Gastone Gilli and Paola Gilli
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199558964
- eISBN:
- 9780191720949
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199558964.003.0009
- Subject:
- Physics, Crystallography: Physics
Functional H-bonds are H-bonds which are significantly stronger than the surrounding ones and, for this reason, can play a specific role in the mechanism of action of important chemical or ...
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Functional H-bonds are H-bonds which are significantly stronger than the surrounding ones and, for this reason, can play a specific role in the mechanism of action of important chemical or biochemical processes. This chapter reports a preliminary collection of these bonds organized in a graphic gallery of cases with little discussion, a collection of themes which have already been, or deserve to be, investigated to unravel the true role played by the H-bond in natural systems. Themes treated include: RAHB-driven processes (prototropic tautomerism in heteroconjugated systems, secondary structure of proteins, and DNA base pairing); H-bond-controlled crystal packing; bistable H-bonds in functional molecular materials (ferro/antiferroelectric crystals, excited-state proton transfer); low-barrier charge-assisted H-bonds in enzymatic catalysis (the catalytic triad of serine proteases; and proton transmission in water chains (Grotthuss mechanism, gramicidine A channel, aquaporin channels).Less
Functional H-bonds are H-bonds which are significantly stronger than the surrounding ones and, for this reason, can play a specific role in the mechanism of action of important chemical or biochemical processes. This chapter reports a preliminary collection of these bonds organized in a graphic gallery of cases with little discussion, a collection of themes which have already been, or deserve to be, investigated to unravel the true role played by the H-bond in natural systems. Themes treated include: RAHB-driven processes (prototropic tautomerism in heteroconjugated systems, secondary structure of proteins, and DNA base pairing); H-bond-controlled crystal packing; bistable H-bonds in functional molecular materials (ferro/antiferroelectric crystals, excited-state proton transfer); low-barrier charge-assisted H-bonds in enzymatic catalysis (the catalytic triad of serine proteases; and proton transmission in water chains (Grotthuss mechanism, gramicidine A channel, aquaporin channels).
