INVESTIGATION INTO THE SPECTROSCOPY AND PHOTOISOMERIZATION OF A SERIES OF POLY (ETHYLENE GLYCOL) PEPTIDE SCHIFF BASES OF 11-cis RETINAL

Abstract— The 11-cis and all-trans isomers of a series of poly(ethylene glycol)-oligopeptide - Schiff bases as models for rhodopsin were synthesized and studied. Absorption data for certain of the PEG-peptide Schiff bases demonstrated that no intramolecular hydrogen-bonding (or protonation) occurs between the Schiff base and an acidic amino acid residue, as was previously thought. Photoisomerization of the 11-cis protonated and unprotonated Schiff bases were examined using both steady state and laser flash techniques. Also with 355 nm excitation (and additionally 532 nm in one case), an approximate 40% increase in quantum yield of isomerization (φ) occurred for all protonated PEG-peptide Schiff bases compared to the H⁺-n-butylamine counterparts (in methanol). In one case, a > 100% increase in φ was found in dichloromethane. These data show that PEG-oligopeptide Schiff bases are still further improved models for rhodopsin compared to their n-butylamine analogs.