COLLABORATOR: Professor Roberto Righini's group (experiment) at Italy
DESCRIPTION: The molecular interactions of the carbonyl moieties at the polar interface of a phospholipid membrane are probed using nonlinear femtosecond infrared spectroscopy. Two-dimensional infrared correlation spectra separate inhomogeneous broadening and show a distinct cross peak pattern controlled by electrostatic interactions. The inter- and intra-molecular electrostatic interactions determine the inhomogeneous character of the optical response. Using molecular dynamics simulations, we extract from the spectra short-range structural correlations between carbonyls at the interface.
REFERENCE: V. Volkov, R. Chelli, W. Zhuang, F.Nuti, Y. Takaoka, A. Papini, S. Mukamel and R. Righini ¡°Electrostatic Interactions in Phospholipid Membranes Revealed by Coherent Two-Dimensional Infrared Spectroscopy¡± (submitted to NATURE)