The energy differences between canonical and zwitterionic isomers of arginylglycine (ArgGly) at the CCSD/aug-cc-pVDZ level are too small (less than 1 kcal mol−1) to determine the dominant form in the gas phase from the energetic point of view. First-principles simulations have been performed for near-edge X-ray absorption fine-structure (NEXAFS) spectra and X-ray photoelectron spectra (XPS) at C, N and O K-edges, as well as for infrared (IR) spectra of neutral ArgGly. Noticeable spectral differences were found which enable the unambiguous identification of different neutral groups. We thus demonstrate X-ray spectroscopy as a powerful technique to study the conformation dependent chemical and electronic properties of neutral ArgGly.
