1. Probing Ion/Molecule Interactionsin Aqueous Solutionswith Vibrational Energy Transfer.
- Author
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Li, Jiebo, Bian, Hongtao, Wen, Xiewen, Chen, Hailong, Yuan, Kaijun, and Zheng, Junrong
- Subjects
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IONS , *MOLECULES , *AQUEOUS solutions , *VIBRATION (Mechanics) , *ENERGY transfer , *THIOCYANATES - Abstract
Interactions between model molecules representing buildingblocksof proteins and the thiocyanate anion, a strong protein denaturantagent, were investigated in aqueous solutions with intermolecularvibrational energy exchange methods. It was found that thiocyanateanions are able to bind to the charged ammonium groups of amino acidsin aqueous solutions. The interactions between thiocyanate anionsand the amide groups were also observed. The binding affinity betweenthe thiocyanate anion and the charged amino acid residues is about20 times larger than that between water molecules and the amino acidsand about 5–10 times larger than that between the thiocyanateanion and the neutral backbone amide groups. The series of experimentsalso demonstrates that the chemical nature, rather than the macroscopicdielectric constant, of the ions and molecules plays a critical rolein ion/molecule interactions in aqueous solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2012
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