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The nonadiabatic photochemistry of 6-azauracil has been studied by means of the CASPT2//CASSCF protocol and double-ζ plus polarization ANO basis sets. Minimum energy states, transition states, minimum energy paths, and surface intersections have been computed in order to obtain an accurate description of several potential energy hypersurfaces. It is concluded that, after absorption of ultraviolet radiation (248 nm), two main relaxation mechanisms may occur, via which the lowest (3)(ππ*) state can be populated. The first one takes place via a conical intersection involving the bright (1)(ππ*) and the lowest (1)(nπ*) states, ((1)ππ*/(1)nπ*)(CI), from which a low-energy singlet-triplet crossing, ((1)nπ*/(3)ππ*)(STC), connecting the (1)(nπ*) state to the lowest (3)(ππ*) triplet state is accessible. The second mechanism arises via a singlet-triplet crossing, ((1)ππ*/(3)nπ*)(STC), leading to a conical intersection in the triplet manifold, ((3)nπ*/(3)ππ*)(CI), evolving to the lowest (3)(ππ*) state. Further radiationless decay to the ground state is possible through a (gs/(3)ππ*)(STC).

The photophysics and deactivation pathways of the noncanonical 5-azacytosine nucleobase were studied using the CASPT2//CASSCF protocol. One of the most significant differences with respect to the parent molecule cytosine is the presence of a dark (1)(nNπ*) excited state placed energetically below the bright excited state (1)(ππ*) at the Franck-Condon region. The main photoresponse of the system is a presumably efficient radiationless decay back to the original ground state, mediated by two accessible conical intersections involving a population transfer from the (1)(ππ*) and the (1)(nNπ*) states to the ground state. Therefore, a minor contribution of the triplet states in the photophysics of the system is expected, despite the presence of a deactivation path leading to the lowest (3)(ππ*) triplet state. The global scenario on the photophysics and photochemistry of the 5-azacytosine system gathered on theoretical grounds is consistent with the available experimental data, taking especially into account the low values of the singlet-triplet intersystem crossing and fluorescence quantum yields observed.

Proton/hydrogen-transfer processes have been broadly studied in the last fifty years to explain the photostability and the spontaneous tautomerism in the DNA base pairs. In the present study, the CASSCF/CASPT2 methodology is used to map the two-dimensional potential energy surfaces along the stretched NH reaction coordinates of the guanine-cytosine (GC) base pair. Concerted and stepwise pathways are explored initially in vacuo and three mechanisms are studied: the stepwise double proton transfer, the stepwise double hydrogen transfer, and the concerted double proton transfer. The results are consistent with previous findings related to the photostability of the GC base pair and a new contribution to tautomerism is provided. The C-based imino-oxo and imino-enol GC tautomers, which can be generated during the UV irradiation of the Watson-Crick base pair, have analogous radiationless energy-decay channels to those of the canonical base pair. In addition, the C-based imino-enol GC tautomer is thermally less stable. A study of the GC base pair is carried out subsequently taking into account the DNA surroundings in the biological environment. The most important stationary points are computed using the quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) approach, suggesting a similar scenario for the proton/hydrogen-transfer phenomena in vacuo and DNA. Finally, the static model is complemented by ab initio dynamic simulations, which show that vibrations at the hydrogen bonds can indeed originate hydrogen-transfer processes in the GC base pair. The relevance of the present findings for the rationalization of the preservation of the genetic code and mutagenesis is discussed.

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In this contribution, the multiconfigurational second-order perturbation theory method based on a complete active space reference wave function (CASSCF/CASPT2) is applied to study all possible single and double proton/hydrogen transfers between the nucleobases in the adenine-thymine (AT) base pair, analyzing the role of excited states with different nature [localized (LE) and charge transfer (CT)], and considering concerted as well as step-wise mechanisms. According to the findings, once the lowest excited states, localized in adenine, are populated during UV irradiation of the Watson-Crick base pair, the proton transfer in the N-O bridge does not require high energy in order to populate a CT state. The latter state will immediately relax toward a crossing with the ground state, which will funnel the system to either the canonical structure or the imino-enol tautomer. The base pair is also capable of repairing itself easily since the imino-enol species is unstable to thermal conversion.

The photophysics of 8-azaadenine (8-AA) has been studied with the CASPT2//CASSCF protocol and ANO-L double-ζ basis sets. Stationary equilibrium structures, surface crossings, minimum energy paths, and linear interpolations have been used to study possible mechanisms to populate the lowest triplet state, T(1)(3)(ππ*), capable of sensitizing molecular oxygen. Our results show that two main mechanisms can occur after photoexcitation to the S(2)(1)(ππ*) state. The first one is through the S(2)/S(1) conical intersection (((1)ππ*/(1)nπ*)(CI)), leading to the S(1) ((1)nπ*) state minimum, (S(1) ((1)nπ*))(min), where a singlet-triplet crossing, ((1)nπ*/(3)ππ*)(STC), is accessible. The second one starts with the ((1)ππ*/(3)nπ*)(STC) at the (S(2)((1)ππ*))(min), from which the system can evolve to the (T(2) ((3)nπ*))(min), with subsequent population of the T(1) excited electronic state, due to the ((3)nπ*/(3)ππ*)(CI) conical intersection.

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