The scope of this article is to present an overview of the Density Functional based Tight Binding (DFTB) method and its applications. The paper introduces the basics of DFTB and its standard formulation up to second order. It also addresses methodological developments such as third order expansion, inclusion of non-covalent interactions, schemes to solve the self-interaction error, implementation of long-range short-range separation, treatment of excited states via the time-dependent DFTB scheme, inclusion of DFTB in hybrid high-level/low level schemes (DFT/DFTB or DFTB/MM), fragment decomposition of large systems, large scale potential energy landscape exploration with molecular dynamics in ground or excited states, non-adiabatic dynamics. A number of applications are reviewed, focusing on -(i)- the variety of systems that have been studied such as small molecules, large molecules and biomolecules, bare or functionalized clusters, supported or embedded systems, and -(ii)- properties and processes, such as vibrational spectroscopy, collisions, fragmentation, thermodynamics or non-adiabatic dynamics. Finally outlines and perspectives are given. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT

In the fight against antibiotic resistance, gold nanoparticles (AuNP) with antibiotics grafted on their surfaces have been found to be potent agents. Ampicillin-conjugated AuNPs have been thus reported to overcome highly ampicillin-resistant bacteria. However, the structure at the atomic scale of these hybrid systems remains misunderstood. In this paper, the structure of the interface between an ampicillin molecule AMP and three flat gold facets Au(111), Au(110) and Au(100) has been investigated with numerical simulations (dispersion-corrected DFT). Adsorption energies, bond distances and electron densities indicate that the adsorption of AMP on these facets goes through multiple partially covalent bonding. The stability of the AuNP/AMP nanoconjugates is explained by large adsorption energies and their potential antibacterial activity is discussed on the basis of the constrained spatial orientation of the grafted antibiotic.

Saccharides, also commonly known as carbohydrates, are ubiquitous biomolecules, but little is known about their interaction with surfaces. Soft-landing electrospray ion beam deposition in conjunction with high-resolution imaging by scanning tunneling microscopy now provides access to the molecular details of the surface assembly of this important class of bio-molecules. Among carbohydrates, the disaccharide trehalose is outstanding as it enables strong anhydrobiotic effects in biosystems. This ability is closely related to the observed polymorphism. In this work, we explore the self-assembly of trehalose on the Cu(100) surface. Molecular imaging reveals the details of the assembly properties in this reduced symmetry environment. Already at room temperature, we observe a variety of self-assembled motifs, in contrast to other disaccharides like e.g. sucrose. Using a multistage modeling approach, we rationalize the conformation of trehalose on the copper surface as well as the intermolecular interactions and the self-assembly behavior.