Evidence for water-mediated triplet-triplet energy transfer in the photoprotective site of the peridinin-chlorophyll a-protein

Experimental and theoretical studies indicate that water molecules between redox partners can significantly affect their electron-transfer and possibly also the triplet–triplet energy transfer (TTET) properties when in the vicinity of chromophores. In the present work, the interaction of an intervening water molecule with the peridinin triplet state in the peridinin–chlorophyll a–protein (PCP) from Amphidinium carterae is studied by using orientation selective 2H electron spin echo envelope modulation (ESEEM) spectroscopy, in conjunction with quantum mechanical calculations. This water molecule is located at the interface between the chlorophyll and peridinin pigments involved in the photoprotection mechanism (Chl601(602)–Per614(624), for nomenclature see reference [1]), based on TTET. The characteristic deuterium modulation pattern is observed in the electron spin-echo envelopes for the PCP complex exchanged against 2H2O. Simulations of the time- and frequency-domain two-pulse and three-pulse ESEEM require two types of coupled 2H. The more strongly coupled 2H has an isotropic coupling constant (aiso) of − 0.4 MHz. This Fermi contact contribution for one of the two water protons and the precise geometry of the water molecule at the interface between the chlorophyll and peridinin pigments, resulting from the analysis, provide experimental evidence for direct involvement of this structured water molecule in the mechanism of TTET. The PCP antenna, characterised by a unity efficiency of the process, represents a model for future investigations on protein- and solvent-mediated TTET in the field of natural/artificial photosynthesis.