TRIPLET STATE STUDIES OF FLAVINS BY ELECTRON PARAMAGNETIC RESONANCE—I

Abstract— The triplet state of flavin derivatives and d-amino acid oxidase was observed by electron paramagnetic resonance at 77°K.
Flavin triplets (Δ m =± 2) originate from the isoalloxazine ring and are resonant at 1560 guass.The half-life of the FMN triplet in 1 N HCl is 15 nisec.This life-time is prolonged indirectly by the presence of paramagnetic species, such as oxygen or free radicals.
The flavin triplet state is pH dependent.In neutral solution the nlaximum triplet yield is obtained and the longest life-time is observed.The triplet state is affected by intra-and inter-molecular complex formation, FAD is partially quenched by indirectly substituted adenine.Tryptophan quenches completely the FMN triplet.The FAD triplet of d-amino acid oxidase is enhanced but the life-time is shortened relative to a pure FAD solution.     

Reactive cysteine is protonated in the triplet excited state of the LOV2 domain in Adiantum phytochrome3

Phototropin is a plant blue-light sensor protein that possesses a flavin mononucleotide (FMN) as the chromophore in LOV domains. Its photoreaction is an adduct formation between FMN and a nearby cysteine that takes place in the triplet excited state of FMN. In this communication, we revealed that the reactive cysteine is protonated in the triplet excited state of the LOV2 domain of Adiantum phytochrome3 by means of low-temperature FTIR spectroscopy. Its hydrogen-bonding interaction is strengthened in the triplet excited state, presumably with the FMN chromophore. Such strong interaction drives adduct formation on a microsecond time scale.     

Oxygen uptake after electron transfer from amines, amino acids and ascorbic acid to triplet flavins in air-saturated aqueous solution

The photolysis of lumichrome, riboflavin, flavin mononucleotide (FMN) and flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD) was studied in air-saturated aqueous solution at room temperature in the presence of appropriate electron donors: ascorbic acid, aromatic amino acids or amines, e.g. ethylenediaminetetraacetate (EDTA). The overall reaction is conversion of oxygen via the hydroperoxyl/superoxide radical into hydrogen peroxide. The quantum yield of oxygen uptake increases with the donor concentration, e.g. up to 0.3 for riboflavin, FMN or FAD in the presence of EDTA or ascorbic acid (0.3-10mM). The formation of H(2)O(2) is initiated by quenching of the acceptor triplet state by the electron donor and subsequent reaction of the semiquinone radical with oxygen. Specific properties of flavins are discussed including the radicals involved and the pH and concentration dependences. The quantum yield of photodegradation is low under air, but substantial under argon, where the major product absorbing in the visible spectral range is the corresponding hydroquinone.     

Fluorescence correlation spectroscopy of flavins and flavoenzymes: photochemical and photophysical aspects

Fluorescence Correlation Spectroscopy (FCS) was used to investigate the excited-state properties of flavins and flavoproteins in solution at the single molecule level. Flavin mononucleotide (FMN), flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD) and lipoamide dehydrogenase served as model systems in which the flavin cofactor is either free in solution (FMN, FAD) or enclosed in a protein environment as prosthetic group (lipoamide dehydrogenase). Parameters such as excitation light intensity, detection time and chromophore concentration were varied in order to optimize the autocorrelation traces. Only in experiments with very low light intensity ( < 10 kW/cm2), FMN and FAD displayed fluorescence properties equivalent to those found with conventional fluorescence detection methods. Due to the high triplet quantum yield of FMN, the system very soon starts to build up a population of non-fluorescent molecules, which is reflected in an apparent particle number far too low for the concentration used. Intramolecular photoreduction and subsequent photobleaching may well explain these observations. The effect of photoreduction was clearly shown by titration of FMN with ascorbic acid. While titration of FMN with the quenching agent potassium iodide at higher concentrations ( > 50 mM of I-) resulted in quenched flavin fluorescence as expected, low concentrations of potassium iodide led to a net enhancement of the de-excitation rate from the triplet state, thereby improving the fluorescence signal. FCS experiments on FAD exhibited an improved photostability of FAD as compared to FMN: As a result of stacking of the adenine and flavin moieties, FAD has a considerably lower triplet quantum yield. Correlation curves of lipoamide dehydrogenase yielded correct values for the diffusion time and number of molecules at low excitation intensities. However, experiments at higher light intensities revealed a process which can be explained by photophysical relaxation or photochemical destruction of the enzyme. As the time constant of the process induced at higher light intensities resembles the diffusion time constant of free flavin, photodestruction with the concomitant release of the cofactor offers a reasonable explanation.     

Light-triggered proton and electron transfer in flavin cofactors

The pH dependent behavior of two flavin cofactors, flavin-adenine dinucleotide (FAD) and flavin mononucleotide (FMN), has been characterized using femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy for the first time. The flavin excited state was characterized in three states of protonation (Fl(-), Fl, and FlH(+)). We found that Fl and Fl(-) exhibit the same excited state absorption but that the lifetime of Fl(-) is much shorter than that of Fl. The transient absorption spectrum of FlH(+) is significantly different from Fl and Fl(-), suggesting that the electronic properties of the flavin chromophore become appreciably modified by protonation. We further studied the excited state protonation of the flavin and found that the protonation sites of the flavin in the ground and excited state are not equivalent. In the case of FAD, its excited state dynamics are controlled by the two conformations it adopts. At low and high pH, FAD adopts an "open" conformation and behaves the same as FMN. In a neutral pH range, FAD undergoes a fast excited state deactivation due to the "stacked" conformer. The transition from stacked to open conformer occurs at pH ～ 3 (because of adenine protonation) and pH ～ 10 (because of flavin deprotonation).     

KINETICS OF STACKING INTERACTIONS IN FLAVIN ADENINE DINUCLEOTIDE FROM TIME-RESOLVED FLAVIN FLUORESCENCE

The time dependence of the fluorescence of flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD) was measured with a subnanosecond-resolving fluorometer. In contrast to the fluorescence decay of FMN, the decay of FAD was proved to be nonexponential. The time-dependent fluorescence of FAD can be interpreted by assuming an equilibrium between closed and open conformers in the ground state. The rate constant for folding in the excited state and the fluorescence lifetime of the intramolecular complex could be evaluated from analysis of the observed fluorescence decay. The results on FAD were compared to those on NADH obtained earlier.     

Ensemble and Single Molecule Studies on the Use of Metallic Nanostructures to Enhance the Intrinsic Emission of Enzyme Cofactors

We present a strategy for enhancing the intrinsic emission of the enzyme cofactors flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD), flavin mononucleotide (FMN) and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH). Ensemble studies show that silver island films (SIFs) are the optimal metal enhanced fluorescence (MEF) substrates for flavins and gave emission enhancements of over 10-fold for both FAD and FMN. A reduction in the lifetime of FAD and FMN on SIFs was also observed. Thermally evaporated aluminum films on quartz slides were found to be the optimal MEF substrate for NADH and gave a 5-fold increase in the emission intensity of NADH. We present finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) calculations that compute the enhancement in the radiated power emitting from an excited state dipole emitting in the wavelength range of NADH in close proximity to an aluminum nanoparticle, and a dipole emitting in the emission wavelength of flavins next to a silver nanoparticle. These calculations confirm that aluminum serves as the optimal MEF substrate for NADH and silver was the optimal MEF substrate for flavins. This is because the plasmon resonance properties of aluminum lie in the UV-blue regime and that of silver lie in the visible region. We also present the results of single molecule studies on FMN which show SIFs can both significantly enhance the intrinsic emission from single FMN molecules, significantly reduce their lifetimes and also significantly reduce FMN blinking. This is the first report of the observation of MEF from cofactors both at the ensemble and single molecule level. We hope this study will serve as a platform to encourage the future use of metallic nanostructures to study cofactors using their intrinsic fluorescence to directly monitor enzyme binding reactions without the need of extrinsic labeling of the molecules.     

Ab initio quantum chemical investigation of the first steps of the photocycle of phototropin: a model study

Phototropin is a blue light-activated photoreceptor that plays a dominant role in the phototropism of plants. The protein contains two subunits that bind flavin mononucleotide (FMN), which are responsible for the initial steps of the light-induced reaction. It has been proposed that the photoexcited flavin molecule adds a cysteine residue of the protein backbone, thus activating autophosphorylation of the enzyme. In this study, the electronic properties of several FMN-related compounds in different charge and spin states are characterized by means of ab initio quantum mechanical calculations. The model compounds serve as idealized model chromophores for phototropism. Reaction energies are estimated for simple model reactions, roughly representing the addition of a cysteine residue to the flavin molecule. Excitation energies were calculated with the help of time-dependent density functional theory. On the basis of these calculations we propose the following mechanism for the addition reaction: (1) after photoexcitation of FMN out of the singlet ground state S0, excited singlet state(s) are populated; these relax to the lowest excited singlet state S1, and subsequently by intersystem crossing FMN in the lowest triplet state, T1 is formed; (2) the triplet easily removes the neutral hydrogen atom from the H-S group of the cysteine residue; and (3) the resulting thio radical is added.     

The photoinduced triplet of flavins and its protonation states

The photogenerated triplet states of riboflavin and flavin mononucleotide (FMN) have been examined by time-resolved electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy at low temperature (T = 80 K). Because of the high time resolution of the utilized EPR instrumentation, the triplets are for the first time observed in the nonequilibrated electron-spin polarized state and not in their equilibrated forms with the population of the triplet sublevels governed by Boltzmann distribution. The electron-spin polarization pattern directly reflects the anisotropy of the intersystem crossing from the excited singlet-state precursor. Spectral analysis of the resulting enhanced absorptive and emissive EPR signals yields the zero-field splitting parameters, |D| and |E|, and the zero-field populations of the triplet at high accuracy. These parameters are sensitive probes for the protonation state of the flavin's isoalloxazine ring, as becomes evident by a comparison of the spectra recorded at different pH values of the solvent. The three protonation states of the flavins can furthermore be distinguished by the kinetics of the transient EPR signals, which are dominated by spin-lattice relaxation. The fastest decays are observed for the protonated FMN and riboflavin triplets, followed by the deprotonated flavin triplets. Slow decays are measured for the triplet states of neutral FMN and riboflavin. Because proton transfer is found to be slow on the time scale of spin-polarized triplet detection by transient EPR, the pH-dependent spin-relaxation and zero-field splitting parameters offer a novel approach to probe the protonation state of flavins in their singlet ground state through the characterization of their triplet-state properties.     

Time-resolved Luminescence and Singlet Oxygen Formation After Illumination of the Hypericin–Low-density Lipoprotein Complex

Time-resolved fluorescence and phosphorescence study of hypericin (Hyp) in complex with low-density lipoproteins (LDL) as well as the evolution of singlet oxygen formation and annihilation after illumination of Hyp/LDL complexes at room temperature are presented in this work. The observed shortening of the fluorescence lifetime of Hyp at high Hyp/LDL molar ratios (>25:1) proves the self-quenching of the excited singlet state of monomeric Hyp at these concentration ratios. The very short lifetime (∼0.5 ns) of Hyp fluorescence at very high Hyp/LDL ratios (>150:1) suggests that at high local Hyp concentration inside LDL molecules fast and ultrafast nonradiative decay processes from excited singlet state of Hyp become more important. Contrary to the lifetime of the singlet excited state, the lifetime (its shorter component) of Hyp phosphorescence is not dependent on Hyp/LDL ratio in the studied concentration range. The amount of singlet oxygen produced as well as the integral intensity of Hyp phosphorescence after illumination of Hyp/LDL complexes resemble the dependence of the concentration of molecules of Hyp in monomeric state on Hyp/LDL until a concentration ratio of 60:1. This fact confirms that only monomeric Hyp is able to produce the excited triplet state of Hyp, which in aerobic conditions leads to singlet oxygen production. The value of singlet oxygen lifetime (∼8 μs) after its formation from the excited triplet state of Hyp in LDL proves that molecules of singlet oxygen remain for a certain period of time inside LDL particles and are not immediately released to the aqueous surrounding. That Hyp exists in the complex with LDL in the monodeprotonated state is also demonstrated.     

Photosensitization mechanisms of triplet excited state beta-lapachone. A density functional theory study

Beta-Lapachone is a natural product with multiple pharmacological activities and mechanistic studies indicated that reactive oxygen species (ROS) generated by beta-lapachone play significant roles in its pharmacological actions. As photosensitization is an important ROS-generating pathway, in the present work, the photosensitization mechanisms of beta-lapachone are explored on the basis of density functional theory estimated triplet excited state characters. Starting from triplet excited state beta-lapachone, the possible generating pathways of 1O2 and O2*- are elucidated and the solvent effects on the photosensitizing reactions are also discussed.     

Studies on the photo-oxidation mechanism of polymers—IX. The photo-sensitized oxidation of cis-1,4-polybutadiene by n-methyl-2-benzoyl-β-naphthiazoline

This paper presents a study of mechanisms of photo-sensitized oxidation of cis-1,4-polybutadiene by N-methyl-2-benzoyl-β-naphthiazoline (BN) in solution. Detailed photochemical study of BN shows that the lowest triplet state of BN has an energy of 54.3 cal mol^?1 and a life-time of 0.20 s at 77 K. In addition, rate constants for the quenching of the triplet state of BN have been calculated. These results show the possibility of energy transfer from excited triplet state to molecular oxygen with formation of singlet oxygen, which can further react with another BN molecule (photo-decomposition of BN) or with cis-1,4-polybutadiene added. During light irradiation of BN, free radicals are formed; they can initiate polymer chain scission and crosslinking.     

Triplet excited states of cyclic disulfides and related compounds: electronic structures, geometries, energies, and decay

We have performed a computational study on the properties of a series of heterocycles bearing two adjacent heteroatoms, focusing on the structures and electronic properties of their first excited triplet states. If the heteroatoms are both heavy chalcogens (S, Se, or Te) or isoelectronic species, then the lowest excited triplet state usually has (π*, σ*) character. The triplet energies are fairly low (30-50 kcal mol(-1)). The (π*, σ*) triplet states are characterized by a significantly lengthened bond between the two heteroatoms. Thus, in 1,2-dithiolane (1b), the S-S bond length is calculated to be 2.088 ? in the singlet ground state and 2.568 ? in the first triplet excited state. The spin density is predicted to be localized almost exclusively on the sulfur atoms. Replacing one heavy chalcogen atom by an oxygen atom or an NR group results in a significant destabilization of the (π*, σ*) triplet excited state, which then no longer is lower in energy than an open-chain biradical. The size of the heterocyclic ring also contributes to the stability of the (π*, σ*) triplet state, with five-membered rings being more favorable than six-membered rings. Benzoannulation, finally, usually lowers the energy of the (π*, σ*) triplet excited states. If one of the heteroatoms is an oxygen or nitrogen atom, however, the corresponding lowest triplet states are better described as σ,π-biradicals.     

Direct measurement by laser flash photolysis of intramolecular electron transfer in a two-domain construct of murine inducible nitric oxide synthase

Intersubunit intramolecular electron transfer (IET) from FMN to heme is essential in the delivery of electrons required for O2 activation in the heme domain and the subsequent nitric oxide (NO) synthesis by NO synthase (NOS). Previous crystal structures and functional studies primarily concerned an enzyme conformation that serves as the input state for reduction of FMN by electrons from NADPH and FAD in the reductase domain. To favor formation of the output state for the subsequent IET from FMN to heme in the oxygenase domain, a novel truncated two-domain oxyFMN construct murine inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), in which only the FMN and heme domains were present, was designed and expressed. The kinetics of the IET between the FMN and heme domains in this construct was directly determined using laser flash photolysis of CO dissociation in comparative studies on partially reduced oxyFMN and single domain heme oxygenase constructs.     

Triplet Excited States and Singlet Oxygen Production by Analogs of Red Wine Pyranoanthocyanins

During the maturation of red wines, the anthocyanins of grapes are transformed into pyranoanthocyanins, which possess a pyranoflavylium cation as their basic chromophore. Photophysical properties of the singlet and triplet excited states of a series of synthetic pyranoflavylium cations were determined at room temperature in acetonitrile solution acidified with 0.10 mol dm^?3 trifluoroacetic acid (TFA, to inhibit competitive excited state proton transfer) and at 77 K in a rigid TFA‐acidified isopropanol glass. In solution, the triplet states of these pyranoflavylium cations are efficiently quenched by molecular oxygen, resulting in sensitized formation of singlet oxygen, as confirmed by direct detection of the triplet‐state decay by laser flash photolysis and of singlet oxygen monomol emission in the near infrared. The strong visible light absorption, the relatively small singlet‐triplet energy differences, the excited state redox potentials and the reasonably long lifetimes of pyranoflavylium triplet states in the absence of molecular oxygen suggest that they might be useful as triplet sensitizers and/or as cationic redox initiators in polar aprotic solvents like acetonitrile.     

PHOTOCHEMISTRY OF URACIL. INTERSYSTEM CROSSING AND DIMERIZATION IN AQUEOUS SOLUTION

Abstract— Ultraviolet irradiation of ¹⁴C-uracil in aqueous solution results in the formation of hydrate and dimer photoproducts. The rate of dimerization increases with increasing uracil concentration, and decreases with increasing concentration of oxygen in solution. The kinetics are in agreement with a model previously proposed to account for the reactions, in which dimerization occurs by a reaction involving the triplet state of uracil, but hydration occurs from an excited singlet state. Oxygen reduces dimer formation by quenching the triplet. The quantum yield for intersystem crossing (ISC) to the triplet depends on the irradiation wavelength, increasing from 0.0014 at 280 nm to 0.016 at 230 nm. The ratio of rate constants for reaction of the triplet with oxygen and for dimerization is 1.1; the ratio of rate constants for triplet decay and for dimerization is 5.9 × 10^-5 M. The increase in ISC with photon energy suggests that ISC is favoured from excited vibrational levels. The quantum yield for hydration is about 0.002 at pH 4.5 for all wavelengths, but increases as the pH is decreased.     

Excited‐State Dynamics of Pentacene Derivatives with Stable Radical Substituents

The excited‐state dynamics of pentacene derivatives with stable radical substituents were evaluated in detail through transient absorption measurements. The derivatives showed ultrafast formation of triplet excited state(s) in the pentacene moiety from a photoexcited singlet state through the contributions of enhanced intersystem crossing and singlet fission. Detailed kinetic analyses for the transient absorption data were conducted to quantify the excited‐state characteristics of the derivatives.     

Formation and decay of the triplet excited state of pyridine

A pulse radiolysis study of the formation and decay of the triplet excited state of liquid pyridine has been performed using quenching techniques. The pyridine triplet excited state is observed with an absorption band at lambda = 310 nm and has a first-order decay with a lifetime of 72 ns. Stern-Volmer plots of the quenching of the pyridine triplet excited state with anthracene, naphthalene, and biphenyl give its yield to be 1.3 molecules/100 eV. This value is very similar to the previously determined yield of 1.25 molecules/100 eV for dipyridyl, the predominant condensed-phase product in the gamma-radiolysis of liquid pyridine. The rate coefficient for pyridine triplet excited-state scavenging by oxygen is estimated to be 6.6 x 10(9) M(-1) s(-1). Oxygen may also scavenge the electron precursor to the pyridine triplet excited state, whereas nitrous oxide is observed to have little effect. A pyridyl radical-pyridine (dimer) complex produced in the pulse radiolysis of neat liquid pyridine is detected at lambda = 390 nm and is consistent with iodine scavenging effects. Formation of the pyridiniumyl radical cation-pyridine charge-transfer complex is proposed to be insignificant in liquid pyridine.     

Spectroscopic characterization of flavin mononucleotide bound to the LOV1 domain of Phot1 from Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

The absorption and emission behavior of flavin mononucleotide (FMN) in the light-, oxygen- and voltage-sensitive (LOV) domain LOV1 of the photoreceptor Phot1 from the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii was studied. The results from the wild-type (LOV1-WT) were compared with those from a mutant in which cysteine 57 was replaced by serine (LOV1-C57S), and with free FMN in aqueous solution. A fluorescence quantum yield of phi(F) = 0.30 and a fluorescence lifetime of tau(F) = 4.6 ns were determined for FMN in the mutant LOV1-C57S, whereas these quantities are reduced to about phi(F) = 0.17 and tau(F) = 2.9 ns for LOV1-WT, indicating an enhanced intersystem crossing in LOV1-WT because of the adjacent sulfur of C57. A single-exponential fluorescence decay was observed in picosecond laser time-resolved fluorescence measurements for both LOV1-WT and LOV1-C57S as expected for excited singlet state relaxation by intersystem crossing and internal conversion. An excitation intensity dependent fluorescence signal saturation was observed in steady-state fluorescence measurements for LOV1-WT, which is thought to be because of the formation of a long-lived intermediate flavin-C(4a)-cysteinyl adduct in the triplet state (few microseconds triplet lifetime, adduct lifetime around 150 s). No photobleaching was observed for LOV1-C57S, because no thiol group is present in the vicinity of FMN for an adduct formation.