title: Switchable amplification of vibrational circular dichroism as a probe of local chiral structure.
abstract: A new method to detect the vibrational circular dichroism (VCD) of a localized part of a chiral molecular system is reported. A local VCD amplifier was implemented, and the distance dependence of the amplification was investigated in a series of peptides. The results indicate a characteristic distance of 2.0±0.3 bonds, which suggests that the amplification is a localized phenomenon. The amplifier can be covalently coupled to a specific part of a molecule, and can be switched ON and OFF electrochemically. By subtracting the VCD spectra obtained when the amplifier is in the ON and OFF states, the VCD of the local environment of the amplifier can be separated from the total VCD spectrum. Switchable local VCD amplification thus makes it possible to "zoom in" on a specific part of a chiral molecule.
authors.affiliation: Molecular Photonics Group, Van 't Hoff Institute for Molecular Sciences, University of Amsterdam, Science Park 904, 1098 XH Amsterdam (The Netherlands).
authors.forename: Sérgio R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Domingos
authors.forename: Hans J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Sanders
authors.forename: František
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Hartl
authors.forename: Wybren J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Buma
authors.forename: Sander
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Woutersen
mesh_terms: D002942:Circular Dichroism; D005296:Ferrous Compounds / Q000737:chemistry*; D000075163:Metallocenes; D015335:Molecular Probes / Q000737:chemistry*; D015394:Molecular Structure; D010455:Peptides / Q000737:chemistry*; D014732:Vibration
chemical_list: D005296:Ferrous Compounds; D000075163:Metallocenes; D015335:Molecular Probes; D010455:Peptides; C004998:ferrocene
keywords: chirality; circular dichroism; local probes; peptides; structure elucidation