Issue 22, 2021

Phosphorus Kβ X-ray emission spectroscopy detects non-covalent interactions of phosphate biomolecules in situ

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.

Graphical abstract: Phosphorus Kβ X-ray emission spectroscopy detects non-covalent interactions of phosphate biomolecules in situ

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Edge Article
Submitted
03 Mar 2021
Accepted
27 Apr 2021
First published
29 Apr 2021
This article is Open Access

All publication charges for this article have been paid for by the Royal Society of Chemistry
Creative Commons BY license

Chem. Sci., 2021,12, 7888-7901

Phosphorus Kβ X-ray emission spectroscopy detects non-covalent interactions of phosphate biomolecules in situ

Z. Mathe, O. McCubbin Stepanic, S. Peredkov and S. DeBeer, Chem. Sci., 2021, 12, 7888 DOI: 10.1039/D1SC01266E

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications without requesting further permissions from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given.

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