Academic literature on the topic 'Interchromophoric distance'

Five cyclophanes composed of two perylene bisimide (PBI) dyes and various CH2–arylene–CH2 linker units were synthesized. PM6-D3H4 geometry-optimized structures and a single crystal for one of these cyclophanes reveal well-defined distances between the two coplanar PBI units in these cyclophanes, spanning the range from 5.0 to 12.5 Å. UV/vis absorption spectra reveal a redistribution of oscillator strength of the vibronic bands due to a H-type exciton coupling even for the cyclophane with the largest interchromophoric distance. A quantitative evaluation according to the Kasha–Spano theory affords exciton coupling strengths ranging from 64 cm−1 for the largest cyclophane up to 333 cm−1 for the smallest one and a surprisingly good fit to the cubic interchromophoric distance in the framework of the point-dipole approximation. Interchromophoric interaction is also noticed in fluorescence lifetimes that are significantly increased for all five cyclophanes as expected for H-coupled chromophores due to a decrease of the radiative rate. For the three largest cyclophanes with interchromophoric distances of >9 Å, fluorescence quantum yields remain high in chloroform (>88%), whilst for the smaller ones with interchromophoric distances <6 Å, additional nonradiative pathways lead to a pronounced fluorescence quenching.

Fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) is a technique widely used in studies of interchromophoric distances in biomolecules such as peptides, proteins and nucleic acids. FRET is especially useful in determination of conformational changes caused by a solvent, presence of denaturing agents, diffusion and other external factors. Precision of interchromophoric distances obtained using the FRET technique is comparable with that of low-resolution X-ray diffraction and NMR data. Comparison of FRET results with the crystal structure for several proteins is reviewed. Moreover, the effect of the orientation factor kappa2 value on FRET results and determinants of kappa2 are discussed.

Surfactant-assisted self-assembly of porphyrin molecules in aqueous solutions sometimes leads to the formation of hybrid supramolecular structures with unusual photophysical properties resulting from the dipole–dipole interactions between the neighboring aromatic systems. The macrocycle orientation and interchromophore distance in such assemblies are determined by the dye–surfactant interactions, and hence, strongly depend on the molecular structure of both surfactant and porphyrin molecules. In this paper we studied the influence of the number and position of the peripheral alkyl chains of amphiphilic meso-aryl-substituted porphyrins on their aggregation behavior and intermolecular interactions with different surfactants in aqueous solutions. The studies revealed a crucial role of the local acidity on the micellar surface in the protolytic equilibrium of the porphyrin derivatives, as well as the influence of the macrocycle hydrophilic–lipophilic balance on its solubilization site within a micellar system. These findings enable prediction of the photophysical properties of amphiphilic porphyrin derivatives in the presence of different solubilizing agents and membrane-mimetic systems, and hence, selection the most suitable drug delivery systems for the novel amphiphilic porphyrin-based photosensitizers.

Efficiencies of the intramolecular triplet-triplet energy transfer (ITET) in various bichromophoric amino acids (glycine, valine, phenylalanine, and sarcosine), dipeptides (glycylglycine, phenylalanylphenylalanine), and a simple diester, with the benzoyl and naphthyl terminal groups serving as donor and acceptor, respectively, have been determined by the steady-state photokinetic measurements. The magnitude of the transfer rate constants (>108 s-1) and the number of bonds separating the chromophores (8 or 11 atoms) suggest a through-space exothermic exchange mechanism in all cases. The influence of interchromophore distance, the character of the connecting chain as well as of side chains, was evaluated. While the most efficient energy transfer was found in a flexible diester and in valine- and sarcosine-based molecules due to the steric effect of the side hydrocarbon groups, the benzyl groups in the phenylalanine and phenylalanylphenylalanine-based bichromophores had a suppressing effect on ITET. Rigidity of the peptide bond in short bichromophoric compounds causes that a large number of favorable geometries preexist already before excitation; thus the intramolecular processes are controlled by ground-state conformational distribution. Replacing this bond by a less rigid ester moiety would allow that certain unfavorable conformations may coil to favorable ones within the excited-state lifetime (a rotation-controlled photochemical model). Some conclusions were supported by a conformational search of the potential energy surface and molecular dynamics simulations.

1H- and 31P-n.m.r. spectroscopy were used to characterize the solution structure of the 1:1 complex formed between the antitumour antibiotic luzopeptin and the self-complementary hexanucleotide d(5'-GCATGC)2. Eighteen nuclear Overhauser effects between antibiotic and nucleotide protons, together with ring-current-induced perturbations to base-pair and quinoline 1H resonances, define the position and orientation of the bound drug molecule. Luzopeptin binds in the minor groove of the DNA with full retention of dyad symmetry, its quinoline chromophores intercalating at the 5'-CpA and 5'-TpG steps and its depsipeptide ring spanning the central two A.T base-pairs. The chromophores stack principally on the adenine base with their carbocyclic rings pointing towards the deoxyribose of the cytosine. There is no evidence for Hoogsteen base-pairing in the complex, all glycosidic bond angles and sugar puckers being typical of B-DNA as found for the free hexanucleotide. The ‘breathing’ motions of the A.T and internal G.C base-pairs are substantially slowed in the complex compared with the free DNA, and the observation that two phosphate resonances are shifted downfield by at least 0.5 p.p.m. in the 31P-n.m.r. spectrum of the complex suggests pronounced local helix unwinding at the intercalation sites. The data are consistent with a model of the complex in which luzopeptin bisintercalates with its depsipeptide essentially in the conformation found in the crystal of the free antibiotic [Arnold & Clardy (1981) J. Am. Chem. Soc. 103, 1243-1244]. We postulate only one conformational change within the peptide ring, which involves rotation of the pyridazine-glycine amide group linkage by 90 degrees towards the DNA surface. This manoeuvre breaks the glycine-to-glycine transannular hydrogen bonds and enables the glycine NH groups to bond to the thymine O-2 atoms of the sandwiched A.T base-pairs. It also shortens the major axis of the depsipeptide so that the interchromophore distance is more suitable for spanning two base-pairs. The model further implies that the carboxy and hydroxy groups of the L-beta-hydroxyvaline residue are appropriately positioned for hydrogen-bonding to the 2-amino group of guanine and the O-2 atom of cytosine of the adjacent G.C base-pair.

A key component of natural photosynthesis are the antenna chromophores (chlorophylls and carotenoids) that capture solar energy and direct it towards the reaction centers of photosystems I and II. Highlighted by highly-ordered crystal structures and synthetic tunability via crystal engineering, metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) have the potential to mimic the natural photosynthetic systems in terms of the efficiency and directionality of energy transfer. Owing to their larger surface areas, MOFs have large absorption cross sections, which amplifies the rate of photon collection. Furthermore, MOFs can be constructed using analogues of chlorophyll and carotenoids that can participate in long-range energy transfer. Herein, we aimed to design photoactive MOFs that can execute one of the critical steps involved in photosynthesis - photon collection and subsequent energy transfer. The influence of spatial arrangement of chromophores on the efficiency and directionality of excitation energy transfer (EET) was investigated in a series of mixed-ligand pyrene- and porphyrin-based MOFs. Due to the significant overlap between the emission spectrum of 1,3,6,8-tetrakis(p-benzoic acid)pyrene (TBAPy) and the absorption spectrum of meso-tetrakis(4-carboxyphenyl)porphyrin (TCPP), the co-assembly of these two ligands in a MOF should enable facile energy transfer. Bearing this in mind, three TBAPy-based MOFs with markedly different network topologies (ROD-7, NU-901, and NU-1000) were chosen and a small number of TCPP units were incorporated in their backbone. To gain insight into the photophysical properties of mixed-ligand MOFs, we conducted time-resolved and steady-state fluorescence measurements on them. Stern-Volmer analysis was performed on the fluorescence lifetime data of mixed-ligand MOFs to determine the quenching constants. The quenching constant values for ROD-7, NU-901, NU-1000, and TBAPy solution were found to be 15.03 ± 0.82 M-1, 10.25 ± 0.99 M-1, 8.16 ± 0.41 M-1, and 3.35 ± 0.30 respectively. In addition, the ratio of the fluorescence intensities of TCPP and TBAPy was used to calculate the EET efficiencies in each of the three MOFs. EET efficiencies were in the following order: ROD-7 > NU-901 > NU-1000 > TBAPy-solution. Based on the trends observed for quenching constants and EET efficiencies, two conclusions were drawn: (1) the ligand-to-ligand energy transfer mechanism in MOFs outperforms the diffusion-controlled mechanism in solution phase, (2) energy transfer in MOFs is influenced by their structural parameters and spectral overlap integrals. The enhanced EET efficiency in ROD-7 is attributed to shorter interchromophoric distance, larger orientation factor, and larger spectral overlap integral. Directionality of energy transfer in these MOFs was assessed by calculating excitonic couplings between neighboring TBAPy linkers using the atomic transition charges approach. Rate constants of EET (kEET) along different directions were determined from the excitonic couplings. Based on the kEET values, ROD-7 is expected to demonstrate highly anisotropic EET along the stacking direction. In order to explore the mechanistic aspects of EET in porphyrin-based MOFs, we studied the energy transfer characteristics of PCN-223, a zirconium-based MOF containing TCPP ligands. After performing structural characterization, the photophysical properties of PCN-223 and free TCPP were investigated using steady state and time-resolved spectroscopy. pH-dependent fluorescence quenching experiments were performed on both the MOF and ligand. Stern-Volmer analysis of quenching data revealed that the quenching rate constants for PCN-223 and TCPP were 8.06 ± 1011 M-1s-1 and 2.71 ± 1010 M-1s-1 respectively. The quenching rate constant for PCN-223 is, therefore, an order of magnitude larger than that for TCPP. Additionally, PCN-223 demonstrated a substantially higher extent of quenching (q = 93%) as compared to free TCPP solution (q = 51%), at similar concentrations of quencher. The higher extent of quenching in MOF is attributed to energy transfer from neutral TCPP linkers to N-protonated TCPP linkers. Using the Förster energy transfer model, the rate constant of EET in PCN-223 was calculated. The magnitude of rate constant was in good agreement with the kEET values reported for other porphyrin-based MOFs. Nanosecond transient absorption measurements on PCN-223 revealed the presence of a long-lived triplet state (extending beyond 200 μs) that exhibits the characteristic features of a TCPP-based triplet state. The lifetime of MOF is shorter than that of free ligand, which may be attributed to triplet-triplet energy transfer in the MOF. Lastly, femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy was employed to study the ultrafast photophysical processes taking place in TCPP and PCN-223. Kinetic analysis of the femtosecond transient absorption data of TCPP and PCN-223 showed the presence of three distinct time components that correspond to: (a) solvent-induced vibrational reorganization of excitation energy, (b) vibrational cooling, and (c) fluorescence. Materials that allow control over the directionality of energy transfer are highly desirable. Core-shell nanocomposites have recently emerged as promising candidates for achieving long-distance, directional energy transfer. For our project, we aim to employ UiO-67-on-PCN‐222 composites as model systems to explore the possibility of achieving directional energy transfer in MOF-based core-shell structures. The core–shell composites were synthesized by following a previously published procedure. Appropriate amounts of Ruthenium(II) tris(5,5′-dicarboxy-2,2′-bipyridine), RuDCBPY, were doped in the shell layer to produce a series of Ru-UiO-67-on-PCN‐222 composites with varying RuDCBPY loadings (CS-1, CS-2, and CS-3). The RuDCBPY-doped core–shell composites were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) imaging, Nitrogen adsorption-desorption isotherms, and diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. Efforts are currently underway to quantify RuDCBPY loadings in CS-1, CS-2, and CS-3. After completing structural characterization, the photophysical properties of CS-1, CS-2, and CS-3 will be investigated with the help of time-resolved and steady-state fluorescence spectroscopy.
Doctor of Philosophy
The pigment−protein complexes in natural photosynthetic units (also known as light harvesting antennas) efficiently capture solar energy and transfer this energy to reaction centers that carry out water splitting reactions. The collective chromophoric behavior of antennas can be replicated by metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). MOFs are crystalline, self-assembled materials composed of metal clusters connected by organic molecules. In this dissertation, we study the factors that govern the energy transfer and light harvesting capabilities of MOFs. In chapter 2, we examined the role of 3D structure of MOFs in energy transfer. In chapter 3, we investigated the influence of pH and temperature on the photophysical properties of MOFs. In chapter 4, we explored the possibility of energy transfer in novel MOF-on-MOF composites. This work is intended to pave the way for the construction of highly efficient MOF-based materials that can serve as the light harvesting and energy-transfer components in solar energy conversion devices.