SPIN-TRAPPING AND ESR STUDIES OF THE DIRECT PHOTOLYSIS OF AROMATIC AMINO ACIDS, DIPEPTIDES, TRIPEPTIDES AND POLYPEPTIDES IN AQUEOUS SOLUTIONS—I. PHENYLALANINE AND RELATED COMPOUNDS

Abstract— The direct UV photolysis of l -Phe and peptides containing l -Phe in aqueous solutions has been investigated at room temperature. The short-lived free radicals formed during photolysis were spin-trapped by t -nitrosobutane and identified by electron spin resonance. During the photolysis of l -Phe the decarboxylation and the deamination radicals were spin-trapped. For N-formyl and N-acetyl- l -Phe the decarboxylation radicals were observed. For dipeptides containing Phe the decarboxylation radicals were observed and in some cases the deamination radicals from the N-terminal residue were found. For the tripeptides Gly- l -Phe- l -Ala and Gly-Gly- l -Phe, the C-terminal decarboxylation radical was spin trapped; for l -Phe-Gly-Gly only the deamination radical of the N-terminal residue could be detected. However, for Gly- l -Phe-Gly, five different radicals were identified. The results of the spin-trapping experiments of the 260 nm photolysis of RNase-S-peptide, containing 20 amino acid residues, was interpreted in terms of a chain scission between the alpha carbon of the Phe residue and the adjacent carbonyl group.