TY - JOUR A1 - Eckert, Sebastian A1 - Niskanen, Johannes A1 - Jay, Raphael Martin A1 - Miedema, Piter S. A1 - Fondell, Mattis A1 - Kennedy, Brian A1 - Quevedo, Wilson A1 - Iannuzzi, Marcella A1 - Föhlisch, Alexander T1 - Valence orbitals and local bond dynamics around N atoms of histidine under X-ray irradiation T2 - Physical chemistry, chemical physics : a journal of European Chemical Societies N2 - The valence orbitals of aqueous histidine under basic, neutral and acidic conditions and their X-ray induced transformations have been monitored through N 1s resonant inelastic X-ray scattering. Using density functional ab initio molecular dynamics simulations in the core-hole state within the Z + 1 approximation, core-excitation-induced molecular transformations are quantified. Spectroscopic evidence for a highly directional X-ray-induced local N-H dissociation within the scattering duration is presented for acidic histidine. Our report demonstrates a protonation-state and chemical-environment dependent propensity for a molecular dissociation, which is induced by the absorption of high energy photons. This case study indicates that structural deformations in biomolecules under exposure to ionizing radiation, yielding possible alteration or loss of function, is highly dependent on the physiological state of the molecule upon irradiation. Y1 - 2017 UR - https://publishup.uni-potsdam.de/frontdoor/index/index/docId/46094 SN - 1463-9076 SN - 1463-9084 VL - 19 SP - 32091 EP - 32098 PB - Royal Society of Chemistry CY - Cambridge ER -