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Conical intersection dynamics of the primary photoisomerization event in vision

Author

Listed:
  • Dario Polli

    (IFN-CNR, Politecnico di Milano, Piazza L. da Vinci 32, 20133 Milano, Italy)

  • Piero Altoè

    (Università di Bologna, V. F. Selmi 2, 40126 Bologna, Italy)

  • Oliver Weingart

    (Lehrstuhl für theoretische Chemie, Universität Duisburg-Essen, Universitätsstrasse 5, 45117 Essen, Germany
    Max-Planck-Institut für Kohlenforschung, Kaiser-Wilhelm-Platz 1, 45470 Mülheim an der Ruhr, Germany)

  • Katelyn M. Spillane

    (University of California at Berkeley)

  • Cristian Manzoni

    (IFN-CNR, Politecnico di Milano, Piazza L. da Vinci 32, 20133 Milano, Italy)

  • Daniele Brida

    (IFN-CNR, Politecnico di Milano, Piazza L. da Vinci 32, 20133 Milano, Italy)

  • Gaia Tomasello

    (Università di Bologna, V. F. Selmi 2, 40126 Bologna, Italy)

  • Giorgio Orlandi

    (Università di Bologna, V. F. Selmi 2, 40126 Bologna, Italy)

  • Philipp Kukura

    (University of Oxford, Physical and Theoretical Chemistry Laboratory, Oxford OX1 3QZ, UK)

  • Richard A. Mathies

    (University of California at Berkeley)

  • Marco Garavelli

    (Università di Bologna, V. F. Selmi 2, 40126 Bologna, Italy)

  • Giulio Cerullo

    (IFN-CNR, Politecnico di Milano, Piazza L. da Vinci 32, 20133 Milano, Italy)

Abstract

A quick look at vision The primary photochemical event in vision, isomerization of the 11-cis chromophore in rhodopsin to the all-trans form, is one of the fastest natural photochemical processes known, taking less than a millionth of a millionth of a second. The molecular details of reactions of such rapidity are a stiff challenge to experimenters, but Polli et al. now report the characterization of the reaction using ultrafast optical spectroscopy with sub-20-femtosecond time resolution and spectral coverage from the visible to the near infrared. The data confirm that rhodopsin's extreme reactivity results from a molecular funnel mechanism that involves a 'conical intersection' between the potential energy surfaces of the starting and product molecules.

Suggested Citation

  • Dario Polli & Piero Altoè & Oliver Weingart & Katelyn M. Spillane & Cristian Manzoni & Daniele Brida & Gaia Tomasello & Giorgio Orlandi & Philipp Kukura & Richard A. Mathies & Marco Garavelli & Giulio, 2010. "Conical intersection dynamics of the primary photoisomerization event in vision," Nature, Nature, vol. 467(7314), pages 440-443, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:467:y:2010:i:7314:d:10.1038_nature09346
    DOI: 10.1038/nature09346
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    Cited by:

    1. Giovanni Batignani & Emanuele Mai & Giuseppe Fumero & Shaul Mukamel & Tullio Scopigno, 2022. "Absolute excited state molecular geometries revealed by resonance Raman signals," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-10, December.
    2. Partha Malakar & Samira Gholami & Mohammad Aarabi & Ivan Rivalta & Mordechai Sheves & Marco Garavelli & Sanford Ruhman, 2024. "Retinal photoisomerization versus counterion protonation in light and dark-adapted bacteriorhodopsin and its primary photoproduct," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-14, December.

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