the radical cation of the C(5) conformer does not dissociate at all. CASSCF calculations show that positive charge in the radical cationic C(7) conformer is localized at the NH(2)CO moiety of the molecular ion. This site-specific localization of the positive charge enhances the acidity of the terminal NH(2) group, facilitating hydrogen transfer from the NH(2) to the COCH(3) end of the molecular ion. Positive charge in the C(5) conformer of the CH(3)CO-Gly-NH(2) radical cation is, however, localized at the COCH(3) end of the molecular ion, and this conformer does not have enough energy to surmount the energy barrier to dissociation on the ion potential energy surface. CASSCF results show that conformation-specific localization of charge in the CH(3)CO-Gly-NH(2) molecular ion occurs as a result of the different hydrogen-bonding interactions involved in the different molecular conformers.     

Photoelectron imaging of propanal by resonant multiphoton ionization via the 3s Rydberg state

We report the conformationally- and vibrationally-selected photoelectron spectroscopy of propanal obtained by resonance-enhanced multiphoton ionization (REMPI) using photoelectron imaging. These photoelectron spectra, employing (2 + 1) ionization via the (n, 3s) Rydberg transitions in the range from 365 to 371 nm, confirm that there are two stable conformer origins in the lowest ionic state, the cis conformer with a co-planar CCCO geometry and a gauche conformer with a approximately 119 degrees CCCO dihedral angle. From ab initio calculations at the B3LYP/6-311++G** level, we find the gauche conformer is slightly more stable, with the energy difference between two conformers determined to be only 65 cm(-1). In our photoelectron spectra, the vertical ionization potential (IP) for the cis conformer of propanal was then determined to be 9.999 (+/-0.003) eV, while that of the gauche conformer of propanal was estimated to be 9.944 eV. A long vibrational progression in the in-plane CCCO deformation vibrational mode, v, for the cis conformer is systematically observed in all photoelectron spectra in which this mode is excited, suggesting that the geometry of the ground ionic state is significantly different from that of the 3s Rydberg state, particularly along the v(15) coordinates.     

Isomerization mechanism of the HcRed fluorescent protein chromophore

To understand how the protein achieves fluorescence, the isomerization mechanism of the HcRed chromophore is studied both under vacuum and in the solvated red fluorescent protein. Quantum mechanical (QM) and quantum mechanical/molecular mechanical (QM/MM) methods are applied both for the ground and the first excited state. The photoinduced processes in the chromophore mainly involve torsions around the imidazolinone-bridge bond (τ) and the phenoxy-bridge bond (φ). Under vacuum, the isomerization of the cis-trans chromophore essentially proceeds by τ twisting, while the radiationless decay requires φ torsion. By contrast, the isomerization of the cis-trans chromophore in HcRed occurs via simultaneous τ and φ twisting. The protein environment significantly reduces the barrier of this hula twist motion compared with vacuum. The excited-state isomerization barrier via the φ rotation of the cis-coplanar conformer in HcRed is computed to be significantly higher than that of the trans-non-coplanar conformer. This is consistent with the experimental observation that the cis-coplanar-conformation of the chromophore is related to the fluorescent properties of HcRed, while the trans-non-planar conformation is weakly fluorescent or non-fluorescent. Our study shows how the protein modifies the isomerization mechanism, notably by interactions involving the nearby residue Ile197, which keeps the chromophore coplanar and blocks the twisting motion that leads to photoinduced radiationless decay.     

Electronic structure, molecular electrostatic potential and hydrogen bonding in DMSO-X complexes (X = ethanol, methanol and water)

In the present work, we have studied the electronic structure, molecular electrostatic potential (MEP) and hydrogen bonding in DMSO-ethanol, DMSO-methanol and DMSO-water complexes by employing the MP2 method. Different conformers were simulated on the basis of possible binding sites guided by molecular electrostatic potential topology. The stronger hydrogen bonded interaction lowers the energy of the conformer. Molecular electron density topology and natural bond orbital analysis were used to explain the strength of interactions. Experimental vibrations are also compared with the calculated normal vibrations. Blue shift is predicted for SC vibration in experimental and theoretical spectra as well. Molecular electrostatic potential and topology are used to understand the interaction strength of the conformer.     

Proton- and redox-controlled switching of photo- and electrochemiluminescence in thiophenyl-substituted boron-dipyrromethene dyes

A luminescent molecular switch in which the active thiol/disulfide switching element is attached to a meso-phenyl-substituted boron-dipyrromethene (BDP) chromophore as the signalling unit is presented. The combination of these two functional units offers great versatility for multimodal switching of luminescence: 1) deprotonation/protonation of the thiol/thiolate moiety allows the highly fluorescent meso-p-thiophenol-BDP and its nonfluorescent thiolate analogue to be chemically and reversibly interconverted, 2) electrochemical oxidation of the monomeric dyes yields the fluorescent disulfide-bridged bichromophoric dimer, also in a fully reversible process, and 3) besides conventional photoexcitation, the well separated redox potentials of the BDP also allow the excited BDP state to be generated electrochemically (i.e., processes 1) and 2) can be employed to control both photo- and electrochemiluminescence (ECL) of the BDP). The paper introduces and characterizes the various states of the switch and discusses the underlying mechanisms. Investigation of the ortho analogue of the dimer provided insight into potential chromophore-chromophore interactions in such bichromophoric architectures in both the ground and the excited state. Comparison of the optical and redox properties of the two disulfide dimers further revealed structural requirements both for redox switches and for ECL-active molecular ensembles. By employing thiol/disulfide switching chemistry and BDP luminescence features, it was possible to create a prototype molecular ensemble that shows both fully reversible proton- and redox-gated electrochemiluminescence.     

Molecular switch based on a biologically important redox reaction

Building on our earlier report of a single-molecule probe, we show how biologically important redox centers, nicotinamide and quinone, incorporated into a fluorophore-spacer-receptor molecular structure, form redox active molecular switches, with the photoinduced electron-transfer behavior of each depending on the oxidation state of the receptor subunit. The switch based on nicotinamide (3/6) is strongly fluorescent in its oxidized state (Phi(F) approximately 1.0) but nonfluorescent in the reduced state (Phi(F) < 0.001) due to electron transfer from the reduced nicotinamide to the photoexcited fluorophore. The fluorescence can be reversibly switched off and on chemically by successive reduction with NaBH(3)CN and oxidation with tetrachlorobenzoquinone and switched electrochemically over 10 cycles without significant degradation. A similar switch based on quinonimine turned out to be nonfluorescent in both reduced and oxidized states: in addition to a similar quenching mechanism in the reduced state, quenching also occurs in the oxidized state, due to electron transfer from the fluorophore to the receptor. Ab initio quantum chemical calculations of orbital energy levels were used to corroborate these quenching mechanisms. Calculations predicted photoinduced electron transfer to be energetically favorable in all cases where quenching was observed and unfavorable in all cases where it was not. Application of the perylene analogue as a biosensor has also been demonstrated by coupling the switch to the catalytic pathway of yeast alcohol dehydrogenase, a common NADH/NAD(+)-utilizing enzyme.     

Origin of methyl torsional barrier in 1-methyl-2-(1H)-pyridone

The laser induced fluorescence excitation and single vibronic excitation dispersed fluorescence spectra have been studied for supersonic jet cooled 1-methyl-2(1h)-pyridone. The methyl torsional bands and some low frequency vibrational transitions were assigned for both ground and excited states. The torsional parameters V(3)=244 cm(-1) and V(6)=15 cm(-1) for the ground state and V(3)=164 cm(-1) and V(6)=40 cm(-1) for the excited state were obtained. To get the insight into the methyl torsional barrier, ab initio calculations were performed and compared with the experimental results. Origin of potential barrier was traced by partitioning the barrier energy into changes in bond-antibond interaction, structural, and steric energies accompanying methyl rotation using natural bond orbital analysis. The role of local interactions in ascertaining the barrier potential reveals that its nature cannot be understood without considering the molecular flexing. The hyperconjugation between CHsigma(*) and ring pi(*) observed in lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) stabilizes the methyl group conformer that undergoes a 60 degrees rotation in the excited state with respect to that of the ground state, and it is the change in LUMO that plays important role in the excited state barrier formation.     

New diagnostic of the most populated conformer of tetrahydrofuran in the gas phase

The most populated conformer of tetrahydrofuran (C(4)H(8)O) has been diagnosed as the Cs conformer in the present study, jointly using experimental electron momentum spectroscopy (EMS) and quantum mechanics. Our B3LYP/6-311++G** model indicates that the C1 conformation, which is one of the three possible conformations of tetrahydrofuran produced by pseudorotation in the gas phase, is a transition state due to its imaginary frequencies, in agreement with the prediction from a recent ab initio MP2/aug-cc-pVTZ study (J. Chem. Phys. 2005, 122, 204303). The study has identified the fingerprint of the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) of the C(s) (12a') conformer as the most populated conformer. The identification of the C(s) structure, therefore, leads to the orbital-based assignment of the ionization binding energy spectra of tetrahydrofuran for the first time, on the basis of the outer valence Green function OVGF/6-31G* model and the density functional theory (DFT) SAOP/ET-PVQZ model. The present study explores an innovative approach to study molecular stabilities. It also indicates that energetic properties are not always the most appropriate means to study conformer-rich biological systems.     

Conformational stability and vibrations of aminopropylsilanol molecule

Density functional theory (DFT), using the B3-LYP/6-31G(d,p) method have been used to investigate the conformation and vibrational spectra of aminopropylsilanetriol (APST) NH2CH2CH2CH2Si(OH)3. The potential function for CCCSi torsion gives rise to two distinct conformers trans and gauche. The predicted energy of the more stable trans conformer is 337 cm-1 less than the energy of gauche conformer. The calculated barriers to the conformation interchange are: 1095, 2845 and 438 cm-1 for the trans to gauche, gauche to gauche and gauche to trans conformers, respectively. For the trans conformer the potential energy curve for the Si(OH)3 groups torsion in APST has been calculated changing the HOSiC dihedral angle. The barrier for the internal rotation of 3065 cm-1 has been obtained. The optimized molecular structure of APST dimer calculated for trans conformer has a SiOSi angle of 143.2 degrees, and a SiOSi bond length of 0.164 nm. A complete vibrational assignment for both conformers as well as for trans-dimer is supported by the normal coordinate analysis, calculated IR intensities as well as Raman activities. On the basis of the results, the vibrational spectra of APST aqueous solution and APST polymer have been analyzed. The average error between the observed and calculated frequencies is 14 cm-1.     

Conformational origin of glassy-state relaxation and ductility in aromatic polycarbonates

A new two-state conformational transition is proposed to explain the large, low-temperature mechanical loss peak seen in glassy polycarbonates. Restricted Hartree Fock ab initio calculations at the 6–31G7 level for diphenyl carbonate (DPC), a key model compound of bisphenol-A polycarbonate, reveal two inequivalent trans-trans carbonate-ring conformations both of which will exist in solution, melt or glassy states. These calculations appear to be the first high level ones (with full geometry optimization) reported for DPC, and the findings are consistent with earlier ab initio results for phenyl formate and other smaller model compounds and also with single-crystal X-ray data for DPC and oligomers. In addition to a trans-trans conformer of DPC with both phenyl rings on the same side of the carbonate unit (called the ‘syn’ conformer) which is seen in the crystalline state of DPC, an ‘anti’ conformer of lower energy is found, which has its two phenyl rings located on opposite sides of the plane of the carbonate unit. Analysis of these calculated ground state geometries and energies as well as experimental single crystal X-ray results indicates that the ‘anti’ conformer has the lowest energy in the gas phase and solution, while the ‘syn’ conformation is stabilized relative to the ‘anti’ in the bulk, probably because of aromatic ring interactions between neighbour chain segments. In the glassy state of either DPC or polycarbonate, one expects a nearly random mixture of ‘syn/anti’ conformers, and the prominent low-temperature mechanical loss peak observed in many polycarbonates is consistent with a molecular level two-state process consisting of ‘syn/ anti’ carbonate conformer conversions. These conformational transitions must involve rotation and translation of both the carbonate units and, most importantly, the neighbouring phenyl groups. The possible influence of these conformational changes and the accompanying correlated molecular motions on polymer ductility and ageing is briefly discussed.     

Structure and conformational dynamics of the dicyclopropyl ketone in the ground electronic state

Geometric parameters, harmonic and anharmonic vibrational frequencies, conformer energy differences and barriers to internal rotation were obtained for dicyclopropyl ketone (DCPK) in the ground electronic state through MP2, DFT, CCSD and CCSD(T) calculations. VFPA was used to improve the estimations of conformer energy differences and heights of barriers to internal rotation. The ab initio calculations demonstrated that there are three stable conformations of DCPK: the cis–cis, the cis–trans and the gauche–gauche. The energy of the gauche–gauche conformer is noticeably higher than the energy of the two other conformers, so this conformer was not found experimentally. To study the conformational dynamics of the DCPK molecule, one- and two-dimensional sections of the potential energy surface corresponding to the rotations of the cyclopropyl groups were calculated. These sections were used to calculate torsion transition energies and vibrational wave functions in anharmonic approach. It was found that there is a strong coupling of large-amplitude torsion motions in the area of the cis–cis and gauche–gauche conformers.     

DFT‐Aided Vibrational Circular Dichroism Spectroscopy Study of (−)‐S‐cotinine

The implementation of a strategy comprising the use of vibrational circular dichroism spectroscopy and DFT calculations allows determination of the solution‐state conformational distribution in (?)‐S‐cotinine, giving further proof of the extra conformer‐discriminating potential of this experimental technique, which may offer unique molecular fingerprints of subtly dissimilar molecular conformers of chiral samples. Natural bond orbital electronic structure calculations of the rotational barrier height between the two main conformers of the species indicate that hyperconjugative effects are the key force governing the conformational equilibrium. The negligible effect of the solvent’s polarity over both structure and conformational energy profile supports this result.     

Time resolved spectroscopy on Pigment Yellow 101 in solid state

The photochemistry of the fluorescent Pigment Yellow 101 (P.Y.101) in the crystalline phase is investigated combining time resolved vibrational and electronic spectroscopy. The experiments reveal a complex reaction dynamics spanning several orders of magnitude in time and including excited state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) from the initial trans-diol conformer. Following photoexcitation and the subsequent wavepacket motion out of the Franck–Condon region two tautomers, an excited trans-diol and trans-keto state are formed. The cis–trans isomerization of the keto form, which was experimentally observed and theoretically confirmed in DFT calculations in studies on P.Y.101 in solution is obstructed in the solid state, consequently the formation of the cis conformer is not directly observed. In addition, a long lived photoproduct with red shifted vibrational frequencies is identified. The life time of this intermediate is determined to be 50 μs, although an unambiguous assignment to a specific molecular configuration cannot be given at present.     

Relative stability,potential barrier and intensity parameters of the trans and cis isomers of fluoroacetyl fluoride: An ab initio study

Ab initio calculations have been performed to determine molecular geometries, relative stabilities and the potential barrier of the fluoroacetyl fluoride molecule. The calculations indicate the existence of two stable conformations, trans and cis, in agreement with experimental studies. The potential barrier presents a maximum around 80° and an energy difference of ⋍ 17.5 kJ mol⁻¹ with respect to the most stable conformer (trans). These calculations also confirm that this conformer is more polar than the cis form, with the total dipole moment oriented along the carbonylic bond. The intensity parameters of the trans and cis isomers in terms of their atomic polar tensors have been analysed using the “charge-charge flux-overlap” model. The calculations predict similar atomic polar tensors for both forms, suggesting practically equivalent electronic structures in the ground state.     

Role of electron-driven proton-transfer processes in the excited-state deactivation of the adenine-thymine base pair

Exploratory electronic structure calculations have been performed with the CC2 (simplified singles and doubles coupled-cluster) method for two conformers of the adenine (A)-thymine (T) base pair, with emphasis on excited-state proton-transfer reactions. The Watson-Crick conformer and the most stable (in the gas-phase) conformer of the A-T base pair have been considered. The equilibrium geometries of the ground state and of the lowest excited electronic states have been determined with the MP2 (second-order M?ller-Plesset) and CC2 methods, respectively. Vertical and adiabatic excitation energies, oscillator strengths, and dipole moments of the excited states are reported. Of particular relevance for the photochemistry of the A-T base pair are optically dark (1)pipi* states of charge-transfer character. Although rather high in energy at the ground-state equilibrium geometry, these states are substantially lowered in energy by the transfer of a proton, which thus neutralizes the charge separation. A remarkable difference of the energetics of the proton-transfer reaction is predicted for the two tautomers of A-T: in the Watson-Crick conformer, but not in the most stable conformer, a sequence of conical intersections connects the UV-absorbing (1)pipi* state in a barrierless manner with the electronic ground state. These conical intersections allow a very fast deactivation of the potentially reactive excited states in the Watson-Crick conformer. The results provide evidence that the specific hydrogen-bonding pattern of the Watson-Crick conformer endows this structure with a greatly enhanced photostability. This property of the Watson-Crick conformer of A-T may have been essential for the selection of this species as carrier of genetic information in early stages of the biological evolution.