Investigating the mechanism of proton translocation in solution: from small chemical systems to biomolecules

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The major theme of research outlined in this proposal is the investigation of the mechanism of proton transfer reactions in aqueous solutions using computational approaches. These processes play a fundamental role in numerous chemical and biochemical transformations, including acid-base reactions, enzyme catalysis, substrate binding and energy transduction. Theoretical investigations of proton transfer reactions in bulk water, at the interface between aqueous and hydrophobic media, as well as in biologically-relevant systems have been actively pursued for at least two decades. However, with the recent advent of ultrafast, time-resolved vibration spectroscopy techniques, the aforementioned proton transfer processes can for the first time be directly probed with the relevant space and time resolution. This opens new opportunities for computational chemistry to contribute to the advancement of our fundamental understanding of proton transfer reactions.