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The combination of conformation selective far-IR/UV double resonance spectroscopy with Born-Oppenheimer molecular dynamics (BOMD) simulations is presented here for the structural characterization of the Ac-Phe-Pro-NH2 peptide in the far-infrared spectral domain, i.e. for radiation below 800 cm(-1). Two conformers have been shown to be present in the experiment, namely a conformer with a γ-turn fold (C7 interaction) and a β-turn fold (C10 interaction). The combined experimental and theoretical work presented here aims to provide spectral features typical of each conformer in this far-IR domain. The simulated BOMD far-IR spectra agree well with the experimental spectra and allow direct assignment of the observed bands. These assignments show that the 400-550 cm(-1) spectral domain is conformer selective, allowing us to distinguish the H-bond signature of the γ-turn from the β-turn.

Mid-infrared (IR) hole burning spectra of the model tripeptide Z-Aib-Pro-NHMe (Z = benzyloxycarbonyl) in gas phase and its micro-clusters with one and two methanol molecules are presented. To establish a relation between experimental spectra and the underlying conformations, calculations at the DFT [B3LYP/6-311++G(d,p)] level of theory are performed. In particular, the intra-peptide and the peptide-methanol hydrogen bonds can be identified from spectral shifts in the amide I, II, and III regions. While the unsolvated tripeptide as well as its one-methanol cluster prefer a gamma-turn structure, a beta-turn structure is found for the two-methanol cluster, in agreement with previous condensed phase studies. Comparison of measured and simulated spectra reveals that the favorable methanol binding sites are at the head and tail parts of the tripeptide. The interconversions between gamma-turn and beta-turn structures are governed by potential barriers below 10 kJ mol(-1) inside one of the low energy basins of the potential energy surface.