Phosphorus Kβ X-ray emission spectroscopy detects non-covalent interactions of phosphate biomolecules in situ |
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Authors: | Zachary Mathe Olivia McCubbin Stepanic Sergey Peredkov Serena DeBeer |
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Institution: | Max Planck Institute for Chemical Energy Conversion, Stiftstr. 34-36, D-45470 Mülheim an der Ruhr Germany, |
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Abstract: | Phosphorus is ubiquitous in biochemistry, being found in the phosphate groups of nucleic acids and the energy-transferring system of adenine nucleotides (e.g. ATP). Kβ X-ray emission spectroscopy (XES) of phosphorus has been largely unexplored, with no previous applications to biomolecules. Here, the potential of P Kβ XES to study phosphate-containing biomolecules, including ATP and NADPH, is evaluated, as is the application of the technique to aqueous solution samples. P Kβ spectra offer a detailed picture of phosphate valence electronic structure, reporting on subtle non-covalent effects, such as hydrogen bonding and ionic interactions, that are key to enzymatic catalysis. Spectral features are interpreted using density functional theory (DFT) calculations, and potential applications to the study of biological energy conversion are highlighted.Phosphorus X-ray emission spectroscopy probes non-covalent interactions and electronic structure of phosphate biomolecules in both solid and solution samples. |
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