Hydrogen Bonding Comes to the Rescue

When light is absorbed by a biomolecule, it may initiate useful chemical reactions, or cause irreversible damage. Which process dominates depends not only on the molecule, but also on the network of hydrogen bonds that links it to the surrounding solvent or connects different submolecular groups. Russell Minns at the University of Southampton, UK, and coworkers from the Center for Free-Electron Laser Science in Hamburg, Germany, and the Central Laser Facility in Didcot, UK, have now elucidated the role of hydrogen bonding by comparing the effects of light absorption in a hydrogen-bonded molecular complex with those in isolated molecules.