Efficient calculation of charge-transfer matrix elements for hole transfer in DNA

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Tomas Kubar - , Technical University of Braunschweig (Author)
  • P. Benjamin Woiczikowski - , Technical University of Braunschweig (Author)
  • Gianaurelio Cuniberti - , Chair of Materials Science and Nanotechnology, TUD Dresden University of Technology, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research Dresden (Author)
  • Marcus Elstner - , Technical University of Braunschweig, Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (Author)

Abstract

We present a new computational strategy to evaluate the charge-transfer (CT) parameters for hole transfer in DNA. On the basis of a fragment-orbital approach, site energies and coupling integrals for a coarse-grained tight-binding description of the electronic structure of DNA are rapidly calculated using the approximative density functional method SCC-DFTB. The methodology is validated by extensive test calculations in comparison with DFT and ab initio reference data, demonstrating its high accuracy at low computational cost. Environmental effects are captured using a quantum mechanics-molecular mechanics (QM/MM) coupling scheme, and dynamical effects are included by evaluating the CT parameters along classical molecular dynamics simulations. This combined methodology allows for a realistic treatment of CT processes in DNA.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)7937-7947
Number of pages11
JournalJournal of Physical Chemistry B
Volume112
Issue number26
Publication statusPublished - 3 Jul 2008
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

PubMed 18543986
Scopus 47749098856

Keywords

Keywords

  • Density-functional theory, Electron-transfer, Long-range, Nucleic-acid, Scc-dftb, Duplex dna, Transport, Mechanism, Migration, Sensitivity