Excitation of Biomolecules by Coherent vs. Incoherent Light: Model Rhodopsin Photoisomerization

Light-induced processes in biological molecules, which occur naturally in continuous incoherent light, are often studied using pulsed coherent light sources. With a focus on timescales, the relationship between excitation due to these two types of light sources is examined through a uniform minimal model of the photoisomerization of retinal in rhodopsin, induced by either coherent laser light or low level incoherent light (e.g. moonlight). Realistic timescales for both processes are obtained and a kinetic scheme involving rates for both coherent and incoherent light excitation is introduced, placing all timescales into a uniform framework. The rate limiting step in the natural light-absorption process is shown to be the low incoherent photon flux.     

Photoisomerization of diarylethylenes

Conclusions The absolute quantum yields of fluorescence and cis trans photoisomerization for naphthylethylenes in liquid and solid solutions at room temperature were measured by the methods of fluorescence and spectrophotometry.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 2, pp. 298–306, February, 1975.     

Photoisomerization of Phenylazoalkenes

(E)-Phenylazocyclohexene ( 1 ) undergoes photoisomerization to s-cis-(Z)-phenylazocyclohexene ( 2 ). Compound 2 reisomerizes to 1 at room temperature.     

Chiral Control of Gas-Phase Molecules using Microwave Pulses

Microwave three-wave mixing has emerged as a novel approach for studying chiral molecules in the gas phase. This technique employs resonant microwave pulses and is a non-linear and coherent approach. It serves as a robust method to differentiate between the enantiomers of chiral molecules and to determine the enantiomeric excess, even in complex chiral mixtures. Besides such analytical applications, the use of tailored microwave pulses allows us to control and manipulate chirality at the molecular level. Here, an overview of some recent developments in the area of microwave three-wave mixing and its extension to enantiomer-selective population transfer is provided. The latter is an important step towards enantiomer separation—in energy and finally in space. In the last section, we present new experimental results on how to improve enantiomer-selective population transfer to achieve an enantiomeric excess of about 40 % in the rotational level of interest using microwave pulses alone.     

Preparation of Substituted Dihydrofluorenones by Photoisomerization of Benzotropolone Derivatives

The photoisomerization of the Diels–Alder adduct formed between tetramethylpurpurogallin and maleic anhydride is described. The process is highly stereoselective, involves the β,γ-unsaturated ketone chromophore present in the adduct, proceeds through the formation of allyl and aroyl radical intermediates, and leads to a novel substituted dihydrofluorenone in good yields.

Photoisomerization kinetics of trifloxystrobin

The photoisomerization kinetics of trifloxystrobin (TFS) in acetone under artificial sunlight is reported. HPLC analysis showed the TFS, a strobilurine fungicide of EE conformation, was converted into an equilibrium mixture of four isomers after illumination for 7 h. The isomers were identified as EZ, EE, ZZ, and ZE and were separated in the crystalline form by preparative HPLC and characterized by use of a variety of spectroscopic techniques. The quantum yield and reaction constants for the isomerization reactions were determined. The detailed spectral features of the individual isomers measured by UV, IR, Raman, NMR and mass spectroscopy are presented and compared. The spectra of the isomers were found to be very characteristic, with good analytical significance.     

Photoisomerization of octyl methoxycinnamate

The octyl-p-methoxy-trans-cinnamate (E-OMC) was exposed to sunlight to induce the E to Z transformation. Octyl-p-methoxy-cis-cinnamate (Z-OMC) was then purified from the mixture of the E- and the Z-OMC using C-18-semi-preparative HPLC. The UV absorption of the Z configuration at various concentrations in various solvents was measured. Molar absorption coefficient of the compound was then calculated. By using the obtained molar absorption coefficient of Z-OMC and of E-OMC, E to Z photoisomerization of octyl methoxycinnamate (OMC) in various solvents at various concentrations could be monitored by C-18 HPLC using UV detector. The result indicates that equilibrium of photoisomerization depends upon concentration and polarity of the solvent used.     

Photoisomerization locking of azobenzene by formation of a self-assembled macrocycle

Reaction of an azobenzene-linked biscatecholate ligand with boron and titanium sources gave ring- and cage-shaped complexes in a self-assembly fashion, respectively. These complexes were inert to photoisomerization though the ligand itself was isomerized upon photoirradiation. The self-assembled macrocyclization caused inhibition of the photoisomerization.     

2‐Hydroxyazobenzenes to Tailor pH Pulses and Oscillations with Light

This paper evaluates the 2‐hydroxyazobenzene platform for tailoring proton concentration pulses and oscillations with monochromatic light. The easily prepared 2‐hydroxyazobenzenes exhibit large absorptions in the near‐UV range. Photoisomerization was investigated by UV/Vis absorption, ¹H NMR spectroscopy, and steady‐state fluorescence emission. In the whole investigated series, the trans stereoisomer of the 2‐hydroxyazobenzene motif provides the corresponding cis derivative with an action cross section in the 10³ M ^?1 cm^?1 range. At the same time, photoisomerization is accompanied by a significant pK drop of the phenol group. According to the phenyl‐substituent pattern, cis‐to‐trans thermal back‐isomerization can be tuned in the 10 ms–100 s range. Up to 2 units of reversible pH drops or pH oscillations on the 10 s timescale have been obtained by appropriately tailoring single‐wavelength illumination of 2‐hydroxyazobenzene solutions.     

9,10-二氰基蒽敏化的α-蒎烯的异构化反应

Frank曾报道了苯乙酮三重态敏化α-蒎烯价键异构化的工作.本文以9,10-二氰基蒽(DCA)为敏化剂,重点研究了苯溶液中α-蒎烯的异构化反应,确定反应产物为荣烯和顺式罗勒烯;同时对反应机制进行了简要的讨论. 实验仪器 Finnigan Model 4021 C型气相色谱-质谱联用仪.Shimadzu GC-7AG气相色谱仪.Hitachi MPF-4型荧光光谱仪.Hitachi 340型紫外-可见分光光谱仪. 试剂α-蒎烯为上海试剂一厂产品.气相色谱确定其纯度为97％,含3％β-蒎烯;DCA系伊思曼柯达公司产品;荣烯由黄岩桔子油提取,b.p.176℃,其IR、MS均与标准谱完全一致;顺式罗勒烯按文献[1]制备.     

Photoisomerization of alfa calcidol by a sensitized quantum chain reaction

The production of vitamin D3 is a pharmaceutically relevant process, producing high added-value products. Precursors are extracts from vegetal origin but bearing mainly an E geometry in the 5,6 double bond. The synthesis of vitamin D3 (5-E-α-calcidol) with the correct Z stereochemistry in the 5,6 double bond from the E isomer using anthracene and triethylamine (TEA) as the sensitizer system was studied from the kinetic and mechanistic point of view. The sensitized isomerization of E-calcidol by irradiation of anthracene takes place only in deoxygenated solution and yields the Z isomer in ca 5% yield in the photostationary state. When TEA is added to the system, the E-Z reaction is not inhibited by oxygen any more, the quantum yield of photoisomerization to the Z isomer grows linearly with the concentration of E-calcidol, while conversions higher than 95% to the Z isomer are reached in the photostationary state and E-Z quantum yields as high as 45 at [E-calcidol] = 25 mM are reached. If TEA is replaced by 1,4-diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane, the reaction rate drops to one-third at the same amine concentration. The observations can be explained by a quantum chain reaction mechanism. The high conversion achieved eliminates the need of isomer separation.     

Photoisomerization of perfluoroaryltetrahedranes to perfluoroarylcyclobutadienes

Two perfluoroaryl-substituted cyclobutadiene derivatives, 6 and 7, were prepared as air- and moisture-sensitive red solids by the photochemical isomerization of the corresponding tetrahedranes (4 and 5, respectively). Remarkably, the 9,10-dicyanoanthracene-sensitized photochemical reaction of 4 also proceeded, giving 6, and the mechanism of this reaction is also discussed. The first aryl-substituted cyclobutadienes were characterized by spectroscopic data as well as by X-ray crystallography for 6, showing a distorted rectangular structure with extremely long C-C single bonds.     

Control of the Structure and Functions of Biomaterials by Light

Vision and other light-triggered biochemical transformations in plants and living organisms represent a sophisticated biological processes in which optical signals are recorded and transduced as (physico)chemical events. Photoswitchable biomaterials are a new class of substances in which optical signals generate discrete “On” and “Off” states of biological functions, resembling logic gates that flip between 0 and 1 states in response to the changes in electric currents in computers. The (photo)chemistry of photochromic materials has been extensively developed in the past four decades. These materials isomerize reversibly upon light absorption, and the discrete photoisomeric states exhibit distinct spectral and chemical features. Integration of photoisomerizable (or photochromic) units into biomaterials allow their secondary functions such as biocatalysis, binding, and electron transfer to be tailored so that they can be switched on or off. This can be accomplished by chemical modification of the biomaterial by photoisomerizable units and by integration of biomaterials in photoisomerizable microenvironments such as monolayers or polymers. The photoswitchable properties of chemically modified biomaterials originate from the light-induced generation or perturbation of the biologically active site, whereas in photoisomerizable matrices they depend upon the regulation of the physical or chemical features of the photoisomerizable assemblies of polymers, monolayers, or membranes. Light-triggered activation of catalytic biomaterials provides a means of amplifying the recorded optical signal by biochemical transformations, and photostimulated biochemical redox switches allow its electrochemical transduction and amplification. The field of photoswitches based on biomaterials has developed extensively in the past few years within the general context of molecular switching devices and micromachinery. The extensive knowledge on the manipulation of biomaterials through genetic engineering and the fabrication of surfaces modified by biologically active materials enables us to prepare biomaterials with improved optical-switching features. Their application in optoelectronic or bioelectronic devices has been transformed from fantasy to reality. The use of photoswitchable biomaterials in information storage and processing devices (biocomputers), sensors, reversible immunosensors, and biological amplifiers of optical signals has already been demonstrated, but still leaves important future challenges.     

改进的半经典动力学模拟二苯乙烯光致顺反异构化反应

发展了一种改进的半经典动力学模拟方法, 并将其程序化用于气相二苯乙烯光致顺反异构化反应的机理研究.新的方法不仅采用e 指数模型改进了原有Zhu-Nakamura 理论中计算电子非绝热跃迁几率的计算方法, 而且将约束哈密顿方法用于限制性分子动力学模拟过程中. 计算结果表明, 采用此方法得到的统计平均的量子产率及反应机理与以前的实验与理论结果吻合较好, 从而可以应用于全量子动力学方法无法进行的大分子体系的动力学研究.     

Photoisomerization in different classes of azobenzene

Azobenzene undergoes trans→cis isomerization when irradiated with light tuned to an appropriate wavelength. The reverse cis→trans isomerization can be driven by light or occurs thermally in the dark. Azobenzene's photochromatic properties make it an ideal component of numerous molecular devices and functional materials. Despite the abundance of application-driven research, azobenzene photochemistry and the isomerization mechanism remain topics of investigation. Additional substituents on the azobenzene ring system change the spectroscopic properties and isomerization mechanism. This critical review details the studies completed to date on the 3 main classes of azobenzene derivatives. Understanding the differences in photochemistry, which originate from substitution, is imperative in exploiting azobenzene in the desired applications.