Interplay of stereoelectronic and enviromental effects in tuning the structural and magnetic properties of a prototypical spin probe: Further insights from a first principle dynamical approach

The nitrogen isotropic hyperfine coupling constant (hcc) and the g tensor of a prototypical spin probe (di-tert-butyl nitroxide, DTBN) in aqueous solution have been investigated by means of an integrated computational approach including Car-Parrinello molecular dynamics and quantum mechanical calculations involving a discrete-continuum embedding. The quantitative agreement between computed and experimental parameters fully validates our integrated approach. Decoupling of the structural, dynamical, and environmental contributions acting onto the spectral observables allows an unbiased judgment of the role played by different effects in determining the overall experimental observables and highlights the importance of finite-temperature vibrational averaging. Together with their intrinsic interest, our results pave the route toward more reliable interpretations of EPR parameters of complex systems of biological and technological relevance.