テラヘルツ光は、タンパク質などの生体分子にねじれ振動を与え、その組成や構造が安全で有効なものかどうかを確認することができます。 Terahertz light creates twisting vibrations in biomolecules such as proteins, confirming whether their compositions and structures are safe and effective.
2022-03-21 ミシガン大学
<関連情報>
- https://news.umich.edu/twisted-vibrations-enable-quality-control-for-chiral-drugs-and-supplements/
- https://www.nature.com/articles/s41566-022-00969-1
生体分子の微結晶およびナノフィブリルにおけるカイラルフォノン Chiral phonons in microcrystals and nanofibrils of biomolecules
Won Jin Choi,Keiichi Yano,Minjeong Cha,Felippe M. Colombari,Ji-Young Kim,Yichun Wang,Sang Hyun Lee,Kai Sun,John M. Kruger,André F. de Moura&Nicholas A. Kotov
Nature Photonics
Published: 21 March 2022
Abstract
Chiral phonons are concerted mirror-symmetric movements of atomic groups connected by covalent and intermolecular bonds. Such lattice vibrations in crystals of biomolecules should be highly specific to their short- and long-range organizations, but their chiroptical signatures and structure–property relationships remain uncertain. Here we show that terahertz chiroptical spectroscopy enables the registration and attribution of chiral phonons for microscale and nanoscale crystals of amino acids and peptides. Theoretical analysis and computer simulations indicate that sharp mirror-symmetric bands observed for left- and right-handed enantiomers originate from the collective vibrations of biomolecules interconnected by hydrogen bonds into helical chains. The sensitivity of chiral phonons to minute structural changes can be used to identify physical and chemical differences in seemingly identical formulations of dipeptides used in health supplements. The generality of these findings is demonstrated by chiral phonons observed for amyloid nanofibrils of insulin. Their spectral signatures and polarization rotation strongly depend on their maturation stage, which opens a new door for medical applications of terahertz photonics.
