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Updated: Aug 17, 2026

NMR 15N Relaxation Experiments for the Investigation of Picosecond to Nanoseconds Structural Dynamics of Proteins
Published on: November 1, 2024
Slow energy relaxation of macromolecules and nanoclusters in solution
F Piazza1, P De Los Rios, Y-H Sanejouand
1Institute of Theoretical Physics-LBS, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland. Francesco.Piazza@epfl.ch
Abstract:
Many systems in the realm of nanophysics from both the living and the inorganic world display slow relaxation kinetics of energy fluctuations. In this Letter we propose a general explanation for such a phenomenon, based on the effects of interactions with the solvent. Within a simple harmonic model of the system fluctuations, we demonstrate that the inhomogeneity of coupling to the solvent of the bulk and surface atoms suffices to generate a complex spectrum of decay rates. We show for myoglobin and for a metal nanocluster that the result is a complex, nonexponential relaxation dynamics.
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