Gas-Phase Synthesis and Intense Visible Absorption of Tryptophan-Gold Cations

Rodolphe Antoine (1) , Franck Bertorelle (1) , Michel Broyer (1) , Isabelle Compagnon (1) , Philippe Dugourd (1) , Alexander Kulesza (2) , Roland Mitrić (3) , Vlasta Bonačić-Koutecký (2)

1 LASIM - Laboratoire de Spectrométrie Ionique et Moléculaire
2 Institut für Chemie [HU Berlin]
3 Fachbereich Physik [Freie Univeristät Berlin] | Department of Physics [Freie Univeristät Berlin]

The color of gold: The tryptophan–gold cation was synthesized and its unique optical properties were studied experimentally and by ab initio calculations (see picture). The complex exhibits strong absorption in the visible region owing to charge-transfer excitations, which make gold complexes attractive for bioapplications.

Domaines: Sciences de l'ingénieur [physics]; Chimie; Physique [physics]

Rodolphe Antoine, Franck Bertorelle, Michel Broyer, Isabelle Compagnon, Philippe Dugourd, et al.. Gas-Phase Synthesis and Intense Visible Absorption of Tryptophan-Gold Cations. Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 2009, 48 (42), pp.7829-7832. ⟨10.1002/anie.200902882⟩. ⟨hal-03368121⟩