Anab initio study of excited states of guanine in the gas phase and aqueous media: Electronic transitions and mechanism of spectral oscillations

Abstract

Ground state geometries of the four tautomeric forms keto-N9H, keto-N7H, enol-N9H, and enol-N7H of guanine were optimized in the gas phase at the RHF level using a mixed basis set consisting of the 4-31G basis set for all the atoms except the nitrogen atom of the amino group for which the 6-311+G* basis set was used. These calculations were also extended to hydrogen-bonded complexes of three water molecules with each of the keto-N9H (G9-3W) and keto-N7H (G7-3W) forms of guanine. Relative stabilities of the four above-mentioned tautomers of guanine as well as those of G9-3W and G7-3W complexes in the ground state in the gas phase were studied employing the MP2 correlation correction. In aqueous solution, relative stabilities of these systems were studied using the MP2 correlation correction and polarized continuum model (PCM) or the isodensity surface polarized continuum model (IPCM) of the self-consistent reaction field (SCRF) theory. Geometry optimization in the gas phase at the RHF level using the 6-31+G* basis set for all atoms and the solvation calculations in water at the MP2 level using the same basis set were also carried out for the nonplanar keto-N9H and keto-N7H forms of guanine. Thus, it is shown that among the different tautomers of guanine, the keto-N7H form is most stable in the gas phase, while the keto-N9H form is most stable in aqueous solution. It appears that both the keto-N9H and keto-N7H forms of guanine would be present in the ground state, particularly near the aqueous solution–air interface. Vertical excitation and excited state geometry optimization calculations were performed using configuration interaction involving single electron excitation (CIS). It is found that the absorption spectrum of guanine would arise mainly due to its keto-N9H form but the keto-N7H form of the same would also make some contribution to it. The enol-N9H and enol-N7H forms of the molecule are not expected to occur in appreciable abundance in the gas phase or aqueous media. The normal fluorescence spectrum of guanine in aqueous solution with a peak near 332 nm seems to originate from the lowest singlet excited state of the keto-N7H form of the molecule while the fluorescence of oxygen-rich aqueous solutions of guanine with a peak near 450 nm appears to originate from the lowest singlet excited state of the keto-N9H form of the molecule. The origin of the slow damped spectral oscillation observed in the absorption spectrum of guanine has been explained. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Comput Chem 21: 826–846, 2000