AbstractGreen Fluorescent Protein (GFP) is a widely used fluorescent marker exhibiting two excitation peaks – a strong peak at 398 nm and a second at 475 nm, with the fluorescence at ca. 510 nm. Its molecular structure consists of a β-barrel composed of 11 β-strands and a central helix containing the fluorophore. Two different forms of the fluorophore – a protonated/neutral fluorophore and a de-protonated/anionic fluorophore – are thought to be responsible for the two distinct spectroscopic states. Notably, the isolated fluorophore in solution is efficiently quenched. Conformational flexibility within the protein cavity is an implicitly important factor that governs the photochemistry of GFP. However, the literature contains accounts of studies that reach conflicting conclusions, claiming that either the fluorophore's barrier to internal rotation is negligibly small or that the protein cavity is not complementary to a planar fluorophore. In this work, we calculate the torsional potential of one of the two exocyclic bonds that connect the two rings in the fluorophore, taking into account its immediate environment by applying a quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics method, with the ultimate aim of evaluating the protein-environment effects on the fluorescence.
A combined quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics study of the one- and two-photon absorption in the green fluorescent protein