Intramolecular excited-state proton-transfer studies on flavones in different environments

The absorption and fluorescence spectra of some biologically active flavones have been studied as a function of the acidity (pH/H0) of the solution. Dissociation constants have been determined for the ground and first excited singlet states. The results are compared with those obtained from Forster-Weller calculations. The acidity constants obtained by fluorimetric titration method are in complete agreement (in most of the systems) with ground state data indicating a excited state deactivation prior to prototropic equilibration. Compared to umbelliferones, flavones are only weakly fluorescent in alkaline solution. This behaviour is explained by the small energy difference between the singlet excited state and triplet excited state giving rise to more efficient intersystem crossing. Most of the flavones studied here undergo adiabatic photodissociation in the singlet excited state indicating the formation of an exciplex or a phototautomer.     

Time-resolved and steady-state fluorescence spectroscopy of eumelanin and indolic polymers

Eumelanin plays a variety of important physiological roles in human skin. However, its structure and fundamental properties still remain poorly understood. Although the absorbance of eumelanin is broad and reveals little about its structure, a variety of techniques have revealed the presence of a disordered array of chromophores within the melanin compound. In order to examine the fluorescence decay dynamics of these chromophores, time-resolved spectroscopy was applied to solutions of synthetic eumelanin and a melanin-like polymer of N-methyl,5-hydroxy,6-methoxyindole (N-Me-5H6MI). Solutions were excited with 80 fs laser pulses at 355, 370, 390 and 400 nm, and decay time courses were acquired at 20 nm intervals between 400 and 600 nm for each excitation wavelength. Decay profiles for both eumelanin and the polymer exhibited a characteristic multiexponential behavior with decay times between 0.5 and 15 ns, although steady-state spectra for the polymer exhibited only two peaks. The long-decay component in the polymer showed a significant decrease in both amplitude (30-5%) and decay time (14-6 ns) with increasing emission wavelength. In contrast, the amplitude and decay time in melanin increased slightly (10-15% and 7-10 ns, respectively) from 400 to 520 nm emission, at which point they leveled off. These trends were consistent for all excitation wavelengths. These results suggest that the multiexponential behavior of melanin fluorescence is characteristic of each oligomer within the eumelanin compound, and is consistent with the assertion that the diversity of constituents within eumelanin provides it with a robustness in spectral properties.     

2',7'-Difluorofluorescein excited-state proton reactions: correlation between time-resolved emission and steady-state fluorescence intensity

The presence of excited-state buffer-mediated proton exchange reactions influences the steady-state fluorescence signals from dyes in solution. Since biomolecules in general have some chemical groups that can act as proton acceptors/donors and are usually dissolved in buffer solutions which can also behave as appropriate proton acceptors/donors, the excited-state proton exchange reactions may result in distorted steady-state fluorescence signals. In a previous paper (J. Phys. Chem. A 2005, 109, 734-747), we evaluated kinetic and other pertinent parameters for the excited-state proton reactions of the prototropic forms of 2',7'-difluorofluorescein (Oregon Green 488, OG488), recording a fluorescence decay surface at different pH values and acetate buffer concentrations, analyzed by means of global compartmental analysis. In this article we use the rate constants and the corrected pre-exponential factors from the previously recorded fluorescence decay traces to simulate the decay times and associated pre-exponentials at different acetate buffer concentrations and constant pH and compare these theoretically calculated values with new experimental data. We also calculate the steady-state fluorescence intensity vs pH and vs acetate buffer concentration (at constant pH) and compare these calculated emission values with the experimental data previously published. The agreement between the experimental and simulated data is excellent.     

Influence of the solvent on the ground- and excited-state buffer-mediated proton-transfer reactions of a xanthenic dye

The buffer-mediated proton-transfer reactions of the fluorescent xanthenic derivative 9-[1-(2-Methyl-4-methoxyphenyl)]-6-hydroxy-3H-xanthen-3-one (TG-II) have been studied in different aqueous media. We have employed various buffers to investigate the influence of donor/acceptor systems with different anion and/or cation chemical constituents on the kinetic parameters of proton-transfer. The kinetic parameters were recovered both in the ground-state by means of Fluorescence Lifetime Correlation Spectroscopy (FLCS) and in the excited-state by means of Time Correlated Single Photon Counting (TCSPC) and Global Compartmental Analysis (GCA). Both ground- and excited- deprotonation and protonation recovered rate constants in the presence of either phosphate or acetate buffer as donor/acceptor systems were similar. The presence of Tris-HCl buffer does not promote the excited-state proton-transfer (ESPT) reaction. The results indicate the influence of the ions on the ground-state proton-transfer (GSPT) rates and concomitantly on the ESPT reaction. The proton-transfer rate constants recovered here show a trend correlated with the Hofmeister series or the Marcus classification of ions.     

Time-resolved and steady-state fluorescence spectroscopic studies of the human lens with comparison to argpyrimidine,pentosidine and 3-OH-kynurenine

The intrinsic fluorescence from the human lens on excitation in the UV region, referred to as blue lens autofluorescence, increases with age or in the presence of diabetes. The present study reveals that the relative contribution of compounds responsible for the blue autofluorescence appears to be a constant with age. Three potential candidates for the blue fluorescence were also studied with respect to fluorescence spectroscopic properties. These were argpyrimidine and pentosidine, both advanced glycation end products, and 3-hydroxykynurenine (3-OH-kynurenine), a photooxidative derivative of tryptophan. It was shown that the spectral properties of argpyrimidine and pentosidine are compatible with the observed blue fluorescence of the human lens, whereas the fluorescence from 3-OH-kynurenine is negligible.     

Imidazole-based excited-state intramolecular proton-transfer (ESIPT) materials: observation of thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TDF)

We report the first observation of thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TDF) from an excited-state intramolecular proton-transfer (ESIPT) molecule, a hydroxyl-substituted tetraphenyl imidazole derivative (HPI-Ac), in degassed solutions as well as in low-temperature organic matrixes. In the absence of oxygen, the blue emission of an identical spectral feature was observed in the nanosecond ( approximately 4.4 ns) and microsecond ( approximately 25 micros) time domains, and the fluorescence intensity increased with temperature. From the temperature dependence of the time-resolved spectra of HPI-Ac, the energy gap between the first-excited singlet state and the lowest triplet state was determined to be 7.6 +/- 0.3 kJ/mol (630 +/- 25 cm-1), and the limiting rate constant of intrinsic reverse intersystem crossing was estimated to be 1.3 (+/-0.5) x 107 s-1.     

Photochromic switching of excited-state intramolecular proton-transfer (ESIPT) fluorescence: a unique route to high-contrast memory switching and nondestructive readout

Aiming at the high-contrast photochromic switching of fluorescence emission and its perfect nondestructive readout, a polymer film highly loaded with a specific photochromic compound, 1,2-bis(2'-methyl-5'-phenyl-3'-thienyl)perfluorocyclopentene (BP-BTE), and an excited-state intramolecular proton-transfer (ESIPT)-active compound, 2,5-bis(5'-tert-butyl-benzooxazol-2'-yl)hydroquinone (DHBO), was employed in this work. The special class of photochrome, BP-BTE, has negligible absorbance at 415 nm both in the open form and in the 365 nm photostationary state (PSS), and the ESIPT fluorophore, DHBO, emits large Stokes' shifted (175 nm; lambda(max)(abs) = 415 nm, lambda(max)(em) = 590 nm) and enhanced fluorescence (Phi(F)(powder) = 10%, Phi(F)(soln) = 2%). Bistability, high-contrast switching (on/off fluorescence switching ratio >290), nondestructive readout (over 125000 shots), and erasability were all together accomplished in this novel recording medium.     

Steric control of the excited-state intramolecular proton transfer in 3-hydroxyquinolones: steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence study

3-Hydroxyquinolones (3HQs), similarly to their 3-hydroxychromone analogs, undergo excited state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) resulting in dual emission. In the ground state, 2-phenyl-3HQ derivatives are not flat due to a steric hindrance between the 2-phenyl group and the 3-OH group that participates in the ESIPT reaction. To study the effect of this steric hindrance on the ESIPT reaction, a number of 3HQ derivatives have been synthesized and characterized in different organic solvents by steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence techniques. According to our results, 2-phenyl-3HQ derivatives undergo much faster ESIPT (by nearly 1 order of magnitude) than their 2-methyl-3HQ analogs. Moreover, 1-methyl-2-phenyl-3HQ having a strongly twisted 2-phenyl group undergoes a two- to three-fold slower ESIPT compared to 2-phenyl-3HQ. These results suggest that the flatter conformation of 2-phenyl-3HQ, which allows a close proximity of the 2-phenyl and 3-OH groups, favors a fast ESIPT reaction. The absorption and fluorescence spectra of the 3HQ derivatives additionally confirm that the steric rather than the electronic effect of the 2-phenyl group is responsible for the faster ESIPT reaction. Based on the spectroscopic studies and quantum chemical calculations, we suggest that the 2-phenyl group decreases the rotational freedom of its proximal 3-OH group in the more planar conformation of 2-phenyl-3HQ. As a result, the conformations of 3HQ, where the 3-OH group orients to form an intramolecular H-bond with the 4-carbonyl group, are favored over those with a disrupted intramolecular H-bond. Therefore, the 2-phenyl group sterically favors the intramolecular H-bond and thus accelerates the ESIPT reaction. This conclusion provides a new understanding of the ESIPT process in 3-hydroxyquinolones and related systems and suggests new possibilities for the design of ESIPT based molecular sensors and switchers.     

Time-resolved fluorescence depolarization studies of rotational relaxation in viscous media

Rotational relaxation times (τ_roi) were measured for xanthene dyes in several n-alcohols, ethylene glycol and glycerol by following the fluorescence depolarization using a single photon counting technique. Additional studies were made of the fluidity of the hydrocarbon micellar interior using pyrene derivatives as fluorescent probes. While the correlation between τ_roi and viscosity for the smaller n-alcohols is good, as anticipated by the models of Stokes—Einstein—Debye and later Perrin, a saturation in this correlation is observed in more viscous systems in accordance with recent molecular dynamics calculations. The influence of molecular structure on both viscosity and rotational relaxation times is also discussed. Pyrene, 1-pyrene suphonic acid and 1-pyrene butyeric acid exhibit rapid reorientation τ_roi ? 10^?9 s, in glycerol and micellar systems.     

Conformer-dependent proton-transfer reactions of ubiquitin ions

The conformations of ubiquitin ions before and after being exposed to proton transfer reagents have been studied by using ion mobility/mass spectrometry techniques. Ions were produced by electrospray ionization and exposed to acetone, acetophenone, n-butylamine, and 7-methyl-1,5,7-triazabicyclo[4.4.0]dec-5-ene. Under the conditions employed, the +4 to +13 charge states were formed and a variety of conformations, which we have characterized as compact, partially folded, and elongated, have been observed. The low charge state ions have cross sections that are similar to those calculated for the crystal conformation. High charge states favor unfolded conformations. The ion mobility distributions recorded after ions have been exposed to each base show that the lowest charge state that is formed during proton-transfer reactions favors a compact conformation. More open conformations are observed for the higher charge states that remain after reaction. The results show that for a given charge state, the apparent gas-phase acidities of the different conformations are ordered as compact < partially folded < elongated.     

Resonance Raman intensity analysis of the excited-state proton-transfer dynamics of 2-hydroxybenzaldehyde in the charge-transfer/proton-transfer absorption band

Resonance Raman spectra were obtained for 2-hydroxybenzaldehyde (OHBA) in cyclohexane solution with excitation wavelengths in resonance with the first charge-transfer/proton-transfer (CT/PT) band absorption. These spectra indicate that the Franck-Condon region photodissociation dynamics have multidimensional character with motion predominantly along the nominal C=CH in-plane bend+ring deformation modes (nu9, nu10, nu14, nu16, nu18, nu19, nu20, nu26, nu30, nu31, and nu35) accompanied by a smaller amount of motion along the nominal C=O stretch mode (nu7), the nominal C=C-C(=O) in-plane bend modes (nu33 and nu37), and the nominal ring C-O-H in-plane bend modes (nu9 and nu14). A preliminary resonance Raman intensity analysis was done, and these results for the OHBA molecule were compared to results previously reported for the 2-hydroxyacetophenone (OHAP) molecule. Several proton-transfer tautomers in the ground and excited states were predicted from the results of B3LYP/cc-PVTZ, UB3LYP/cc-PVTZ, and CASSCF/cc-PVDZ level of theory computations. The differences and similarities between the CT/PT band resonance Raman spectra and the vibrational reorganizational energies for the OHBA molecule relative to those for the OHAP molecule are briefly discussed.     

Aggregation-induced emission enhancement of polycyclic aromatic alkaloid derivatives and the crucial role of excited-state proton-transfer

Aggregation-induced emission enhancement (AIEE) phenomenon is observed in the polycyclic aromatic alkaloid derivatives due to the configuration changes in the excited state, which is attributed to intramolecular proton-transfer and the formation of a new structure of enol form.     

Time-resolved fluorescence and light scattering studies of water-soluble block-copolymer micelles with polyelectrolyte shells

Fluorescently-tagged diblock polystyrene-block-poly(methacrylic acid) copolymers were prepared by anionic polymerization and subsequent hydrolysis. The copolymers dissolve in 1, 4-dioxane-rich/water solvents and form micelles which may be transferred into water and buffers by a stepwise dialysis. Fluorescence techniques and quasielastic light scattering (QELS) were used to study the properties of those micelles.     

Role of electron-driven proton-transfer processes in the excited-state deactivation of the adenine-thymine base pair

Exploratory electronic structure calculations have been performed with the CC2 (simplified singles and doubles coupled-cluster) method for two conformers of the adenine (A)-thymine (T) base pair, with emphasis on excited-state proton-transfer reactions. The Watson-Crick conformer and the most stable (in the gas-phase) conformer of the A-T base pair have been considered. The equilibrium geometries of the ground state and of the lowest excited electronic states have been determined with the MP2 (second-order M?ller-Plesset) and CC2 methods, respectively. Vertical and adiabatic excitation energies, oscillator strengths, and dipole moments of the excited states are reported. Of particular relevance for the photochemistry of the A-T base pair are optically dark (1)pipi* states of charge-transfer character. Although rather high in energy at the ground-state equilibrium geometry, these states are substantially lowered in energy by the transfer of a proton, which thus neutralizes the charge separation. A remarkable difference of the energetics of the proton-transfer reaction is predicted for the two tautomers of A-T: in the Watson-Crick conformer, but not in the most stable conformer, a sequence of conical intersections connects the UV-absorbing (1)pipi* state in a barrierless manner with the electronic ground state. These conical intersections allow a very fast deactivation of the potentially reactive excited states in the Watson-Crick conformer. The results provide evidence that the specific hydrogen-bonding pattern of the Watson-Crick conformer endows this structure with a greatly enhanced photostability. This property of the Watson-Crick conformer of A-T may have been essential for the selection of this species as carrier of genetic information in early stages of the biological evolution.     

Time-resolved studies of CN radical reactions and the role of complexes in solution

Time-resolved studies using 100 fs laser pulses generate CN radicals photolytically in solution and probe their subsequent reaction with solvent molecules by monitoring both radical loss and product formation. The experiments follow the CN reactants by transient electronic spectroscopy at 400 nm and monitor the HCN products by transient vibrational spectroscopy near 3.07 microm. The observation that CN disappears more slowly than HCN appears shows that the two processes are decoupled kinetically and suggests that the CN radicals rapidly form two different types of complexes that have different reactivities. Electronic structure calculations find two bound complexes between CN and a typical solvent molecule (CH(2)Cl(2)) that are consistent with this picture. The more weakly bound complex is linear with CN bound to an H atom through the N atom, and the more strongly bound complex has a structure in which the CN bridges Cl and H atoms of the solvent. Fitting the transient absorption data with a kinetic model containing two uncoupled complexes reproduces the data for seven different chlorinated alkane solvents and yields rate constants for the reaction of each type of complex. Depending on the solvent, the linear complex reacts between 2.5 and 12 times faster than the bridging complex and is the primary source of the HCN reaction product. Increasing the Cl atom content of the solvents decreases the reaction rate for both complexes.     

Electrolyte-concentration and ion-size dependence of excited-state intramolecular charge-transfer reaction in (alkylamino)benzonitriles: steady-state spectroscopic studies

Steady-state spectroscopic studies have been performed with three intramolecular charge-transfer molecules, 4-(1-azetidinyl)benzonitrile (P4C), 4-(1-pyrrolidinyl)benzonitrile (P5C), and 4-(1-piperidinyl)benzonitrile (P6C), in ethyl acetate and acetonitrile in presence of lithium perchlorate (LiClO(4)) at room temperature to investigate the effects of electrolytes on excited-state intramolecular charge-transfer reaction. Electrolyte-concentration and ion-size dependences of several spectroscopic properties such as quantum yield, absorption and emission transition moments, radiative and nonradiative rates, and changes in reaction free energies associated with LE --> CT conversion have been determined for these molecules and reported. For P4C, quantum yield decreases by a factor of approximately 7 at the highest electrolyte concentration relative to that in pure ethyl acetate whereas it is a factor of approximately 4 for both P5C and P6C. However, in acetonitrile with 1.0 M LiClO(4), quantum yield reduces to almost half of that in the pure solvent. Formation of a charge-transfer (CT) state is found to be strongly favored over the locally excited (LE) state as the electrolyte (LiClO(4)) concentration is increased, electrolyte effects being more pronounced in ethyl acetate than in acetonitrile. Relative to pure ethyl acetate, reaction free energy change (-DeltaG(r)) increases by a factor of approximately 5, approximately 4, and approximately 2 for P4C, P5C, and P6C, respectively, at 2.5 M LiClO(4) in this solvent. -DeltaG(r) for P4C exhibits a change in sign (from negative to positive) upon addition of electrolyte in ethyl acetate. In acetonitrile, however, these changes are within a few percent, except for P4C where it is about 4 times greater at 1.0 M LiClO(4) than that in pure acetonitrile. The electrolyte-induced total red shift of the CT band of these TICT molecules is 3 times higher in ethyl acetate than in acetonitrile. Although both the quantum yield and CT emission peak frequency decrease linearly with the increase in ion size, -DeltaG(r) remains largely insensitive. Further studies using a nonreactive probe (coumarin 153) in concentrated electrolyte solutions also show qualitatively similar results.     

Nanosecond time-resolved fluorescence studies on the excited-state relaxation of azaaromatic / metal oxide adsorbates

Fluorescence studies reveal that Brønsted-acid as well as Lewis-acid adsorption sites are involved in the interaction of azaaromatic molecules (acridine, benzo{f}quinoline) with metal oxid catalysts (alumina, silica-alumina). Time-resolved investigations indicate that the relaxation of the initially excited (Franck-Condon)-state to the thermally equilibrated excited-state occurs on the nanosecond time-scale even at room-temperature in the case of azaaromatic molecules which are co-ordinated to Lewis-acid surface sites. The slow formation of the equilibrated excited-state is assigned to restrictions of the mobility of the polar constituents (O^2-/OH-groups) within the adsorption complex.     

Aggregation-induced emission enhancement of 2-(2'-hydroxyphenyl)benzothiazole-based excited-state intramolecular proton-transfer compounds

A novel class of 2-(2'-hydroxyphenyl)benzothiazole-based (HBT-based) excited-state intramolecular proton-transfer (ESIPT) compounds, N,N'-di[3-Hydroxy-4-(2'-benzothiazole)phenyl]isophthalic amide (DHIA) and N,N'-di[3-Hydroxy-4-(2'-benzothiazole)phenyl]5-tert-butyl-isophthalic amide (DHBIA) has been feasibly synthesized and the properties of their nanoparticles in THF/H2O mixed solvent were investigated. Both compounds were found to exhibit aggregation-induced emission enhancement (AIEE) due to restricted intramolecular motion and easier intramolecular proton transfer in solid state. On identical experimental conditions, the emission of DHBIA aggregates increased more remarkably than that of DHIA. Different aggregation forms of these two organic compounds, due to the steric hindrance of a single tert-butyl group, could be responsible for the notably different degrees of the fluorescence enhancement. Their aggregation modes were investigated on the basis of time-dependent absorption, scanning electron microscope (SEM) images, and molecular modeling with theoretical calculation. The photophysical dynamics were also depicted based on the extremely fast ESIPT four-level cycle.     

Probing the behavior of confined water by proton-transfer reactions

The picosecond dynamics of a bifunctional and H-bonding molecule, 7-hydroxyquinoline (7HQ), has been studied in a reverse micelle with increasing water content. The fluorescence kinetics has a complex behavior as the water content is changed. All reactions are irreversible, and a two-step mechanism is invoked to explain the observations. H2O/D2O exchange and excitation energy effects show that the second step has a higher barrier and that the corresponding reaction occurs through tunneling. The results clearly indicate two regimes of water nanopool behavior switching at W0 approximately 5 (W0 = [water]/[surfactant]). Water collective dynamics explains these observations. The lower fluidity of confined water within the reverse micelle with respect to normal bulk water alters the related H-bond network dynamics and therefore is responsible for the slower proton-transfer processes.     

Imidazole-based excited-state intramolecular proton-transfer materials: synthesis and amplified spontaneous emission from a large single crystal

We have synthesized a novel class of imidazole-based excited-state intramolecular proton-transfer (ESIPT) materials, i.e., hydroxy-substituted tetraphenylimidazole (HPI) and its derivative HPI-Ac, which formed large single crystals exhibiting intense blue fluorescence and amplified spontaneous emission (ASE). Transparent, clear, and well-defined fluorescent single crystals of HPI-Ac as large as 20 mm x 25 mm x 5 mm were easily grown from its dilute solution. From the X-ray crystallographic analysis and semiempirical molecular orbital calculation, it was deduced that the four phenyl groups substituted into the imidazole ring of HPI and HPI-Ac allowed the crystals free from concentration quenching of fluorescence by limiting the excessive tight-stacking responsible for intermolecular vibrational coupling and relevant nonradiative relaxation. Fluorescence spectral narrowing and efficient ASE were observed in the HPI-Ac single crystal even at low excitation levels attributed to the intrinsic four-level ESIPT photocycle.