Raman Optical Activity Spectra for Large Molecules through Molecules-in-Molecules Fragment-Based Approach

We present an efficient method for the calculation of the Raman optical activity (ROA) spectra for large molecules through the molecules-in-molecules (MIM) fragment-based method. The relevant higher energy derivatives from smaller fragments are used to build the property tensors of the parent molecule to enable the extension of the MIM method for evaluating ROA spectra (MIM-ROA). Two factors were found to be particularly important in yielding accurate results. First, the link-atom tensor components are projected back onto the corresponding host and supporting atoms through the Jacobian projection method, yielding a mathematically rigorous method. Second, the long-range interactions between fragments are taken into account by using a less computationally expensive lower level of theory. The performance of the MIM-ROA model is calibrated on the enantiomeric pairs of 10 carbohydrate benchmark molecules, with strong intramolecular interactions. The vibrational frequencies and ROA intensities are accurately reproduced relative to the full, unfragmented, results for these systems. In addition, the MIM-ROA method is employed to predict the ROA spectra of d-maltose, α-D-cyclodextrin, and cryptophane-A, yielding spectra in excellent agreement with experiment. The accuracy and performance of the benchmark systems validate the MIM-ROA model for exploring ROA spectra of large molecules.