LONG-RANGE TRIPLET-SINGLET ENERGY TRANSFER FROM ENZYME GENERATED TRIPLET ACETONE TO XANTHENE DYES

Enzyme-generated and protected acetone transfers its energy to xanthene dyes by a nontrivial process. The relative populations of the S₁ state are indicative of the operation of a heavy atom effect, being 1:15:100 for fluorescein, eosine and Rose Bengal. On the other hand Stern-Volmer constants and k _ET⁰ values are similar for the three dyes and are remarkably higher than for collisional processes.
It is tentatively suggested that at least for eosine and Rose Bengal, a triplet-triplet cxciton transfer may occur to populate an upper triplet state of the dye followed by heavy-atom enhanced intersystem crossing to the S₁ state.     

ENERGY TRANSFER FROM ENZYME-GENERATED TRIPLET ACETONE TO RIBOFLAVIN PERTURBED BY MOLECULES RELATED TO THYROXINE

Abstract— The rate of energy transfer from enzyme-generated triplet acetone to riboflavin increases by three orders of magnitude when the flavin is charge-transfer complexed with 3 ,5-dihalogenotyrosines or with thyroxine. A very fast long-range energy transfer to form the first excited singlet state of riboflavin in the complex, followed by a very efficient intersystem crossing to the triplet manifold, is postulated to account for the results.     

EXTERNAL HEAVY ATOM EFFECT IN THE ENERGY TRANSFER FROM TETRAMETHYL-1,2-DIOXETANE CHEMI-EXCITED ACETONE TO ANTHRACENE

Generation of the fluorescent state of anthracene by energy transfer from chemi-excited acetone is remarkably more efficient in bromobenzene than in benzene. Triplet-triplet energy transfer populates the second triplet of the acceptor and is followed by intersystem crossing (ISC) to the fluorescent state. It is only on the latter ISC step that the external heavy atom perturbation operates. However, with 9,10-dibromoanthracene as acceptor, spin-orbital coupling also increases the transfer step and more in bromobenzene than in benzene. A possible inference from this work is that 9,10-diphenyl-anthracene, which is commonly used to count singlets, may to some extent also count triplets.     

ENERGY TRANSFER FROM MICELLAR SODIUM PHENYLUNDECANOATE TO SOLUBILIZED NAPHTHALENE

Abstract— Excitation energy transfer from the phenyl groups of surface active phenylundecanoate ions to naphthalene molecules has been studied under conditions such that the naphthalene molecules have been solubilized by micelles of phenylundecanoate. From measurements of the naphthalene fluorescence intensity in solutions of varying surfactant concentration the critical micelle concentration has been determined as 0·0091 M. The product of the micellar aggregation number and the efficiency of energy transfer has been obtained as 75 from measurements of both the sensitized naphthalene fluorescence and the quenching of the phenylgroup fluorescence. In the evaluation of the experimental data it has been assumed that the partition of naphthalene between the micelles and the aqueous phase may be treated as a distribution equilibrium, and that the solubilized naphthalene molecules are partitioned among the micelles according to a Poisson distribution. With this model, the naphthalene fluorescence intensities may be accounted for over the whole range of surfactant concentrations.
At high naphthalene concentrations, emission from naphthalene excimers has been observed. The possibility of self-quenching via excimer formation is considered.
The experimental results point to a quantum efficiency near unity for the transfer of excitation energy from the phenyl groups of the surfactant ions that form a micelle to a single solubilized naphthalene molecule. The high efficiency suggests that the naphthalene molecule and the phenyl groups are present inside the micelles.     

A PHOTOCHEMICAL TECHNIQUE TO ENHANCE SENSITIVITY OF DETECTION OF FLUORESCENCE RESONANCE ENERGY TRANSFER

Abstract –A photochemical kinetic method of measuring small values of efficiency of fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) between special probes is proposed. The FRET efficiency ( Ω ) is determined from kinetics of the photochemical reaction of the energy acceptor sensitized by FRET from the energy donor. The choice of an appropriate donor-acceptor pair permits the minimization of background reactions. Application of the method is demonstrated by the detection of FRET from 2,5-W.s(5- tert -butyl-2-benzoxasolyl)thiophen (BBOT) to acridine orange (AO) in phospholipid vesicles. Photobleaching of AO in the presence of CBr₄ was applied as a photochemical reaction of the acceptor. The reaction was monitored by steady-state fluorescence measurements. The FRET measurements were carried out by the proposed technique when the probe/lipid ratio and Ω were as small as 1.1 times 10^-5 M/M and 0.0017, respectively. Under these conditions, the rate constant of AO photobleaching was increased by 26% as compared with that of the reference sample without BBOT. The results suggest that applications of the technique may be useful in the study of the membrane topography.     

A PHOTOCHEMICAL TECHNIQUE TO ENHANCE SENSITIVITY OF DETECTION OF FLUORESCENCE RESONANCE ENERGY TRANSFER

Abstract: A photochemical kinetic method of measuring small values of efficiency of fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) between special probes is proposed. The FRET efficiency (ω) is determined from kinetics of the photochemical reaction of the energy acceptor sensitized by FRET from the energy donor. The choice of an appropriate donor-acceptor pair permits the minimization of background reactions. Application of the method is demonstrated by the detection of FRET from 2,5- bis (5- tert -butyl-2-benzoxasolyl)thiophen (BBOT) to acridine orange (AO) in phospholipid vesicles. Photobleaching of AO in the presence of CBr₄ was applied as a photochemical reaction of the acceptor. The reaction was monitored by steady-state fluorescence measurements. The FRET measurements were carried out by the proposed technique when the probe/lipid ratio and ω were as small as 1.1 × 10⁻⁵ M/M and 0.0017, respectively. Under these conditions, the rate constant of AO photobleaching was increased by 26% as compared with that of the reference sample without BBOT. The results suggest that applications of the technique may be useful in the study of the membrane topography.     

ENERGY TRANSFER FROM ENZYMICALLY-GENERATED TRIPLET SPECIES TO ACCEPTORS IN MICELLES

Abstract— Electronically excited triplet species generated during the peroxidase catalyzed aerobic oxidation of appropriate substrates efficiently elicit fluorescence from acceptors in micelles, as shown with 9, 10-dibromoanthracene and chlorophyll solubilized by various surfactants. In the case of 9, 10-dibromoanthracene excited by triplet acetone, phosphorescence also can be detected near O₂ depletion.
The significant implications of this study are that micelle-solubilized chlorophyll is an excellent detector of enzyme-generated triplet carbonyl species, as confirmed with several systems, and that the use of micelles make it possible to extend 'photobiochemistry without light' to other photobiologically important, yet water insoluble acceptors.     

TRIPLET ENERGY TRANSFER TO CHLOROPLASTS FROM PEROXIDASE-GENERATED EXCITED ALIPHATIC ALDEHYDES

Abstract Linear aldehydes trigger red emission from chloroplasts. If horseradish peroxidase is present, the aldehyde is oxidized to the next lower homologue in the triplet state, which in turn sensitizes chlorophyll fluorescence. Only certain chlorophylls are activated.     

ENERGY TRANSFER FROM CAROTENOID POLYENES TO PORPHYRINS: A LIGHT-HARVESTING ANTENNA

Carotenoid to porphyrin singlet-singlet energy transfer has been observed in a new covalently linked carotenoid-porphyrin ester. Nuclear magnetic resonance studies reveal that the relatively high energy transfer efficiency (? 25%) is a result of a stacked conformation in which the 26 π electron carotenoid chromophore resides ?4–5 Å above the mean porphyrin plane. Substantial quenching of porphyrin fluorescence was also observed. Implications for the mechanism of energy transfer and possible applications to synthetic solar energy conversions systems are discussed.     

ENERGY TRANSFER FROM CAROTENOIDS TO CHLOROPHYLL a IN BLACK LIPID MEMBRANES

Abstract— Black lipid membranes (BLM) were prepared from extracts of Chlorella and spinach chloroplasts. Excitation spectra of the 730 nm fluorescence of chlorophyll a in the BLM contained peaks identified as due to carotenoids and which therefore indicate sensitization of the chlorophyll fluorescence by them. The efficiency of this energy transfer was evaluated by comparison of the actual excitation spectra with those corresponding to 0 and 100 per cent transfer efficiency. Efficiencies were of the order of 40–50 per cent in BLM, but only 10 per cent in pigment solutions, when the mean distance between pigment molecules was 23 Å in both systems. The fluorescence quantum yield of chlorophyll a in such solutions was only 2 per cent of that found in BLM. Enhancement of energy transfer in BLM is considered to be mainly due to suppression of competing deactivation processes of excited carotenoid states, such as diffusional quenching by ground-state molecules and internal conversion. Favorable orientation of pigment molecules in the BLM constitutes a further enhancement factor.     

THE MECHANISM OF SINGLET-SINGLET EXCITATION ENERGY TRANSFER FROM CAROTENOIDS TO CHLOROPHYLL

Abstract— It is proposed that the light-harvesting function of carotenoids in photosynthesis requires electron exchange between the energy donor (carotenoids) and the acceptor (antenna Chi molecules); this supports an earlier suggestion by Goedheer (1972) that there exists a close spatial relationship between these pigments in vivo.     

THE MECHANISM OF ENERGY TRANSFER FROM POLY-p-BENZOYLPHENYLACETIMIDO-BOVINE SERUM ALBUMIN TO SMALL-MOLECULE QUENCHERS

Abstract— Results of a quantitative photochemical study of poly- p -benzoylphenylacetimido-bovine serum albumin in the presence of small-molecule triplet quenchers are reported. The efficiency of quenching by organic salts containing low triplet energy chromophores is shown to be qualitatively dependent on their predicted association constants to the modified protein. In addition, quenching is inhibited by salts of organic acids which possess high binding affinities for the protein but do not contain chromophores of low triplet energy. Quantitative treatment of the quenching and inhibition data yields results which strongly support the operation of an 'affinity controlled' mechanism for triplet energy transfer from the benzophenone moieties of the modified-bovine serum albumin to quenchers such as α-naphthylacetate and trans -cinnamate.     

ENERGY TRANSFER IN TRIMERIC C-PHYCOCYANIN STUDIED BY PICOSECOND FLUORESCENCE KINETICS

Abstract— The excited state kinetics of trimeric C-phycocyanin from Mastigocladus laminosus has been measured as a function of the emission and excitation wavelength by the single-photon timing technique with picosecond resolution and simultaneous data analysis. A fast decay component of 22 ps (C-phycocyanin with linker peptides) and 36 ps (C-phycocyanin lacking linker peptides) is attributed to efficient energy transfer from sensitizing to fluorescing chromophores. At long detection wavelengths the fast decay components are found to turn into a rise term. This finding further corroborates the concept of intramolecular energy transfer. Previous reports on the conformational heterogeneity of the chromophores and/or proteins in C-phycocyanin are confirmed. Our data also provide indications for the importance of the uncoloured linker peptides for this heterogeneity.     

ENERGY TRANSFER AMONG THE CHROMOPHORES OF C-PHYCOCYANIN FROM Anabaena variabilis USING STEADY STATE AND TIME-RESOLVED FLUORESCENCE SPECTROSCOPY

Abstract We have investigated the model of energy transfer between sensitizing (s) and fluorescing (f) chromophores for the αβ monomer and for the separated α and β subunits of C-phycocyanin from Anabaena variabilis using fluorescence emission spectroscopy, fluorescence excitation polarization, and picosecond-resolved fluorescence decay kinetics. The fluorescence emission maximum occurs at 640 nm for all samples. The fluorescence excitation polarization is constant ( P = 0.40) across the absorption hand for the α subunit, but it increases across the absorption band towards longer wavelength for the β subunit and the αβ monomer. The fluorescence decay kinetics exhibit two exponential lifetimes of 1.3-1.5 ns and 340-500 ps for the αβ monomer and for the α and β subunit preparations.
We attribute the change in polarization across the absorption band to energy transfer among the three chromophores in the αβ monomer and among the two chromophores in the separated β subunit. The constant, relatively high polarization in the separated a subunit, having only one chromophore, is consistent with the absence of both energy transfer and chromophore rotation. The concentration of the α subunit did not affect the decay kinetics, suggesting that the short lifetime component does not arise from aggregation of the α subunits. The biexponential decay kinetics of the α subunit cannot be explained using the sensitizing-fluorescing model. The possibility of conformational interactions is under investigation.     

ENERGY TRANSFER FROM SODIUM N-ALKYL CARBAZOLE SULFONATE TO ZINC TETRAPHENYLPORPHYRIN IN MICELLAR SOLUTIONS

Abstract— In order to study energy transfer to zinc tetraphenylporphyrin (ZnTPP) in micellar solution, a series of surface active agents of sodium N-alkyl carbazole sulfonate, were synthesized. The energy transfer efficiency from the carbazole group near the surface to ZnTPP located in the core of sodium lauryl sulfate (NaLS) micelles was found to be 30%, as observed through the fluorescence of ZnTPP. The critical micelle concentrations (CMC) of the sodium N-alkyl carbazole sulfonate surfactants, determined by scattering, were 2 times 10_-4 M, 3 times 10_-5M and 3 times 10_-6 M, respectively, for alkyl: octyl, dodecyl and hexadecyl. The sensitivity of the CMC of NaLS to the presence of foreign surfactants and solubilizates was also investigated.     

AFFINITY-CONTROLLED TRIPLET ENERGY TRANSFER FROM p-BENZOYLBENZYL-BOVINE SERUM ALBUMIN TO LOW MOLECULAR WEIGHT QUENCHERS

Abstract— Methods for the controlled synthesis of modified protein photosensitizers which maximize affinity-controlled energy transfer are discussed. Modified proteins containing covalently linked benzophenone groups were prepared by the reaction of bovine serum albumin with p -benzoylbenzyl bromide under conditions limiting the number and locations of the introduced benzophenone chromophores. The mechanism of energy transfer responsible for quenching of triplet photochemical reactions of the modified proteins was explored using water soluble quenchers. In addition, methods were employed to determine the magnitude of the contribution of the affinity-controlled mechanism for energy transfer in these systems. The utility of sodium- cis -8-methylene-4,9-decadienoate as a triplet energy transfer indicator for macromolecular systems was demonstrated using the modified proteins as sensitizers. The trienoic acid was prepared starting with the known 4-methylene-5-hexenal by the Wittig reaction with 3-ethoxycarbonylpropylidene triphenylphosphorane followed by saponification. Triplet sensitized irradiation of this trienoic acid using p -benzoylbenzyltriethylammonium chloride as sensitizer led to production of endo- and exo-1-vinyl-5-(3-carboxyethyl)bicyclo[2.1.1]hexane along with the trans acid. Characterization of the bicyclohexane products was made on the basis of spectroscopic evidence. Results demonstrate that quenching of the intramolecular photoreactions of the modified proteins by trienoic acid must be a result of triplet energy transfer, since irradiation of these modified proteins in the presence of the trienoic acid salt led to the characteristic triplet photoproduct mixture.     

ENERGY TRANSFER FROM CHLOROPHYLL b TO CHLOROPHYLL a IN A HYDROPHOBIC MODEL SYSTEM

Abstract— Chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b purified by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) were subsequently adsorbed on the surface of a pellicular reverse phase packing normally used in HPLC. The granule surface is reacted with octadecyl groups and furnishes an hydrophobic substrate for pigment adsorption. Reflectance spectra of chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b , each adsorbed at average spacings of about 11 nm² per molecule, had red region maxima at 664 and 643nm respectively. Fluorescence excitation spectra for 740nm emission from these surfaces peaked at about 420nm for chlorophyll a and 460nm for chlorophyll b. Adsorbed pigments excited at either of the two wave lengths had a single fluorescence emission peak at 683nm for chlorophyll a and at 664nm for chlorophyll b. A surface having both pigments adsorbed in approximately equal amounts with an overall average spacing of about 5.6nm² per molecule also had peaks at 420 and 460nm in the excitation spectrum. However, excitation of adsorbed molecules on this (latter) surface, at either 420 or 460nm, produced emission with the single chlorophyll a peak at 683nm. It is concluded that, under the conditions of our experiment, exciting adsorbed chlorophyll b contributes strongly to emission from adsorbed chlorophyll a.     

DONOR FLUORESCENCE AS A PROBE OF ENERGY TRANSFER*,†

Abstract— When a system of N similar molecules (the donors) gives its excitation energy rapidly enough to a dissimilar acceptor, the donor fluorescence rate equals the energy removal rate. Analysis of donor fluorescence decay then provides information about the N -donor system even if the acceptor is chemically unidentified. The dependence of the removal rate on N in a linear polymer in the extreme limit of very strong interdonor coupling is compared with that of very weak interdonor coupling. The principal result is that removal can be slower in the strong coupling limit because standing-wave excitons tend to avoid boundaries. Possible application of the concept of standing-wave excitons to photosynthetic units is discussed. The theory of diffusive energy transfer (very weak coupling limit) is also discussed, and some of its basic formulas given in simple form.     

ON THE TRIPLET-TRIPLET ENERGY TRANSFER FROM CHLOROPHYLL TO CAROTENE IN TRITON X 100 MICELLES

Abstract— The kinetics of the triplet-triplet energy transfer of chlorophyll α (Cha) to β carotene (Car) has been investigated in Triton X100 micelles by 353 nm laser flash photolysis. This transfer consists of an intramicellar process involving pigment species located in the same micelle. A kinetic model using a bimolecular treatment leads to a rate constant of the energy transfer in the micellar phase ( k _tm≅ 6 × 10⁸ M ^-1 s^-1) lower than the previously determined values in homogeneous solvents ( k _t≅ 4.6 ≅ 10⁹ M ^-ls^-l); this result shows the high microviscosity of the micellar core. In addition, the apparent bimolecular rate constant ( k _t≅ 5.0 ≅ 10¹⁰ M ^-l s^-1) appears to be an order of magnitude higher than in homogeneous solvents. The lifetime of the carotene triplet state is the same in the hydrophobic core of Triton X100 micelles (τ a = 7.7 μs) as in organic solvents (hexane or carbon disulfide). The transfer yield is controlled by the distribution of chlorophyll and carotene molecules in the micelles.