Guest‐responsive excimer emission in an α‐helix peptide bearing γ‐cyclodextrin and two naphthalene units

An α‐helix peptide (17 amino acids) bearing γ‐cyclodextrin (γ‐CD) and two naphthyl units (γ‐N₂17) was designed and prepared as a new type of chemosensor. The α‐helix peptide with γ‐CD sandwiched between two naphthyl moieties exhibits excimer emission by inserting the two naphthalene moieties into the γ‐CD cavity from the opposite sides in the side chain of the peptide. The two reference peptides, which have one naphthalene moiety and one γ‐CD unit, exhibit only monomer fluorescence and have larger binding constants for the examined guests than γ‐N₂17.     

Aggregation of l,3-di(α-naphthyl)propane and di(α-naphthylmethyl)ether in aqueous binary solvents

The UV absorption and fluorescence spectra of 1,3-di (α-naphthyl) propane (1), di (α-naphthylmethyl) ether ( 2 ), and α-methylnaphthalene ( 3 ) in aqueous methanol, ethanol, and DMSO were recorded as a function of π value (fraction of water in binary solvents). The existence of two states, a metastable state (defined as m) and a stable stationary state (defined as s), of molecules 1 as well as 2 in the above cosolvents at high π was shown by the contrary fluorescence excimer to monomer intensity (I_e/I_m) vs. π relationships of the samples prepared with different processes. On the basis of the π value, substrate concentration, and the temperature dependence of the UV spectra, fluorescence excitation and emission spectra, the chromophores of 1, 2 show the formation of aggregates in ground state at high π owing to the hydrophobic interaction. The m states consist of a supersaturated solution with aggregates, whereas the s states are suspended microcrystals or micro-oil-droplets with aggregates. The conformations of the molecules in the aggregates were discussed. Single crystal X-ray structure of 2 is reported.     

Intramolecular excimer emission of triply bridged [3.3.N](3,6,9)carbazolophanes

The photophysical properties of a series of triply bridged [3.3.n](3,6,9)carbazolophanes ([3.3.n]Cz, n = 3, 4, 5, 6) were studied as a model compound for a fully overlapped carbazole excimer. In these [3.3.n]Cz molecules, a plane angle of the two carbazole moieties changed systematically from nearly parallel to oblique, with increases in the length of the methylene chain n bridging at the 9-position of each carbazole ring. Absorption bands of [3.3.n]Cz showed the blue-shift and the splitting for (1)L(a) <-- (1)A and (1)L(b) <-- (1)A transition bands of the reference carbazole monomer, respectively. These spectral changes in [3.3.n]Cz were explained by Kasha's molecular exciton theory with the distance r and dihedral angle theta between the carbazole moieties in the ground state. In both liquid and glass matrixes, [3.3.n]Cz showed intramolecular excimer emission. The emission peak wavelength changed from 409 nm (n = 6) to 480 nm (n = 3) depending on r in the ground state. The dependence of the peak wavelength on r clearly showed that relative configurations of carbazole moieties in the ground state were preserved even in the excimer states. The smaller radiative rate of the excimer emission than the reference monomer was explained by the dimer symmetry of [3.3.n]Cz.     

Photoreactivity and emission properties of liquid-crystalline twin dimers containing cinnamic acid moieties at both ends of ethylene glycol spacers. II. Emission properties

Emission properties of liquid-crystalline twin dimers containing 4-methoxy-cinnamic acid moieties at both ends of various ethylene glycol derivatives (nEGMC), where n denotes the number of the ethylene glycol units in the spacers, have been explored by steady-state and time resolved fluorescence spectroscopy in relation to the morphology of the system. Characteristic emissions were observed in the twin dimers, particularly in 2EGMC and 5EGMC, which were ascribed to excimer emission, and the energy gap between the locally excited state (monomer emission) and the excimer state and could be correlated to the difference in the spatial orientation of the mesogenic 4-methoxycinnamate groups adopted in nEGMC in the ground state. The picosecond time resolved fluorescence spectroscopy revealed no observed rise in the excimer emission in any sample at any temperature, indicating that the excimer is most probably formed by direct excitation of the pair wise arrangement of the 4-methoxycinnamate moieties in the ground state; thus, the excimer formation behaviour reflects well the ground state morphology of the twin dimers.     

Unique hydrophobic interactions of pyrene in aqueous solution as effected by polyelectrolytes and surfactants

Pyrene substituents covalently bounded to polyelectrolytes show not only excited-state interactions but also unique ground-state interactions in aqueous solution. The pyrene moieties in pyrenesubstituted ionic molecules also show these interactions when aqueous solutions of these molecules are treated with polyelectrolytes or surfactants well below their critical micelle concentrations. These hydrophobic interactions are revealed by changes in absorption, fluorescence, and excitation spectra. The well-resolved vibrational bands in the absorption and excitation spectra of pyrene become somewhat diffuse, whereas monomer fluorescence is reduced and replaced by excimer fluorescence. The rationale for these results is that the pyrene moieties in these ionic solutions seek out hydrophobic locations on the polyelectrolytes or surfactants, where pyrene aggregation is responsible for these interactions and the corresponding changes in spectra.     

Aggregation‐Controlled Excimer Emission from Anthracene‐Containing Polyamidoamine Dendrimers

Lower generations of polyamidoamine (PAMAM) dendrimers were peripherally modified with anthracene moieties, and excimer emission from anthracene chromophores was investigated in an acetonitrile–water mixture at acidic and basic pH values. Results from fluorescence spectroscopic experiments suggest that 1) the propensity of anthracene‐modified PAMAM dendrimers to aggregate in acetonitrile is substantial in the presence of 15–20 vol % of water, and 2) aggregate formation in anthracene‐modified PAMAM dendrimers leads to unique morphologies in the ground state, where the anthracene units are pre‐arranged to form stable excimers upon photoexcitation. Three types of anthracene excimers are generated in the system, with face‐to‐face, angular, and T‐shaped geometry. The formation of different types of anthracene excimers was confirmed by steady‐state and time‐resolved fluorescence spectroscopic experiments. Experimental results further suggest that it is feasible to alter the type of excimer formed by anthracene units attached to the PAMAM dendrimers through altering the propensity for ground‐state aggregation. Most excitingly, increased π conjugation in the molecular framework of anthracene‐substituted PAMAM dendrimers leads to intense and exclusive excimer emission from anthracene at room temperature.     

Adduct Formation Between γ-Cyclodextrin and the Bifluorophore 1,3-Bis(1-pyrenyl)propane

The complexation of the bifluorophore 1,3-bis(pyrenyl)propane with γ-cyclodextrin in water has been studied by means of steady state and time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy. It was found that in the association with γ-cyclodextrin the propane chain of 1,3-bis(pyrenyl)propane folds and the two pyrene units enter the same cyclodextrin cavity where they form weakly bound ground state dimers, which upon excitation emit excimer fluorescence. In addition to this 1:1 excimer emitting complex, two more complexes were detected, which emit monomer pyrene fluorescence. One has 1:1 stoichiometry, i.e. isomeric to the previous complex, and the other, with 2:1 stoichiometry, is comprised of two γ-cyclodextrin units and one 1,3-bis(pyrenyl)propane.     

Theoretical study of non-radiative deactivation pathways for some heterocyclic compounds. I. Pyrrolyl-izoxazole derivatives

We perform an experimental and theoretical study on some pyrrolyl-izoxazole derivatives with single bridged donor (D) and acceptor (A) moieties, potentially Twisted Intramolecular Charge Transfer (TICT) state forming compounds. The emission spectra in solvent of different polarities and at different excitation wavelengths were performed. The fluorescence quantum yield is very low and the emission band shifts towards long wavelengths in polar solvents and on increasing the excitation wavelength. Solvent dependent semiempirical calculations were performed. The ground and excited states potential energy surfaces were built in terms of the torsion angle about the single bond joining D and A. The ground states have quasiplanar geometry, but the minimum of the excited states corresponds to the orthogonal conformation, stabilised in methanol due to the large charge separation between the D and A fragments. The possibility of forming TICT excited states for the studied pyrrolyl derivatives is discussed.     

Efficient emission from charge recombination during the pulse radiolysis of electrochemical luminescent donor-acceptor molecules with an ethynyl linkage

Efficient monomer and excimer emission from various donor-acceptor substituted phenylethynes (PE), which are known as efficient electrogenerated chemiluminescent molecules, was observed with time-resolved fluorescence measurement during the pulse radiolysis in benzene. On the basis of the transient absorption and emission measurements, and steady-state measurements, the formation of PE in the singlet excited state (1PE*) and the excimer (1PE2*) can be interpreted by the charge recombination between the PE radical cation (PE.+) and the PE radical anion (PE.-) which are generated initially from the radiolytic reaction in benzene. It is suggested that the positive and negative charges are localized on the donor and acceptor moieties in the radical cation and anion, respectively. This mechanism is reasonably explained by the relationship between the annihilation enthalpy changes (-DeltaH' degrees ) and singlet excitation energies of donor-substituted phenyl(9-acridinyl)ethynes (1(a-e)). In addition to the monomer emission, the compounds bearing weak donors (1(a-d)) show the excimer emission due to a very small twist angle between the donor and acceptor moieties. For the phenyl(9-cyano-10-anthracenyl)ethynes (2(c) and 2(f)), although they also show the monomer and excimer emissions, it cannot be explained by the relationship between -DeltaH' degrees values and their singlet excitation energies, suggesting the formation of the ICT state and H-type excimer in which two 9-cyano-10-anthracenyl moieties are stacked face-to-face with donor bearing a benzene ring projecting perpendicularly away from each other through the charge recombination between 2.+) and 2.-) and/or triplet-triplet annihilation.     

Direct observation of excimer formation in anthracene and 9,9′-bianthryl

The existence of anthracene excimer in fluid solution was confirmed for the first time by observing the coincidence of the rise time of excimer fluorescence with the decay time of monomer fluorescence with the use of a picosecond laser, a streak camera, and a computer. The continuum model of diffusion theory is found to be applicable to the excimer formation and the encounter distance between anthracene in the excited state and that in the ground state is calculated to be 8 ± 2 Å. The anomalously broad featureless fluorescence observed for 9,9′-bianthryl in glycerol-methanol (9:1) solution was found to be emitted from the species formed only in the excited state and its rise time was found to be coincident with the decay time of fluorescence from anthracene moiety composing 9,9′-bianthryl, α,ω-9,9′-bianthrylpropane, -butane, -hexane, and -dodecane were found not to form excimer in the excited state.     

PHOTOPHYSICS and PHOTOCHEMISTRY OF BIS-2-(9-ANTHRYL)ETHYL GLUTARATE

Abstract— The photochemistry and photophysics of bis-(2-(9-anthryl)ethyl glutarate 2 and 2-(9-anthryl) ethyl pivalate 3 have been examined as monomeric models for poly-2-(9-anthryl)ethyl methacrylate 1. The absorption and excitation spectra of 2 show no ground state interaction, but appreciable monomer (51%) and excimer (49%) emission. Delayed monomer and excimer fluorescence are also observed in fluid solution at room temperature. Photolysis of 2 at low temperature produces a photoproduct (44% yield) which is unstable at room temperature and presumably is the head-to-head (H-H) dimer. Steady state irradiation of 2 at room temperature (Λ 350 nm) cleanly produces a head-to-tail (H-T) dimer (6) derived from the singlet state and an additional unidentified adduct (7). The product distribution is concentration dependent, with 6 predominating at high concentrations (> 10⁻³ M ). The fluorescence spectra of the broken dimers derived from 6 and 7 indicate that substantial ir overlap exists in the transition state leading to each product.     

溶液中聚电解质分子内激态缔合体的形成

采用荧光分光光度法,实验测定了聚苯乙烯磺酸钠在无盐和有盐的水溶液中,单体和激态缔合体的荧光发射光谱.结果表明:激态缔合体单体发射强度比I_E/I_M随外加盐种类、浓度和价态而变化.在相同盐浓度下,各体系的I_E/I_M次序为:KCl>NaCl>LiCl和CaCl_2>MgCl_2。 也研究了NaCl水溶液中聚电解质分子的荧光猝灭.结果表明:随外加盐浓度逐渐增大,聚电解质分子由类棒状向无规线团状转化,该状态有利于激态缔合体的形成.     

Fluorescence as probe for transport and lateral order in vapor grown Langmuir-Blodgett(LB) multilayer-type single crystals of anthracene chromophores with fatty acid tails

Fluorescence spectra of anthracene moieties with fatty acid tails attached at the 2-position are reported for Langmuir-Blodgett(LB)-type multilayer configurations obtained as single crystals in the gas phase. These systems are considered the best ordered experimental model systems for chromophores with fatty acid tails arranged in the LB multilayer configuration. Closest agreement of the fluorescence spectrum with that of the unsubstituted anthracene crystal is found for the 4-(2-anthryl)-1-butanoic acid (2A4) crystal. Packing of the anthracene moieties is very similar in both crystals. Low-temperature spectra (10 K) reveal strong broadening of the peaks due to spatial disorder in the 2A4 crystal. 7-(2-Anthryl)-1-heptanoic acid (2A7) crystals and even more so actual 2A7 LB multilayers have less structured fluorescence spectra that extend further to lower energies. Picosecond time resolved fluorescence decay curves show exciton transport and trapping in low energy traps. Compressed ground state pairs with excimer-type spatial configurations are excited directly in the red (476 nm) to emit structureless excimer-type fluorescence.     

Microenvironmental control of photochemical reactions: II. Fluorescence quenching of naphthalene and 1,3-di-(α-naphthyl)propane by RNA and bases in aqueous methanol

The fluorescence quenching of naphthalene ( 2 ) and 1,3-di(α-naphythyl)propane ( 1 ) by RNA and bases in methanol-water (v:v = 1:1) binary solvents in the presence or absence of cyclodextrin (CD) has been investigated. The results show that both the monomer and excimer fluorescence of 1 can be quenched by these quenchers. The quenching and rates depend on the quencher and temperature. It is shown that there is a critical temperature (Tc) for each quencher. Below Tc, the excimer fluorescence spectra show vibrational structures and the Stern-Volmer plots are straight lines (for uracil and cytosine); while above the Tc, the vibrational structures disappear and the Stern-Volmer plots deviate from linearity and curve upward. The former is a static process; while the latter is a mixture of both static and dynamic processes. The addition of α-CD has no effect on the fine structure; whereas β-CD prevents the appearance of this structure efficiently. The quenching rates both for the monomer and excimer of 1 by bases except cytosine in the presence of β-CD at ambient temperature are not changed; the quenching of fluorescence of 1 by RNA in the presence of β-CD, however, is hindered. Time-resolved fluorescence study shows that the excimer fine structures appear from the zero time. The intensity of fine structures depend on the fraction of water (π) in binary solvents, and it is independent of the pH value of the solvents. It is suggested that bases and RNA induced aggregates (perhaps microcrystal) are formed, in which the motion of molecules 1 is limited.     

A polyrotaxane series containing alpha-cyclodextrin and naphthalene-modified alpha-cyclodextrin as a light-harvesting antenna system

Supramolecular light-harvesting antenna systems were constructed by using polyrotaxanes, in which cyclodextrin (CD) rings of alpha-CD and naphthalene (energy donor)-appended alpha-CD are threaded by a poly(ethylene glycol) chain with anthracene (energy acceptor) units at both ends (5-8). The effects of the component ratio of the polyrotaxanes on the efficiencies of energy migration and energy transfer were examined by fluorescence emission and excitation spectra and anisotropy and by fluorescence decay measurements. The observed results were explained by using the Forster mechanism.     

疏水作用对光化学和光物理过程的影响 I: 不良溶剂中长链β-萘甲酸烷基酯的簇集和激基缔合物的形成

研究了不同链长的β-萘甲酸烷基酯(An)在乙二醇-水(EG-H2O)和二甲基砜-水(DMSO-H2O)混合溶剂中的荧光光谱, 以及添加物(无机盐、长链饱和烷烃、糖淀粉)对An荧光的影响. 长链An在混合溶剂中很容易形成激基缔合物, 表明疏水作用促使长链分子相互簇集. 测定了不同链长的分子发生簇集的临界浓度和临界溶剂组成. 分别添加长链烷烃和糖淀粉都能引起激基缔合物的荧光强度减弱和单体荧光强度的增强, 表明An和长链烷烃共簇集, 与糖淀粉形成包结物. 研究了在簇集体中An形成激基缔合物的动力学和热力学, 测定了激基缔合物形成和解离速率常数、活化能和热焓的变化. 证明了簇集体中基态发色基团之间并不具有激基缔合物的构型, 在一定温度下, 簇集体会发生相变.     

不同位置取代的三氰基乙烯基蒽的光谱行为的研究

本文设计合成了两个典型的共轭的电子给体与电子受体(D-A)化合物:2-三氰基乙烯基蒽(2-TCVA)与9-三氰基乙烯基蒽(9-TCVA),通过极性效应,温度效应对它们基态与激发态的光谱行为进行了表征。研究表明:这两个化合物均表现出显著的电荷转移(CT)吸收峰,分子受光激发后,9-TCVA只能在非极性溶剂中产生分子内电荷转移(ICT)态荧光,而2-TCVA在极性与非极性溶剂中都能从ICT态发光。另外,温度效应显示冻结态下,2-TCVA只发射ICT态荧光,而9-TCVA既发射类蒽(anthracene-like)荧光又发射ICT态荧光,造成这一现象的主要原因可能是2-TCVA与9-TCVA分子平面性上的差异而引起分子内电荷转移相互作用不同所致。文中还利用了Bilot-Kawski公式估算了化合物2-TCVA在激发态与基态时偶极矩的差值为18.8D。     

Fluorescent molecular sensory system based on bis pyrene-modified gamma-cyclodextrin dimer for steroids and endocrine disruptors.

A gamma-cyclodextrin dimer modified with two pyrene moieties, 6-(2-pyrenebutylate-aminoethyl)pyrenebutylate-amino-6-deoxy-bis-gamma-cyclodextrin, has been synthesized in the presence of N,N'-dicyclohexycarbodiimide from gamma-cyciodextrin dimer linked with ethylenediamine at an upper rim. The sensing ability and binding property of the titled dimer were investigated for bile acids and endocrine disruptors. This cyclodextrin dimer showed both monomer and excimer fluorescence; the guest-induced emissions were observed as increases or decreases depending on the guest. The values deltaI(m)/I0(m) and deltaI(ex)/I0(ex), where I0(m) and I(m) are fluorescence intensities of monomer emission in the absence and presence of a guest and I0(ex) and I(ex) are those of excimer emission and deltaI(m) and deltaI(ex) were I(m) - I0(m) and I(ex) - I0(ex), respectively, were used as a parameter of sensitivity. This host exhibited highly sensitive molecular recognition ability for bile acids and endocrine disruptors, in which the sensing parameters obtained from monomer emission were plus or minus values, whereas the parameters obtained as excimer emission were minus ones. The behavior of the appended moieties of the host during a host-guest complexation was studied by induced circular dichroism (ICD) and fluorescence spectra. The ICD intensities of the titled dimer were decreased upon an addition of a guest. The guest-induced variations in the fluorescence and ICD intensity suggest that the appended moieties move by altering the spatial relationship in the hydrophobic space between two linked cyclodextrins.     

Effect of Bridging Units on Photophysical and DNA Binding Properties of a Few Cyclophanes

A few novel anthracene-based cyclophanes CP-1 , CP-2 and CP-3 were synthesized and their interactions with DNA were investigated employing photophysical and biophysical techniques. In methanol and acetonitrile, these systems exhibited optical properties characteristic of the anthracene chromophore. However, in the aqueous medium, the symmetric cyclophane CP-1 showed a dual emission having λ_max at 430 and 550 nm, due to the monomer and excimer, respectively. In contrast, the cyclophanes CP-2 and CP-3 in the aqueous medium showed structured anthracene absorption and emission spectra similar to those obtained in methanol and acetonitrile. DNA binding studies indicate that CP-1 undergoes efficient nonclassical partial intercalative interactions with DNA resulting in the exclusive formation of a sandwich-type excimer having enhanced emission intensity and lifetimes. The cyclophane CP-2 having one anthracene moiety exhibited nonclassical intercalative binding with DNA, albeit with less efficiency compared with CP-1 . In contrast, CP-3 , having sterically bulky viologen bridging group showed DNA electrostatic as well as groove binding interactions. These results demonstrate that the nature of the bridging unit plays an important role in the binding mode of the cyclophanes with DNA and in the formation of the novel sandwich-type excimer.     

Self-assembly of a hydrophobically modified naphthalene-labeled poly(acrylic acid) polyelectrolyte in water: organic solvent mixtures followed by steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence

The solution properties of two water-soluble polymers, poly(acrylic acid) (PAA), covalently labeled with the fluorescent hydrophobic dye naphthalene (Np), have been investigated in water:organic solvent mixtures. The naphthalene chromophores have been randomly attached, onto the polymer, with two different degrees of labeling. Fluorescence measurements (steady-state and time-resolved) have been used to follow the photophysical behavior of the polymers and consequently report on the self-association of the polymers in the mixed organic (methanol or dioxane):aqueous solutions. The emission spectra of the high-labeled Np PAA reveal the presence of monomer and excimer bands whereas with the low-labeled polymer only monomer emission is observed. The excitation spectra collected at the monomer and excimer emission bands show significant differences, depending on the water content of the mixture, which indicate the simultaneous presence of preformed and dynamic dimers as routes to excimer formation. The time-resolved data decay profiles of the high-labeled polymer in the mixtures were always triple exponential whereas in pure methanol and dioxane they follow biexponential laws. The data in the mixtures are consistent with two types of monomers and one excimer. Both monomers are able to give rise to excimer in the excited state, one type involving the movement of long distant Np chromophores and the other involving a local reorientation of adjacent Np chromophores. These correspond to different decay times: (1) a long which corresponds to the long distant approach of non-neighboring Np chromophores forming an excimer and (2) a short corresponding to the fast adjustment of two neighboring Np chromophores in order to have the adequate parallel geometry. An additional decay time corresponding to the excimer decay was found to be present at all wavelengths. All the decay times were dependent on the water content of the mixture. An estimation of the two excimer forming rate constants values is made for the mixed media considered in this work. On the whole, using both steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence parameters, and by comparing data for a polymer with a small number of hydrophobes with a more highly modified one, it is possible in great detail to demonstrate how association is controlled by solvent quality for the hydrophobes and by the distance between hydrophobes.