Engineering quantum optical responses of microtubules through tryptophan-network simulations and ultraviolet spectroscopy
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| Format: | Preprint |
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2026
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| _version_ | 1866915946117988352 |
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| author | Gassab, Lea Craddock, Travis J. A. |
| author_facet | Gassab, Lea Craddock, Travis J. A. |
| contents | Microtubules host dense ultraviolet-absorbing aromatic networks, suggesting an opportunity to engineer their optical response for biotechnology. Here we assess the feasibility of tuning microtubule fluorescence by combining an excitonic radiative-coupling model with molecular-dynamics-derived microtubule-like assemblies and steady-state absorbance and fluorescence measurements in microplate geometries. Simulations quantify how positional and orientational fluctuations reshape radiative rates and quantum yield, and predict how perturbing the tryptophan network by removing a specific site, adding an extra tryptophan at candidate binding pockets, or using mixed modification fractions can modulate emission. Experiments on porcine tubulin dimers and taxol-stabilized microtubules support these trends: polymerization enhances microtubule quantum yield at 280 nm and yields bounded changes at 295 nm due to scattering, while added L-tryptophan reproducibly quenches microtubules at both wavelengths. Together, theory and experiment provide evidence for chemically addressable tuning of microtubule quantum yield and motivate design rules for engineered microtubule photonics. |
| format | Preprint |
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arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2604_18604 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Engineering quantum optical responses of microtubules through tryptophan-network simulations and ultraviolet spectroscopy Gassab, Lea Craddock, Travis J. A. Biological Physics Quantum Physics Microtubules host dense ultraviolet-absorbing aromatic networks, suggesting an opportunity to engineer their optical response for biotechnology. Here we assess the feasibility of tuning microtubule fluorescence by combining an excitonic radiative-coupling model with molecular-dynamics-derived microtubule-like assemblies and steady-state absorbance and fluorescence measurements in microplate geometries. Simulations quantify how positional and orientational fluctuations reshape radiative rates and quantum yield, and predict how perturbing the tryptophan network by removing a specific site, adding an extra tryptophan at candidate binding pockets, or using mixed modification fractions can modulate emission. Experiments on porcine tubulin dimers and taxol-stabilized microtubules support these trends: polymerization enhances microtubule quantum yield at 280 nm and yields bounded changes at 295 nm due to scattering, while added L-tryptophan reproducibly quenches microtubules at both wavelengths. Together, theory and experiment provide evidence for chemically addressable tuning of microtubule quantum yield and motivate design rules for engineered microtubule photonics. |
| title | Engineering quantum optical responses of microtubules through tryptophan-network simulations and ultraviolet spectroscopy |
| topic | Biological Physics Quantum Physics |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.18604 |