| Abstract: | Fluorescent conjugates of polyethyleneimine (PEI) were prepared by conjugation of fluorescent dyes, fluorescein isocyanate (FIC), and 1-dimethylaminonaphthalene-5-sulfonyl chloride (DNS), to PEI. The degree of polarization of the fluorescence was measured as a function of temperature and solvent viscosity on aqueous solutions of the conjugates and the data thus obtained were analyzed in terms of an equation of the Perrin type to calculate the mean relaxation time of the conjugate. The mean relaxation times obtained for the two types of the conjugates, which differ in the excited lifetime by a factor of about three, practically agree with one another and are about 2.5 X 10?8 sec. The relaxation time of the DNS conjugate increases with increasing molecular weight of the conjugate from 2 X 10?8 to 4 X 10?8 sec. These values are much larger than those of the PAA conjugates reported in Part I of this series. The relaxation time of this order may correspond to that for the cooperative rotary motion of about ten monomeric residues on the PEI chain, that is, for the motion of an intermediate segment of the PEI molecule in solution. Finally, relaxation time–molecular weight relationships for various types of fluorescent conjugates are compared. It is suggested that these data may serve as a basis for elucidating the mode of motion of a given molecule in solution from the polarization data. |
