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Alexander A Voityuk

Publications and source records attributed to Alexander A Voityuk.

9 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Electronic coupling mediated by stacked [Thymine-Hg-Thymine] base pairs.

Very recently it has been shown that stable metal-mediated base pairs [Thymine-Hg-Thymine] can form in DNA. To estimate the effect of such pairs on the efficiency of charge transfer through DNA, we carry out quantum mechanical calculations of double-stranded pi-stacks GXG, GXXG, and GXXXG, where X = [Thymine-Hg-Thymine] and stacks GT(n)G of canonical base pairs. The charge-transfer efficiency in short duplexes GXG and GTG is found to be similar. However, the donor-acceptor coupling in GXXG and GXXXG is stronger by a factor of 2.5-3.0 than that in GT(n)G (n = 2 and 3), respectively. It is shown that the valence orbitals of Hg atoms do not essentially participate in mediating the electronic coupling for hole transfer; however, they may play an important role in excess electron transfer.

Base Pairing↗
PubMed2006

CASSCF/CAS-PT2 study of hole transfer in stacked DNA nucleobases.

CASSCF and CAS-PT2 calculations are performed for the ground and excited states of radical cations consisting of two and three nucleobases. The generalized Mulliken-Hush approach is employed for estimating electronic couplings for hole transfer in the pi-stacks. We compare the CASSCF results with data obtained within Koopmans' approximation. The calculations show that an excess charge in the ground and excited states in the systems is quite localized on a single base both at the CASSCF level and in Koopmans' picture. However, the CASSCF calculations point to a larger degree of localization and, in line with this, smaller transition dipole moments. The agreement between the CAS-PT2 corrected energy gaps and the values estimated with Koopmans' theorem is better, with the CAS-PT2 calculations giving somewhat smaller gaps. Overall, both factors result in smaller CASSCF/CAS-PT2 couplings, which are reduced by up to 40% of the couplings calculated using Koopmans' approximation. The tabulated data can be used as benchmark values for the electronic couplings of stacked nucleobases. For the base trimers, comparison of the results obtained within two- and three-state models show that the multistate treatment should be applied to derive reliable estimates. Finally, the superexchange approach to estimate the donor acceptor electronic coupling in the stacks GAG and GTG is considered.

Algorithms↗
PubMed2006

Estimation of electronic coupling in pi-stacked donor-bridge-acceptor systems: correction of the two-state model.

Comparison of donor-acceptor electronic couplings calculated within two-state and three-state models suggests that the two-state treatment can provide unreliable estimates of V(da) because of neglecting the multistate effects. We show that in most cases accurate values of the electronic coupling in a pi stack, where donor and acceptor are separated by a bridging unit, can be obtained as V(da) = (E(2)-E(1))mu(12)R(da) + (2E(3)-E(1)-E(2))2mu(13)mu(23)R(da) (2), where E(1), E(2), and E(3) are adiabatic energies of the ground, charge-transfer, and bridge states, respectively, mu(ij) is the transition dipole moments between the states i and j, and R(da) is the distance between the planes of donor and acceptor. In this expression based on the generalized Mulliken-Hush approach, the first term corresponds to the coupling derived within a two-state model, whereas the second term is the superexchange correction accounting for the bridge effect. The formula is extended to bridges consisting of several subunits. The influence of the donor-acceptor energy mismatch on the excess charge distribution, adiabatic dipole and transition moments, and electronic couplings is examined. A diagnostic is developed to determine whether the two-state approach can be applied. Based on numerical results, we showed that the superexchange correction considerably improves estimates of the donor-acceptor coupling derived within a two-state approach. In most cases when the two-state scheme fails, the formula gives reliable results which are in good agreement (within 5%) with the data of the three-state generalized Mulliken-Hush model.

Algorithms↗
PubMed2005

Electronic couplings in DNA pi-stacks: multistate effects.

In this study, we employ a multistate generalized Mulliken-Hush approach for calculating electronic couplings V(da) for charge transfer (CT) in DNA pi-stacks consisting of three, four, and five base pairs. In these systems the guanine donor and acceptor sites are separated by several (AT) pairs. The Hartree-Fock calculations of the stacks are carried out with the standard 6-31G basis sets. All possible superexchange pathways are accounted for. We examine electronic couplings estimated using the two-state and multistate models. Although for some systems the two-state scheme provides reasonable estimates of V(da), in general this simple model fails to reproduce the electronic couplings calculated with the multistate approach. The two-state treatment of pi-stacks with a tunneling gap less than 0.3 eV, for instance, GAAG and GAAAG, may lead to invalid estimates of V(da). We consider the dependence of V(da) on the length and composition of the bridge. The calculations show that V(da) is less sensitive to the arrangement of nucleobases in the bridge, as can be predicted on the basis of electronic couplings between adjacent base pairs.

Base Pairing↗
PubMed2005

Estimates of electronic coupling for excess electron transfer in DNA.

Electronic coupling V(da) is one of the key parameters that determine the rate of charge transfer through DNA. While there have been several computational studies of V(da) for hole transfer, estimates of electronic couplings for excess electron transfer (ET) in DNA remain unavailable. In the paper, an efficient strategy is established for calculating the ET matrix elements between base pairs in a pi stack. Two approaches are considered. First, we employ the diabatic-state (DS) method in which donor and acceptor are represented with radical anions of the canonical base pairs adenine-thymine (AT) and guanine-cytosine (GC). In this approach, similar values of V(da) are obtained with the standard 6-31G(*) and extended 6-31+ +G(**) basis sets. Second, the electronic couplings are derived from lowest unoccupied molecular orbitals (LUMOs) of neutral systems by using the generalized Mulliken-Hush or fragment charge methods. Because the radical-anion states of AT and GC are well reproduced by LUMOs of the neutral base pairs calculated without diffuse functions, the estimated values of V(da) are in good agreement with the couplings obtained for radical-anion states using the DS method. However, when the calculation of a neutral stack is carried out with diffuse functions, LUMOs of the system exhibit the dipole-bound character and cannot be used for estimating electronic couplings. Our calculations suggest that the ET matrix elements V(da) for models containing intrastrand thymine and cytosine bases are essentially larger than the couplings in complexes with interstrand pyrimidine bases. The matrix elements for excess electron transfer are found to be considerably smaller than the corresponding values for hole transfer and to be very responsive to structural changes in a DNA stack.

Base Pairing↗
PubMed2005

Are radical cation states delocalized over GG and GGG hole traps in DNA?

Recently, Kurnikov et al. (J. Phys. Chem. B 2002, 106, 7) have shown that solvation of DNA duplexes destabilizes holes of sizes larger than three base pairs. In this paper, we consider the effects of solvation and internal reorganization on the hole charge distribution in sequences 5'-X-GG-Y-3'. Radical cation states in DNA are found to be localized to a single guanine site independent of the nature of adjacent base pairs.

Base Composition↗
PubMed2005

Charge transfer in DNA: hole charge is confined to a single base pair due to solvation effects.

We include solvation effects in tight-binding Hamiltonians for hole states in DNA. The corresponding linear-response parameters are derived from accurate estimates of solvation energy calculated for several hole charge distributions in DNA stacks. Two models are considered: (A) the correction to a diagonal Hamiltonian matrix element depends only on the charge localized on the corresponding site and (B) in addition to this term, the reaction field due to adjacent base pairs is accounted for. We show that both schemes give very similar results. The effects of the polar medium on the hole distribution in DNA are studied. We conclude that the effects of polar surroundings essentially suppress charge delocalization in DNA, and hole states in (GC)(n) sequences are localized on individual guanines.

Base Composition↗