Inner-Shell Excitation Spectroscopy of the Peptide Bond: Comparison of the C 1s, N 1s, and O 1s Spectra of Glycine, Glycyl-Glycine, and Glycyl-Glycyl-Glycine

Oscillator strengths for C 1s, N 1s, and O 1s excitation spectra of gaseous glycine and the dipeptide, glycyl−glycine, have been derived from inner-shell electron energy-loss spectroscopy recorded under scattering conditions where electric dipole transitions dominate (2.5 keV residual energy, θ ≈ 2°). X-ray absorption spectra of solid glycine, glycyl−glycine, glycyl−glycyl−glycine, and a large protein, fibrinogen, were recorded in a scanning transmission X-ray microscope. The experimental spectra are assigned through interspecies comparisons and by comparison to ab initio computed spectra of various conformations of glycine and glycyl−glycine. Inner-shell excitation spectral features characteristic of the peptide bond are readily identified by comparison of the spectra of gas-phase glycine and glycyl−glycine. They include a clear broadening and a ∼0.3 eV shift of the C 1s → π*CO peak and introduction of a new pre-edge feature in the N 1s spectrum. These effects are due to 1s → π*amide transitions introduc...