Denaturation of human serum albumin under the action of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide according to fluorescence polarization data of protein

Denaturation of human serum albumin (HSA) under the action of cationic detergent cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) is studied at different pH values by estimating the rotational diffusion of protein via fluorescence polarization. The degree of polarization of HSA tryptophan fluorescence, the rotational relaxation time, the rotational diffusion coefficient and the effective Einstein radius of the HSA molecules in solutions with different CTAB concentrations at different pH values are determined. The obtained rotational diffusion parameters of the HSA molecules show that under the action of CTAB, HSA denaturation has a one-stage character and proceeds more intensely and effectively at pH values higher than the pI value of protein (4.7).     

Rotational diffusion of fluorescein family markers in solutions of human serum albumin

Rotational diffusion of fluorescein family nanomarkers (initial fluorescein and its halogenated derivatives, eosin and erythrosine) in solutions of human serum albumin (HSA) was studied at various pH values. In solutions of HSA, the degree of fluorescence polarization, rotational relaxation time, and Einstein radius of nanomarkers are larger and the rotational diffusion coefficient of nanomarkers smaller than in solutions without the protein. An increase in the electronegativity of atoms in the structural formulas of nanomarkers increases the degree of polarization of their fluorescence, decreases the coefficient of their rotational diffusion, and increases rotational relaxation time and the effective Einstein radius.     

Anisotrophy of rotational diffusion of excited molecules in solution

The principal values of the rotational diffusion tensor of perylene and 9,10-dimethylanthracene in ethanol are evaluated from temperature-dependence measurements of the degree of fluorescence polarization upon exciting the molecules into two perpendicularly polarized transitions.     

Rotational brownian motion and fluorescence intensify fluctuations

A theory, which connects rotational brownian motion with intensity fluctuations of the light emitted from fluorescent molecules excited by linearly polarized light, is given. Analysis of rotational diffusion in this way does not depend on the close relationship between fluorescence lifetime and rotational relaxation times, which is necessary in present methods and thus makes an enlarged time range available for fluorescence spectroscopy.When short fluorescence lifetimes are used the rotational diffusion of the molecule in its ground state will be observed.     

Denaturation of bovine serum albumin under the action of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide, according to data from fluorescence analysis

The tryptophan fluorescence of bovine serum albumin (BSA) in solutions with different concentrations of cationic detergent cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) at different pH is investigated, providing information on BSA denaturation under the action of CTAB. It is found that BSA denaturation under the action of CTAB at all of the investigated pH values (3.5–8.0) is a single-stage process, as determined by BSA tryptophan fluorescence quenching, by an increased degree of the BSA tryptophan fluorescence polarization, and by the values of the parameters for the rotational diffusion of BSA molecules in CTAB solutions. It is shown that the cationic detergent CTAB is more efficient for BSA denaturation at pH values higher than the BSA isoelectric point (4.9).     

Rotational diffusion of bovine serum albumin denaturated by sodium dodecylsulfate,According to data from tryptophan fluorescence

The rotational diffusion of bovine serum albumin (BSA) molecules in solutions with different concentrations of the anionic detergent sodium dodecylsulfate (SDS) at different pH values is investigated, yielding information on the denaturation of BSA under the action of SDS. It is found from the increased degree of polarization in the tryptophan fluorescence of BSA and the registered parameters for the rotational diffusion of BSA molecules that the denaturation of BSA under the action of SDS at pH values less than the isoelectric point (pI) of BSA (4–9) is a two-stage process. It is shown that the first stage of BSA denaturation common for all pH values is the decondensation of BSA globules, while the second stage of BSA denaturation at pH greater than the pI of BSA is the unfolding of the protein’s amino acid chain. It is concluded that the denaturation of BSA under the action of SDS proceeds more deeply at pH values greater than the pI of BSA.     

Dynamics of 4-benzylamino-7-nitrobenzofurazan in the 1-propanol/water binary solvent system. Evidence for composition-dependent solvent organization

We report on the fluorescence lifetime and rotational diffusion dynamics of 4-benzylamino-7-nitrobenzofurazan (BBD) in a series of 1-propanol/water binary solvent systems. The fluorescence lifetime of BBD increases monotonically with increasing 1-propanol concentration. The rotational diffusion dynamics of BBD also vary with solution 1-propanol content, but this variation is not monotonic. Comparison of the BBD rotational diffusion time constant to solution viscosity and 1-propanol composition reveals the presence of a solution composition dependence of solvent-solute interactions, with a relative decrease in solvent-solute interaction strength for solvent system compositions where the 1-propanol/water azeotrope is known to exist. These data point collectively to the existence of microscopic heterogeneity in these binary solvent systems.     

Rotational and translational diffusion of peptide-coated CdSe/CdS/ZnS nanorods studied by fluorescence correlation spectroscopy

CdSe/CdS/ZnS nanorods (NRs) of three aspect ratios were coated with phytochelatin-related peptides and studied using fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS). Theoretical predictions of the NRs' rotational diffusion contribution to the correlation curves were experimentally confirmed. We monitored rotational and translational diffusion of NRs and extracted hydrodynamic radii from the extracted diffusion constants. Translational and rotational diffusion constants (D(trans) and D(rot)) for NRs were in good agreement with Tirado and Garcia de la Torre's as well as with Broersma's theories when accounting for the ligand dimensions. NRs fall in the size range where rotational diffusion can be monitored with higher sensitivity than translational diffusion due to a steeper length dependence, D(rot) approximately L(-)(3) versus D(trans) approximately L(-)(1). By titrating peptide-coated NRs with bovine serum albumin, we monitored (nonspecific) binding through rotational diffusion and showed that D(rot) is an advantageous observable for monitoring binding. Monitoring rotational diffusion of bioconjugated NRs using FCS might prove to be useful for observing binding and conformational dynamics in biological systems.     

Picosecond time-resolved fluorescence study on solute-solvent interaction of 2-aminoquinoline in room-temperature ionic liquids: aromaticity of imidazolium-based ionic liquids

Time-resolved fluorescence spectra and fluorescence anisotropy decay of 2-aminoquinoline (2AQ) have been measured in eight room-temperature ionic liquids, including five imidazolium-based aromatic ionic liquids and three nonaromatic ionic liquids. The same experiments have also been carried out in several ordinary molecular liquids for comparison. The observed time-resolved fluorescence spectra indicate the formation of pi-pi aromatic complexes of 2AQ in some of the aromatic ionic liquids but not in the nonaromatic ionic liquids. The fluorescence anisotropy decay data show unusually slow rotational diffusion of 2AQ in the aromatic ionic liquids, suggesting the formation of solute-solvent complexes. The probe 2AQ molecule is likely to be incorporated in the possible local structure of ionic liquids, and hence the anisotropy decays only through the rotation of the whole local structure, making the apparent rotational diffusion of 2AQ slow. The rotational diffusion time decreases rapidly by adding a small amount of acetonitrile to the solution. This observation is interpreted in terms of the local structure formation in the aromatic ionic liquids and its destruction by acetonitrile. No unusual behavior upon addition of acetonitrile has been found for the nonaromatic ionic liquids. It is argued that the aromaticity of the imidazolium cation plays a key role in the local structure formation in imidazolium-based ionic liquids.     

Compartmental modeling of reversible intermolecular two-state excited-state processes coupled with rotational diffusion or with added quencher

Analysis of related time-resolved fluorescence measurements can possibly lead to the determination of the kinetic parameters of excited-state processes. A deterministic identifiability analysis on an error-free fluorescence decay data surface has to be executed to verify whether the parameters of a particular model can be determined and may point to the minimal experimental conditions under which this will become possible. In this work, similarity transformation is chosen as an identifiability analysis approach because it also gives the explicit relationships between the true and alternative model parameters. Results are presented for two kinetic models of a reversible intermolecular two-state excited-state process in isotropic environments: (a) with coupled species-dependent rotational diffusion described by Brownian reorientation and (b) with added quencher. For model a, both spherically and cylindrically symmetric rotors, with no change in the principal axes of rotation in the latter, are considered. The fluorescence delta-response functions I(parallel)(t) and I(perpendicular)(t), for fluorescence polarized respectively parallel and perpendicular to the electric vector of linearly polarized excitation, are used to define the sum S(t) = I( parallel)(t) + 2 I( perpendicular)(t) and the difference D(t) = I(parallel)(t) - I(perpendicular)(t) function. The identifiability analysis is carried out using the S(t) and D(t) functions. The analysis involving S(t) shows that two physically acceptable possible solutions for the overall rate constants of the excited-state process exist. Inclusion of information from polarized fluorescence measurements on the rotational kinetic behavior contained in D(t) results in the unique set of rate constants and rotational diffusion coefficients when the rotational diffusion coefficients are different. For model b, it is shown that addition of quencher plays formally the same role as rotational diffusion as far as the identification is concerned. When the quenching rate constants are different, the rate constants of a reversible intermolecular two-state excited-state process with added quencher can be uniquely determined.     

Diffusivity of asphaltene molecules by fluorescence correlation spectroscopy

Using fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) we measure the translational diffusion coefficient of asphaltene molecules in toluene at extremely low concentrations (0.03-3.0 mg/L): where aggregation does not occur. We find that the translational diffusion coefficient of asphaltene molecules in toluene is about 0.35 x 10(-5) cm(2)/s at room temperature. This diffusion coefficient corresponds to a hydrodynamic radius of approximately 1 nm. These data confirm previously estimated size from rotational diffusion studied using fluorescence depolarization. The implication of this concurrence is that asphaltene molecular structures are monomeric, not polymeric.     

Level decay and orientational kinetics of the rhodamine B monomer and dimer

The population kinetics and the rotational diffusion of the rhodamine B monomer and dimer were measured by using picosecond pulses from a mode-locked Nd : YAG laser to induce and time resolve the concentration-dependent transient absorption saturation of various aqueous solutions of this organic dye.     

Modulated anisotropy fluorescence for quantitative determination of carbaryl and benomyl

Two individual components in mixtures have been resolved by frequency domain fluorescence technique by measuring the observable quantities which characterize the anisotropy decay; differential anisotropy phase and modulated anisotropy ratio (MAR), which in turn are related to the rotational correlation time. The method presented here is capable of directly resolving binaries mixtures of fluorophores on the basis of differences in their rotational diffusion rates. Our results demonstrate that modulation anisotropy ratio measurements can be used for quantitative determination of small analytes, carbaryl and benomyl, having identical or nearly identical fluorescence spectra. This methodology can be applied with good results when the fluorophores have a suitable MAR difference.     

Self-diffusion of rodlike and spherical particles in a matrix of charged colloidal spheres: a comparison between fluorescence recovery after photobleaching and fluorescence correlation spectroscopy

The fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) method and the fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) have been applied on suspensions of highly charged colloidal spheres with a small content of rod-shaped tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) particles. Since these methods only determine the self-diffusion coefficient of the fluorescently labeled species, D(S) of the rods and the spheres could independently be measured. The ionic strength of the dispersion medium has been varied to measure self-diffusion of rods and spheres in dependence on the degree of order of the matrix spheres. In contrast to FRAP, which allows the determination of the long-time self-diffusion coefficient D(S) (L), FCS measures self-diffusion on a shorter time scale. Thus a comparison of the results that were obtained by FCS and FRAP, in combination with Brownian Dynamics simulations, gives insight into the time dependence of the self-diffusion coefficient of an interacting colloidal system. As the mean interparticle distance of the matrix is of the same order of magnitude as the length of a TMV rod, the rotational motion is influenced by the assembly of spheres around a TMV particle. Since FCS is sensitive both to translational and rotational motion, whereas FRAP, which probes the diffusion at much larger length scales, is only sensitive to the translational motion of TMV, the comparison of diffusion coefficients measured employing FRAP and FCS can give some insights in the rotational diffusion: the experimental data indicate a slowing down of the rotational motion of a TMV rod with increasing structural order of the matrix spheres.     

On the origin of the dynamic Stokes shift of Laurdan molecules in lipid membranes

Frequency-resolved time correlated single photon counting experiments have been performed to investigate the time scales and molecular mechanisms for solvation dynamics of 6-dodecanoyl-2-dimethylaminonaphthalene (Laurdan) embedded in liquid-crystalline bilayers of unilamellar dimyristoyl-phosphatidylcholine (DMPC) vesicles. The reconstructed fluorescence spectra as a function of time exhibit a pronounced double-exponential Stokes shift, which is strongly correlated with the rotational diffusion dynamics of the chromophore as evidenced by experiments on transient fluorescence depolarization.     

Photoinduced electron transfer in a protein-surfactant complex: probing the interaction of SDS with BSA

Photoinduced fluorescence quenching electron transfer from N,N-dimethyl aniline to different 7-amino coumarin dyes has been investigated in sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) micelles and in bovine serum albumin (BSA)-SDS protein-surfactant complexes using steady state and picosecond time resolved fluorescence spectroscopy. The electron transfer rate has been found to be slower in BSA-SDS protein-surfactant complexes compared to that in SDS micelles. This observation has been explained with the help of the "necklace-and-bead" structure formed by the protein-surfactant complex due to coiling of protein molecules around the micelles. In the correlation of free energy change to the fluorescence quenching electron transfer rate, we have observed that coumarin 151 deviates from the normal Marcus region, showing retardation in the electron transfer rate at higher negative free energy region. We endeavored to establish that the retardation in the fluorescence quenching electron transfer rate for coumarin 151 at higher free energy region is a result of slower rotational relaxation and slower translational diffusion of coumarin 151 (C-151) compared to its analogues coumarin 152 and coumarin 481 in micelles and in protein-surfactant complexes. The slower rotational relaxation and translational diffusion of C-151 are supposed to be arising from the different location of coumarin 151 compared to coumarin 152 and coumarin 481.     

Rotational diffusivity of fractal clusters

The rotational diffusion behavior of fractal clusters generated through an off-lattice cluster-cluster aggregation algorithm in both diffusion-limited cluster aggregation and reaction-limited cluster aggregation conditions is investigated. The extended Kirkwood-Riseman theory (Garcia de la Torre et al., Macromolecules, 1987) is used to estimate the cluster rotational diffusion tensor. The three eigenvalues of this tensor, which correspond to the three main rotational diffusivity values of the cluster, have been computed for each generated cluster. Once the eigenvalues have been sorted in ascending order, each of them has been averaged over several thousands of clusters. It is found that one of the three main average rotational diffusivities is substantially larger than the other two, indicating significant anisotropy of fractal clusters. Moreover, a rotational hydrodynamic radius Rh,r has been determined on the basis of the mean value of the three average rotational diffusivities, which is about 25% larger than the mean translational hydrodynamic radius Rh calculated through the same Kirkwood-Riseman theory. Finally, the obtained Rh,r values have been applied to interpret dynamic light scattering data from aggregating colloidal systems and to investigate the reliability of the assumption, Rh = Rh,r, typically made in the literature.     

Rotational-diffusion anomalies in dye solutions from transient-dichroism experiments

Subnanosecond transient-dichroism experiments have been performed to investigate the rotational diffusion of dyes in solution. Dyes and solvents were chosen in a way to obtain information on the influence of size, shape and hydrogen-bonding abilities either of the solute or the solvent molecules. One finds slow orientational relaxation of di-anionic xanthene dyes in alcohols, while oblate cationic dyes rotate faster in spite of their comparable size. The rotational diffusion times for alcohol solutions exceed the theoretical values predicted by the Debye-Einstein model except for prolate molecules. For a solute molecule with internal mobility the rotational diffusion exhibits a partial slip behaviour. It is shown that the deviations from the Debye-Einstein model are restricted to alcohols since for other solvents either with or without strong hydrogen-bonding abilities the experimental values agree with the hydrodynamic model including the stick-boundary condition. Experiments on erythrosine B reveal the influence of size and shape of the attached solvent molecules.     

Optical saturation in fluorescence correlation spectroscopy under continuous-wave and pulsed excitation.

A detailed theoretical and experimental study of the dependence of fluorescence correlation measurements on optical excitation power due to optical saturation effects is presented. It is shown that the sensitivity of a fluorescence correlation measurement on excitation power becomes increasingly stronger for decreasing excitation power. This makes exact measurements or diffusion coefficients with fluorescence correlation spectroscopy rather difficult. A strong difference of this behavior for continuous-wave and pulsed excitation is found.     

A new look at fluorescence depolarization and the dynamics of anisotropic rotational diffusion

Existing derivations of the time-dependent fluorescence anisotropy of an asymmetric molecule constitute a straightforward application of Favro's work on the rotational diffusion equation (RDE), and make no contribution to the elucidation of rotational dynamics as such. A new approach is developed, and the problem formulated in the parlance of conventional reaction kinetics by demonstrating, with the aid of the method of moments, that the RDE is completely equivalent to a set of ordinary linear differential equations, formally identical with those used to describe a first-order series-parallel reaction scheme.