Looking at the Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) chromophore from a different perspective: A computational insight

Abstract

In the present contribution Density Functional Theory (DFT) has been applied to explore molecular dipole moment, frontier molecular orbital (FMO) features, chemical hardness, and the molecular electrostatic potential surface (MEPS) characteristics for optimized molecular geometry of the Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) chromophore p-hydroxybenzylideneimidazolinone (HBDI) both in its protonated (neutral) and deprotonated (anion) forms. The distribution of atomic charges over the entire molecular framework as obtained from Natural Bond Orbital (NBO) analysis is found to faithfully replicate the predictions from the MEP map in respect of reactivity map of HBDI (neutral and anion) and possible sites for hydrogen bonding interactions etc. The three dimensional MEP map encompassing the entire molecule yields a reliable reactivity map of HBDI molecule also displaying the most probable regions for non-covalent interactions. The differential distribution of the electrostatic potential over the neutral and anionic species of HBDI is authentically reflected on MEP map and NBO charge distribution analysis. Thermodynamic properties such as heat capacity, thermal energy, enthalpy, entropy have been calculated and the correlation of the various thermodynamic functions with temperature has been established for neutral molecule. More importantly, however, the computational approach has been employed to unveil the nonlinear optical (NLO) properties of protonated (neutral) and deprotonated (anion) HBDI. Also in an endeavor to achieve a fuller understanding on this aspect the effect of basis set on the NLO properties of the title molecule has been investigated. Our computations delineate the discernible differences in NLO properties between the neutral and anionic species of HBDI whereby indicating the possibility of development of photoswitchable NLO device.