Absorption and Fluorescence Studies on Neutral and Cationic Isoalloxazines

The electronic properties of a variety of methylated isoalloxazine derivatives have been investigated with absorption and fluorescece techniques (Table 1). The spectral effects of methyl substitution at different positions in the isoalloxazine ring are interpreted in terms of different bond orders between the C-atoms of the methyl groups and of the aromatic ring. Methyl groups at C(6) or C(9) induce quenching of the fluorescence and shortening of the lifetime whereas a methyl group at C(7) has an opposite effect. The quenching effect might be due to strain in the molecular framework caused by the methyl groups. The lowest energy levels of the isoalloxazine cations are shifted to higher energy as compared to the neutral isoalloxazines. Apart from these shifts the trends in spectral behaviour upon methylation are similar to those observed for the neutral isoalloxazine (cf. Table 2). The fluorescence of the isoalloxazine cations is strongly quenched in auqeous solution and their lifetime much shortened. These observations indicated that there is substantial interaction between the charged fluorophore and the water dipoles and that this interaction produces efficient radiationless deactivation of the first excited singlet state.