Publication: Specific versus Nonspecific Solvent Interactions of a Biomolecule in Water

In our combined experimental and theoretical work, we discovered a specific hydrogen bonding motif of the biomolecular building block indol, the chromophore of tryptophan, in water. Inspecting carbon and nitrogen core level electrons after x-ray ionization of indole solvated in water revealed specific solvent effects due to strong hydrogen bonding to nitrogen, that is N−H⋯OH2, as well as other nonspecific effects due to solvent polarization. The results demonstrate the importance of our investigations into microsolvated systems for understanding the dynamics of biomolecules in their natural aquatic environment.