Long-lived charge-separated state leading to DNA damage through hole transfer

The hole transfer causes the long-lived charge-separated state in DNA during the photosensitized one-electron oxidation of DNA. The combination of the transient absorption measurement and DNA damage quantification by HPLC clearly demonstrated that the yield of the DNA damage correlates well with the lifetime of the charge-separated state.     

Comparison of the Time-resolved Absorption and Phosphorescence from the Tryptophan Triplet State in Proteins in Solution

Measurement of the room temperature Trp triplet state lifetime in proteins by time-resolved phosphorescence can provide valuable information on the structure and dynamics of proteins in solution. Our time-resolved absorption measurements on the long-lived states resulting from electronic excitation of the chromophore demonstrate the presence of more complex behavior than revealed by time-resolved phosphorescence. To provide additional insight into this behavior, a comparative study of time-resolved transient absorption and time-resolved phosphorescence of proteins in solution was carried out. The results show that the time evolution of the long-lived states observed through transient absorption often differs considerably from that observed in time-resolved phosphorescence. In some proteins, the presence of competing reactions complicates the interpretation of the transient absorption measurements (which may affect the phosphorescence yield). A more complete characterization of these processes will likely prove useful in the study of protein structure and dynamics in solution.     

Time-resolved studies of charge recombination in the pyrene/TCNQ charge-transfer crystal: evidence for tunneling

Previous studies of solid-state tetracyanobenzene-based donor-acceptor complexes showed that these materials were highly susceptible to both laser and mechanical damage that complicated the analysis of their electron-transfer kinetics. In this paper, we characterize the optical properties of a pyrene/tetracyanoquinodimethane charge-transfer crystal that is much more robust than the tetracyanobenzene compounds. This donor-acceptor complex has a charge-transfer absorption that extends into the near-infrared, rendering the crystal black. We use time-resolved fluorescence and diffuse reflectance transient absorption to study its dynamics after photoexcitation. We show that the initially excited charge-transfer state undergoes a rapid, monoexponential decay with a lifetime of 290 ps at room temperature. There is no evidence for any long-lived intermediate or dark states; therefore, this decay is attributed to charge recombination back to the ground state. Fluorescence lifetime measurements demonstrate that this process becomes temperature-independent below 60 K, indicative of a thermally activated tunneling mechanism. The subnanosecond charge recombination makes this low-band-gap donor-acceptor material a poor candidate for generating long-lived electron-hole pairs.     

A long-lived transient resulting from flash photolysis of hematoporphyrin in aqueous solution.

A long-lived transient with a lifetime of several hundred microseconds was observed following the flash photolysis of aqueous solutions of hematoporphyrin buffered at pH 7.5. The transient-ground state difference absorption spectrum was determined 500 microseconds after flash photolysis. The yield of this species was found to increase with increasing hematoporphyrin concentration and it was also found to depend on the excitation wavelength. The lifetime of the species is not significantly affected by the presence of oxygen. Because the triplet state of hematoporphyrin is not the only long-lived species produced by flash photolysis of aqueous hematoporphyrin solutions, the observed triplet state extinction coefficients will be lower than the true value and hence the triplet state yields of hematoporphyrin determined by the flash photolysis, "complete conversion" technique, are only upper limits. The formation of the long-lived species is discussed in terms of electron transfer between the monomer partners in hematoporphyrin dimer and aggregates which are present in aqueous solutions of hematoporphyrin, particularly in concentrated solutions.     

Photocrosslinking of copolymers of vinyloxyethyl methacrylate–styrene initiated by sulfonium salts. I. Transient species formed on photolysis of sulfonium salt

Benzyl cation was detected by transient absorption spectroscopy with a spectroscopic multichannel analyzer on pulse excitation (fourth harmonic of Nd:YAG laser, 266 nm; 10 ns fwhm) of benzyl(4-hydroxyphenyl) methylsulfonium hexafluoroantimonate(BSS) in 1,2-dichloroethane (EDC). The benzyl cation was long-lived (lifetime, 59 ms) at room temperature and quenched by a vinyl ether compound. The formation of the benzyl cation as active species on photolysis of BSS is in contrast to the formation of Brønsted acids in other sulfonium salts so far reported. © 1992 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Effect of the addition of a fused donor-acceptor ligand on a Ru(II) complex: synthesis, characterization, and photoinduced electron transfer reactions of [Ru(TTF-dppz)2(Aqphen)]2+

The synthesis and the photophysical properties of the complex [Ru(TTF-dppz)(2)(Aqphen)](2+) (TTF = tetrathiafulvalene, dppz = dipyrido-[3,2-a:2',3'-c]phenazine, Aqphen = anthraquinone fused to phenanthroline via a pyrazine bridge) are described. In this molecular triad excitation into the metal-ligand charge transfer bands results in the creation of a long-lived charge separated state with TTF acting as electron donor and anthraquinone as terminal acceptor. The lifetime of the charge-separated state is 400 ns in dichloromethane at room temperature. A mechanism for the charge separation involving an intermediate charge-separated state is proposed based on transient absorption spectroscopy.     

Optical modulation and selective recovery of Cy5 fluorescence

Fluorescence modulation offers the opportunity to detect low-concentration fluorophore signals within high background. Applicable from the single-molecule to bulk levels, we demonstrate long-wavelength optical depopulation of dark states that otherwise limit Cy5 fluorescence intensity. By modulated excitation of a long-wavelength Cy5 transient absorption, we dynamically modulate Cy5 emission. The frequency dependence enables specification of the dark-state timescales enabling optical-demodulation-based signal recovery from high background. These dual-laser illumination schemes for high-sensitivity fluorescence-signal recovery easily improve signal-to-noise ratios by well over an order of magnitude, largely by discrimination against background. Previously limited to very specialized dyes, our utilization of long-lived dark states in Cy5 enables selective detection of this very common single-molecule and bulk fluorophore. Although, in principle, the "dark state" can arise from any photoinduced process, we demonstrate that cis-trans photoisomerization, with its unique transient absorption and lifetime enables this sensitivity boosting, long-wavelength modulation to occur in Cy5. Such studies underscore the need for transient absorption studies on common fluorophores to extend the impact of fluorescence modulation for high-sensitivity fluorescence imaging in a much wider array of applications.     

荧光素蒽醌甲酯分子内光诱导电子转移及电荷分离态的检测

合成了以荧光素为光敏剂的电子给体-受体二元化合物荧光素蒽醌甲酯(FL-AQ),用吸收光谱、荧光光谱、荧光寿命研究了该化合物在乙醇溶液中的光物理性质,并首次用纳秒级瞬态吸收光谱检测了此化合物分子内光诱导电子转移所形成的电荷分离态.在溶液中激发FL,电子可从FL有效地转移到AQ,其速率常数为3.95×10⁹s^-1,效率为95%.但由于电荷分离态寿命较短,瞬态吸收信号弱,若在此溶液中加入二氧化钛(TiO₂)纳米胶体,使FL-AQ吸附在胶体上,电荷分离态信号明显增强.480nm处FL^+·的寿命为11.1μs;560nm处AQ^-·的寿命为8.93μs.     

The effects of photochemical and mechanical damage on the excited state dynamics of charge-transfer molecular crystals composed of tetracyanobenzene and aromatic donor molecules

Charge-transfer molecular crystals are structurally well-defined systems whose electron transfer dynamics can be studied using time-resolved spectroscopy. In this paper, five 1:1 complexes, consisting of 1,2,4,5-tetracyanobenzene as the electron acceptor and durene, 9-methylanthracene, naphthalene, phenanthrene, and pyrene as electron donors, are studied using time-resolved fluorescence and transient absorption in the diffuse reflectance geometry. Two different sample morphologies were studied: single crystals and powders prepared by pulverizing the crystals and diluting them with barium sulfate microparticles. Fluorescence lifetime and transient absorption measurements performed on the crystals and the powders yielded different results. The crystals typically exhibited long-lived monoexponential fluorescence decays, while the powders had shorter multiexponential decays. Exposure of both types of samples to high laser fluence was also shown to induce faster excited state decay dynamics as observed using fluorescence and diffuse reflectance. In addition to the more rapid decays, these molecular crystals exhibited relatively high photobleaching quantum yields on the order of 10(-4). Previous work that interpreted picosecond decays in the transient absorption as evidence for rapid recombination and charge dissociation should be re-evaluated based on the susceptibility of this class of compounds to mechanical and photochemical damage.     

Photophysics of phenyleneethynylene metal-organic oligomers. Probing the lowest excited state by time-resolved IR spectroscopy

The long-lived excited state in a series of metal-organic phenyleneethynylene oligomers is probed by UV-visible and infrared transient absorption spectroscopy.     

Conjugation length dependent ground and excited state electronic behavior in oligothienyl ru complexes

Photoexcitation of a bis(bipyridyl) Ru(II) complex bearing a phosphinopentathiophene ligand results in formation of a transient species with a lifetime of 2.2 micros. The transient is attributed to the product of an intramolecular charge transfer from the pentathiophene ligand. EPR and UV/vis spectroelectrochemistry show that the HOMO is pentathienyl-based, while corresponding complexes with shorter conjugation length ligands have a metal-based HOMO and do not exhibit long-lived transients.     

Tracking the Light-Induced Excited-State Dynamics and Structural Configurations of an Extraordinarily Long-Lived Metastable State at Room Temperature

Time-resolved X-ray (Tr-XAS) and optical transient absorption (OTA) spectroscopy on the pico-microsecond timescale coupled with density functional theory calculations are applied to study the light-induced spin crossover processes of a Fe-based macrocyclic complex in solution. Tr-XAS analysis after light illumination shows the formation of a seven-coordinated high-spin quintet metastable state, which relaxes to a six-coordinated high-spin configuration before decaying to the ground state. Kinetic analysis of the macrocyclic complex reveals an unprecedented long-lived decay lifetime of approximately 42.6 μs. Comparative studies with a non-macrocyclic counterpart illustrate a significantly shortened approximately 568-fold decay lifetime of about 75 ns, and highlight the importance of the ligand arrangement in stabilizing the reactivity of the excited state. Lastly, OTA analysis shows the seven-coordinated high-spin state to be formed within approximately 6.2 ps. These findings provide a complete understanding of the spin crossover reaction and relaxation pathways of the macrocyclic complex, and reveal the importance of a flexible coordination environment for their rational design.     

Nanosecond time-resolved studies of long-lived photoinduced charge separation in the dyad fluorescein-anthraquinone-methyl ester adsorbed on TiO2 colloids

A dyad composed of fluorescein and 2-methyl-anthraquinone (FL-AQ) was synthesized and its photophysical properties were examined by absorption, fluorescence spectroscopy, and fluorescence lifetime. The charge-separated state formed by photoinduced intramolecular electron transfer was detected by nanosecond transient absorption spectroscopy for the first time. When FL is excited in solution, the photoinduced electron transfer from FL to AQ proceeds efficiently. The rate constant and the efficiency of intramolecular electron transfer are 3.95 x 10(9) s(-1) and 95%, respectively. Its charge-separated state lifetime is too short to detect by transient absorption spectroscopy. Adding nanometer colloidal TiO(2) to an FL-AQ ethanol solution prolongs the lifetime of the charge-separated state, so its transient absorption signal is recorded significantly. The lifetimes of FL(+). at 480 nm and AQ(-). at 560 nm in the FL-AQ/TiO(2) colloidal system are 11.1 and 8.93 mivros, respectively.     

Photophysics of untethered ZnTPP-fullerene complexes in solution

The spectroscopy and dynamic behavior of the self-assembled, Soret-excited zinc tetraphenylporphyrin (ZnTPP) plus fullerene (C(60)) model system in solution has been examined using steady state fluorescence quenching, nanosecond time-correlated single photon counting, picosecond fluorescence upconversion, and picosecond transient absorption methods. Evidence of ground state complexation is presented. Steady-state quenching of the S(2) and S(1) fluorescence of ZnTPP by C(60) reveals that the quenching processes only occur in the excited complexes, are ultrafast, and proceed at different rates in the two states. Only uncomplexed ZnTPP is observed by fluorescence lifetime methods; the locally excited complexes are either dark or, more likely, rapidly relax to products that do not radiate strongly. Both short-range (Dexter) energy transfer and electron transfer relaxation mechanisms are evaluated. Picosecond transient absorption data obtained from the subtle differences between the spectra of Soret-excited ZnTPP with and without a large excess of added C(60) reveal the formation, on a subpicosecond time scale, of relatively long-lived charge-separated species. Soret excitation of ZnTPP···C(60) does not produce a quantitative yield of species in the lower S(1) excited state.     

Study on excited states of hexamethoxybenzene-NO+ charge-transfer complex: incorporation of excited radical cation

A charge-transfer (CT) complex of NOBF₄ and hexamethoxybenzene (HMB), which gives out HMB^?+ as a “fluorescent radical cation probe,” upon one-electron oxidation, has been designed to explore the excited state dynamics of contact radical ion pairs by laser-induced fluorescence and femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopic techniques. The acetonitrile solution of the CT complex showed weak fluorescence with a similar spectrum to that observed for free excited HMB radical cation (HMB^?+*), suggesting the formation of HMB^?+* upon the one-photonic excitation of the CT complex. The laser-power dependence of the fluorescence intensity supported the one-photonic excitation event. We have also observed a short-lived transient species but no long-lived species by femtosecond laser flash photolysis of the CT complex. The lifetime (6.5 ps) was in good accordance with its fluorescence quantum yield (2.5 × 10^?5) and was able to assign the transient species to the fluorescent state, an excited radical ion pair [HMB ^?+*/NO^?]. All the events were completed within the inner sphere and the short lifetime of the transient species could be attributed to rapid back-electron transfer. It is concluded that the excited radical cation character in the excited state of the CT complex originates from the radical ion character in the CT complex in the ground state and that a relatively long lifetime of HMB^?+* facilitates its observation even in the contact ion pair.     

Dendrimer-functionalized single-wall carbon nanotubes: synthesis, characterization, and photoinduced electron transfer

We describe the synthesis and characterization of a series of single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) functionalized with polyamidoamine dendrimers. Importantly, the dendrimers are linked directly to the SWNT surface using a divergent methodology. This approach allows the number of functional groups on the nanotubes to be increased without provoking significant damage to the conjugated pi-system of the SWNTs. Several tetraphenylporphyrin moieties can be linked to the periphery of the dendrimers, and the photophysical properties of the resulting nanoconjugates have been investigated with a series of steady-state and time-resolved spectroscopy. The fluorescence kinetics provide evidence for two transient decays, one very short-lived (i.e., 0.04 +/- 0.01 ns) and one long-lived (i.e., 8.6 +/- 1.2 ns). A possible explanation is that some porphyrin units do not interact with the nanotubes, thus exhibiting a fluorescence lifetime similar to that of the free porphyrin. Complementary transient absorption measurements not only corroborate the fast decay of the photoexcited tetraphenylporphyrin but also confirm that intraconjugate charge separation evolves from the excited porphyrin to the SWNTs.     

The ground state tautomer in the excited state relaxation process of 3-hydroxyflavone at room temperature

Very recently, the ground state reverse proton transfer in 3-hydroxyflavone (3-HF) has been reported to take place within 30 ps by picosecond transient absorption spectroscopy by Aartsma and co-workers. Here we present evidence of intervention of a long-lived ground state tautomer involved in the excited state relaxation process of 3-HF by transient absorption and two-step laser excitation fluorescence spectroscopy.     

Picosecond spectroscopy of trans-thioindigo

Transient species which are involved in direct photoisomerization of trans-thioindigo have been investigated using picosecond spectroscopy. The long-lived transient absorption band at 600 nm observed in previous nanosecond experiments was shown to be formed on a picosecond time scale. Such ultrafast formation is inconsistent with the accepted assignment of this band as triplet-triplet absorption.     

On the long-lived transient absorption observed in nanosecond laser photolysis studies of two polymethine cyanine dyes

It is shown that the long-lived transient absorption which is observed when solutions of cryptocyanine and DDI (1, 1′-diethyl-2, 2′-dicarbocyanine iodide) in methanol and other alcohols are exposed to nanosecond ruby laser pulses arises from a photoproduct whose formation requires consecutive absorption of two photons.     

Bidirectional "ping-pong" energy transfer and 3000-fold lifetime enhancement in a Re(I) charge transfer complex

The synthesis and photophysics of a new Re(I)-carbonyl diimine complex, Re(PNI-phen)(CO)(3)Cl, where the PNI-phen is N-(1,10-phenanthroline)-4-(1-piperidinyl)naphthalene-1,8-dicarboximide is reported. The metal-to-ligand charge transfer (MLCT) emission lifetime was increased approximately 3000-fold at room temperature with respect to that of the model complex [Re(phen)(CO)(3)Cl] as a result of thermal equilibrium between the emissive (3)MLCT state and a long-lived triplet ligand-centered ((3)LC) state on the PNI chromophore. This represents the longest excited state lifetime (τ = 651 μs) that has ever been observed for a Re(I)-based CT photoluminescence at room temperature. The energy transfer processes and the associated rate constants leading to the establishment of the excited state equilibrium were elucidated by a powerful combination of three techniques (transient visible and infrared (IR) absorption and photoluminescence), each applied from ultrafast to the micro/milliseconds time scale. The MLCT excited state was monitored by transient IR using CO vibrations through time intervals where the corresponding signals obtained in conventional visible transient absorption were completely obscured by overlap with strong transients originating from the pendant PNI chromophore. Following initial excitation of the (1)LC state on the PNI chromophore, energy is transferred to form the MLCT state with a time constant of 45 ps, a value confirmed in all three measurement domains within experimental error. Although transient spectroscopy confirms the production of the (3)MLCT state on ultrafast time scales, Fo?rster resonance energy transfer calculations using the spectral properties of the two chromophores support initial singlet transfer from (1)PNI* to produce the (1)MLCT state by the agreement with the experimentally observed energy transfer time constant and efficiency. Intersystem crossing from the (1)MLCT to the (3)MLCT excited state is believed to be extremely fast and was not resolved with the current experiments. Finally, triplet energy was transferred from the (3)MLCT to the PNI-centered (3)LC state in less than 15 ns, ultimately achieving equilibrium between the two excited states. Subsequent relaxation to the ground state occurred via emission resulting from thermal population of the (3)MLCT state with a resultant lifetime of 651 μs. The title chromophore represents an interesting example of "ping-pong" energy transfer wherein photon excitation first migrates away from the initially prepared (1)PNI* excited state and then ultimately returns to this moiety as a long-lived excited triplet which disposes of its energy by equilibrating with the photoluminescent Re(I) MLCT excited state.