Issue 15, 2016

A dynamical approach to non-adiabatic electron transfers at the bio-inorganic interface

Abstract

A methodology is proposed to investigate electron transfer reactions between redox-active biomolecular systems (e.g. a protein) and inorganic surfaces. The whole system is modelled at the atomistic level using classical molecular dynamics – making an extensive sampling of the system's configurations possible – and the energies associated with the redox-active complex reduction are calculated using a hybrid quantum/classical approach along the molecular dynamics trajectory. The non-adiabaticity is introduced a posteriori using a Monte Carlo approach based on the Landau–Zener theory extended to treat a metal surface. This approach thus allows us to investigate the role of the energy fluctuations, determined by the dynamical evolution of the system, as well as the role of non-adiabaticity in affecting the kinetic rate of the electron transfer reaction. Most notably, it allows us to investigate the two contributions separately, hence achieving a detailed picture of the mechanisms that determine the rate. The analysis of the system configurations also allows us to relate the estimated electronic coupling to the structural and dynamic properties of the system. As a test case, the methodology is here applied to study the electron transfer reaction between cytochrome c and a gold surface. The results obtained explain the different electron transfer rates experimentally measured for two different concentrations of proteins on the electrode surface.

Graphical abstract: A dynamical approach to non-adiabatic electron transfers at the bio-inorganic interface

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
04 Jan 2016
Accepted
03 Mar 2016
First published
08 Mar 2016

Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2016,18, 10538-10549

A dynamical approach to non-adiabatic electron transfers at the bio-inorganic interface

L. Zanetti-Polzi and S. Corni, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2016, 18, 10538 DOI: 10.1039/C6CP00044D

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