Determination of Noncovalent Docking by Infrared Spectroscopy of Cold Gas-Phase Complexes

Abstract

Ties That Bind Almost by definition, effective catalysts bind their substrates for a very short time—releasing them quickly after helping them react and then moving on to bind new, as yet unreacted, substrates. This property engenders an efficient cycle, but it hinders study of the binding motif. Garand et al. (p. 694 , published online 19 January; see the Perspective by Zwier ) devised a technique to extract bound complexes from solution and freeze their conformations in cold, gas-phase clusters. Probing these clusters by vibrational spectroscopy in conjunction with theoretical calculations then allowed the sites of hydrogen bonding that hold the complexes together to be pinpointed.