DFT Study of Geometrical and Vibrational Features of Sulfur Containing Amino Acids in Hydrated Media： L-Cysteine and L-Methionine

Geometry optimization at the B3LYP/6-31＋＋G＊ level of theory has been undertaken on clusters containing L-Met （L-methionine） or L-Cys （L-cysteine） surrounded by eight water molecules. The comparison of the structural parameters of L-Met and L-Cys with X-ray experimental values is in good agreement within 4.8%. This result shows that the privileged positions of water molecules and the possible hydrogen bonding network formed around the backbone of both AAs （amino acids） are adequate. Subsequent calculations of the harmonic vibrational modes followed by a post-processing treatment enable us to assign the vibrational modes of L-Met and L-Cys surrounded explicitly by eight water molecules. The frequencies of the assigned modes are in good agreement with available IR （infra red） and Raman values within 5%.