Temperature Dependence of Anisotropy Decay and Solvation Dynamics of Coumarin 153 in γ-Cyclodextrin Aggregates

Unraveling the Interaction of Diflunisal with Cyclodextrin and Lysozyme by Fluorescence Spectroscopy

Understanding the interaction between the drug:carrier complex and protein is essential for the development of a new drug-delivery system. However, the majority of reports are based on an understanding of interactions between the drug and protein. Here, we present our findings on the interaction of the anti-inflammatory drug diflunisal with the drug carrier cyclodextrin (CD) and the protein lysozyme, utilizing steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy. Our findings reveal a different pattern of molecular interaction between the inclusion complex of β-CD (β-CD) or hydroxypropyl-β-CD (HP-β-CD) (as the host) and diflunisal (as the guest) in the presence of protein lysozyme. The quantum yield for the 1:2 guest:host complex is twice that of the 1:1 guest:host complex, indicating a more stable hydrophobic microenvironment created in the 1:2 complex. Consequently, the nonradiative decay pathway is significantly reduced. The interaction is characterized by ultrafast solvation dynamics and time-resolved fluorescence resonance energy transfer. The solvation dynamics of the lysozyme becomes 10% faster under the condition of binding with the drug, indicating a negligible change in the polar environment after binding. In addition, the fluorescence lifetime of diflunisal (acceptor) is increased by 50% in the presence of the lysozyme (donor), which indicates that the drug molecule is bound to the binding pocket on the surface of the protein, and the average distance between active tryptophan in the hydrophobic region and diflunisal is calculated to be approximately 50 Å. Excitation and emission matrix spectroscopy reveals that the tryptophan emission increases 3-5 times in the presence of both diflunisal and CD. This indicates that the tryptophan of lysozyme may be present in a more hydrophobic environment in the presence of both diflunisal and CD. Our observations on the interaction of diflunisal with β-CD and lysozyme are well supported by molecular dynamics simulation. Results from this study may have an impact on the development of a better drug-delivery system in the future. It also reveals a fundamental molecular mechanism of interaction of the drug-carrier complex with the protein.

Subpicosecond Hot Hole Transfer in a Graphene Quantum Dot Composite with High Efficiency

Extraction of hot carriers is of prime importance because of its potential to overcome the energy loss that limits the efficiency of an optoelectronic device. Employing a femtosecond upconversion setup, herein we report a few picoseconds carrier cooling time of colloidal graphene quantum dots (GQDs) is at least an order of magnitude slower compared to that in its bulk form. A slower carrier cooling time of GQDs compared to that of the other semiconductor quantum dots and their bulk materials is indeed a coveted property of GQDs that would allow one easy harvesting of high energy species employing a suitable molecular system as shown in this study. A subpicosecond hot hole transfer time scale has been achieved in a GQD-molecular system composite with high transfer efficiency. Our finding suggests a dramatic enhancement of the efficiency of GQD based optoelectronic devices can possibly be a reality.

Femtosecond Upconversion Study of Interfacial Electron Transfer from Photoexcited CsPbBr3 Perovskite Nanocrystal to Rhodamine 6G

Photoinduced electron transfer (PET) from an excited-state CsPbBr₃ nanocrystal (NC) to rhodamine 6G (r6G) is studied in toluene using different fluorescence-based techniques. Because of weak solubility of r6G in toluene, excess r6G molecules adsorb at NC surface which result in a much slower rotational diffusion time scale of r6G in the presence of NCs. Study of intrinsic PET benefits from the soft molecular interactions leading to donor (NC)-acceptor (r6G) complex formation, where solvent diffusion parameters would not play any role in the PET kinetics. Femtosecond transients of NCs are nicely fit to a Poisson expression originally proposed by Tachiya. Conclusive fittings to the temperature dependence quenching data reveal two interesting observations: (1) Even though the average number of surface trap state in a NC does not change with temperature (5-60 °C), the trap-state-induced quenching time scale is accelerated with increase in temperature, pointing toward a more efficient trapping at higher temperature. (ii) In the presence of r6G, a fast (∼150 ps per r6G molecule) interfacial PET time scale is observed, which remains unaffected by temperature (5-60 °C). Our findings demonstrate that even a simple "perovskite NC-electron acceptor" composite like that in the present study can ensure a rapid interfacial charge separation. Such information will help us to realize the actual potential of perovskites NCs in their real applications.

Strong Electronic Coupling-Induced Ultrafast Charge Transfer in Donor-Pyrene-Acceptor Systems

In this study, we decipher the charge transfer (CT) processes in donor-pyrene-acceptor (DPA) molecules via various time-resolved spectroscopic measurements. It has been challenging to unravel the ultrafast CT dynamics in DPA molecules because they exhibit an initial CT emission in the same spectral range as the locally excited (LE) emission. However, we finally observed the CT rate of ∼200 fs in DPA molecules from the time-resolved fluorescence anisotropy decay profiles. Our measurements allow us to suggest that the LE and CT states of DPA systems have isoenergetic potential surfaces and that the introduction of the acceptor to the pyrene moiety gives rise to strong electronic coupling between the LE and CT states. Therefore, we determined that this solvent-independent ultrafast CT occurs through the adiabatic potential energy surface and that the CT characteristics are enhanced in DPA compared to the donor-pyrene-donor system.

Morphological Evolution of Strongly Fluorescent Water Soluble AIEEgen-Triblock Copolymer Mixed Aggregates with Shape-Dependent Cell Permeability

Dimethyl-2,5-bis(4-methoxyphenylamino)terephthalate (DBMPT) is a water-insoluble fluorogenic molecule, which has been rendered water-soluble in physiological conditions, by the addition of triblock copolymers (TBPs), P123 (PEO₁₉PPO₆₉PEO₁₉), and F127 (PEO₁₀₀PPO₆₅PEO₁₀₀). DBMPT-TBP mixed aggregates, formed in the process, exhibit significant aggregation-induced enhancement of emission, with nanosecond fluorescence lifetimes. Dynamics involved in suppression of nonradiative pathways and consequent enhancement of fluorescence are followed by femtosecond transient absorption and time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopic techniques. Interestingly, shapes of the aggregates formed with the two TBPs are found to be very different, even though they differ only in the length of hydrophilic blocks. DBMPT-P123 aggregates are micrometer-sized and spherical, while DBMPT-F127 aggregates form nanorods. Evolution of their morphologies, as a function of TBP concentration, is monitored using cryo-TEM, FESEM, and fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy. Fluorescence lifetime distribution provides useful insight into microheterogeneity in these mixed aggregates. Excellent cell permeability is observed for DBMPT-F127 nanorods, in contrast to DBMPT-P123 microspheres. These fluorescent nanorods exhibit the ability to mark lipid droplets within the cell and hence bear the promise for application in intracellular imaging.

How different are the dynamics of nanoconfined water?

We unravel the combined effects of confinement and surface interactions by studying the position dependent, time-resolved dynamic response functions in nano-containers of different shapes. Spectroscopic signatures are additionally studied through solvation dynamics by placing ionic and dipolar probes at varying distances from the enclosing surface. We find that the confined water molecules exhibit exotic dynamical features and stark differences from that in the bulk liquid. We employ atomistic molecular dynamics simulation to obtain the solvation time correlation function, non-Gaussian parameter, and non-linear response function that reveal the existence of heterogeneous and non-exponential dynamics with a strong sensitivity to both the size and the shape of the enclosure. Importantly, the slower long-time decay constant exhibits a non-monotonic spatial dependence. The initial ultrafast component is reminiscent of the same in the bulk, but it is found to have a different origin in the present systems. We perform shell-wise analyses to understand the microscopic origin of these observations and the range of the propagation of the surface induced effects.

Spectroscopic and Calorimetric Studies of Molecular Recognitions in a Dendrimer-Surfactant Complex

Molecular recognitions, causing supramolecular complex formation between a hyperbranched polymer molecule (polyamidoamine (PAMAM) dendrimer generation 3) with oppositely charged surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) in aqueous solution, were studied by using various spectroscopic techniques and calorimetric titration of heat change measurements. Spectroscopic measurements were performed using dynamic Stokes shift (DSS), rotational anisotropy decay, and translational diffusion of a fluorescent probe molecule coumarin 153 (C153) noncovalently attached to the dendrimer-surfactant complex. All these studies unanimously confirm that the critical aggregation concentration (CAC) of SDS falls to ∼0.8 mM (from its critical micelle concentration (CMC) ∼ 8 mM) in the presence of ∼0.2 mM dendrimer. Further studies of isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) measurement show that the CAC of SDS in the presence of dendrimer remains invariant to the dendrimer concentration. Complexation reaction between SDS and dendrimer is highly exothermic in nature. A maximum heat release (ΔH∼ -6.6 kJ/mol of SDS binding) was observed at a SDS-to-dendrimer mole ratio of ∼3-5; where up to 3 to 5 SDS molecules were encapsulated by one dendrimer molecule to form dendrimer-SDS encapsulation complex. When negatively charged SDS was replaced with a positively charged surfactant dodecyl-trimethylammonium-bromide (DTAB), we found that the DTAB hardly interacted with positively charged dendrimer due to the charge-charge repulsions.

The cholesterol aided micelle to vesicle transition of a cationic gemini surfactant (14-4-14) in aqueous medium

Cholesterol aided micelle to vesicle transition of cationic gemini surfactant (14-4-14) in solution has been investigated.

K(+) preference at the NaK channel entrance revealed by fluorescence lifetime and anisotropy analysis of site-specifically incorporated (7-hydroxycoumarin-4-yl)ethylglycine

The fluorescent unnatural amino acid, (7-hydroxycoumarin-4-yl)ethylglycine (HC), was site-specifically incorporated at the Phe69 site, close to the entrance of the selectivity filter of the NaK channel. Decreased fluorescence lifetime and elevated time-resolved anisotropy of NaK-F69HC in buffers with high K(+)/Na(+) molar ratios indicated the K(+) preference at the entrance of the NaK channel, consistent with previous crystal structure results of the NaK channel.

Reversible transition between SDS@2β-CD microtubes and vesicles triggered by temperature

Switching between association and dissociation is the well-known strategy for constructing responsive materials based on the host-guest complexes of cyclodextrins (CDs). In this work, we report that temperature may also trigger self-assembly transition in the supramolecular system composed of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) at a molar ratio of 1:2. We reported previously that, at this ratio, SDS and β-CD form a channel-type SDS@2β-CD supramolecular unit, which further self-assembles into non-amphiphilic vesicles and microtubes driven by hydrogen bonding. Here, we report that the vesicles and microtubes can be reversibly switched between each other upon decreasing and increasing temperature. Control experiments in heavy water suggest that water molecules play a dominating role in the hydrogen bonding between SDS@2β-CD supramolecular units at lower concentration and higher temperature. Under opposite conditions, the hydrogen bonding between CDs is dominating. Therefore, for the 5% system, we observed a vesicle to microtube transition with a decreasing temperature, whereas for the 10% system, we observed the reverse process. Both processes are reversible. This is not only an example of temperature-triggered responsiveness in non-amphiphilic self-assemblies but also a new mode of responsiveness for the host-guest inclusion systems based on CDs. This temperature-responsive process is anticipated to shed light on the design and development of novel advanced materials.

Location and freedom of single and double guest in dye-doped polymer nanoparticles

We report on time-resolved fluorescence anisotropy studies of poly(9-vinylcarbazole) (PVK) nanoparticles (NPs) encapsulating Coumarin 153 (C153) and Nile Red (NR).

Photophysical properties of 7-(diethylamino)coumarin-3-carboxylic acid in the nanocage of cyclodextrins and in different solvents and solvent mixtures

The photophysical properties of 7-(diethylamino) coumarin-3-carboxylic acid (7-DCCA) were studied in cyclodextrins (α, β, γ,-CDs), different neat solvents and solvent mixtures by using steady state absorption, emission and time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy. We have observed that with gradual increase in concentration of β-CD the fluorescence quantum yield and lifetime decreased in a regular pattern whereas with gradual increase in concentration of γ-CD the fluorescence quantum yield and lifetime gradually increased. With addition of urea, the fluorescence quantum yield and lifetime of 7-DCCA in CDs increased. Binding constant calculation shows that 7-DDCA forms 1:1 complex with β-CD and with γ-CD it forms 1:1 and 1:2 (guest:host) inclusion complex. We proposed that the dye molecule formed capping complex with β-CD by means of hydrogen bonding and after addition of urea the hydrogen bonding network broke down and part of dye molecule entered inside the cavity of β-CD. The photophysics of 7-DCCA was studied in dioxane-water mixture and ethylene glycol-acetonitrile mixture to know the effect of polarity and viscosity of the media. The photophysics of 7-DCCA was also studied in different neat solvents. It was found that the photophysics of 7-DCCA depended on the structural feature of the solvents and solvent mixtures.

Physicochemical perspective of cyclodextrin nano and microaggregates

''Chemistry beyond the molecule'' is the nickname for supramolecular chemistry. This branch of study is based on molecular recognition that is host-guest chemistry. A number of potential hosts have been defined and applied in scores of studies. Among all potential hosts, cyclodextrins occupy a high position due to their characteristic solubilisation capability and biocompatibility. In the present article we are revisiting the host-guest aspects of cyclodextrins from a physicochemical perspective. We present details of formation and applications of cyclodextrin nanoaggregates induced by guest molecules, the concerned thermodynamics behind the process and also the effect of concentration of the guest molecules on the morphology of the aggregates. This article reviews the topic mainly from the spectroscopic point of view.

STEADY STATE AND TIME RESOLVED SPECTROSCOPIC STUDY OF CONFINED DYE INSIDE γ-CD IN PRESENCE OF Au NANOPARTICLES

The photophysical properties of the confined dye inside the γ-CD in presence of Au nanoparticles have been studied by steady state and time resolved spectroscopy. It is found that the photoluminescence quenching of C480 dye increases from 26% to 49% due to confinement of dye inside γ-CD. The designing of such new optical based materials having coumarin 480 dye inside the γ-CD in presence of Au nanoparticles may have potential applications for light harvesting system.

Microscopic investigation of the hydration properties of cyclodextrin and its substituted forms

Substitution of the hydroxyl (OH) groups of cyclodextrins (CDs) by methoxy (OCH(3)) groups is likely to influence the microscopic properties of water inside the cavities of these molecules and in the surrounding hydration layers. We have performed atomistic molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of aqueous solutions of beta-cyclodextrin (BCD) and its two methyl-substituted forms, dimethyl beta-cyclodextrin (DIMEB) and trimethyl beta-cyclodextrin (TRIMEB). The calculations reveal that the translational and rotational motions of water present either in the hydration layers or in the cavities of these macrocyclic molecules are slower than that of pure bulk water. Interestingly, it is noticed that the effect of confinement inside the cavity increases with substitution of the OH groups of the BCD molecule. Most importantly, it is revealed that the time scale of relaxation of the CD-water (CW) and water-water (WW) hydrogen bonds are correlated with the microscopic dynamics of water and their degree of confinement within the cavities of these molecules.

The Effect of Environment on the Dynamics of Proton Dissociation in Water

The effect of the local ordering of water molecules, adjacent to the molecular surface, on the dynamics of excited state proton transfer to bulk was monitored with the pyranine-γ-CD inclusion complex as a model. The bound pyranine (a commonly used photoacid) exhibits slower dissociation dynamics, with activation energy of the proton dissociation reaction that is significantly higher than that of the reaction of the free pyranine. To understand the source of these modulations of the rate constants, the interaction of the pyranine with the water was investigated by molecular dynamics calculations. The solvation patterns of both; the pyranine and γ-CD, differ in the complex from that of the free compounds. In the case of the pyranine´s hydroxyl, the inclusion in the torus of the γ-CD reduces the number of water molecules in its immediate vicinity and their ordering, thus accounting for the variation in the rates of the proton transfer reactions. On increasing the temperature, the water of the pyranine´s hydroxyl third solvation shell, but not those of the first and the second shell, lose their strict orientation, thus facilitating the dissociation of the pyranine.

The use of coumarins as environmentally-sensitive fluorescent probes of heterogeneous inclusion systems

Coumarins, as a family of molecules, exhibit a wide range of fluorescence emission properties. In many cases, this fluorescence is extremely sensitive to the local environment of the molecule, especially the local polarity and microviscosity. In addition, coumarins show a wide range of size, shape, and hydrophobicity. These properties make them especially useful as fluorescent probes of heterogeneous environments, such as supramolecular host cavities, micelles, polymers and solids. This article will review the use of coumarins to probe such heterogeneous systems using fluorescence spectroscopy.

Cyclodextrin-based aggregates and characterization by microscopy

Cyclodextrin-based aggregates have been widely investigated with microscopies such as STM, AFM, SEM, TEM, and fluorescent microscopy to obtain the direct morphology and structure of samples. In the present review, we discuss various types of cyclodextrin aggregates, that is, native and modified cyclodextrins, inclusion complexes and their aggregates of cyclodextrins, cyclodextrin rotaxanes and polyrotaxanes, cyclodextrin nanotubes and their secondary assembly, and other high-order aggregates of cyclodextrins. Especially, we focus on the use of microscopy to characterize above aggregates. The application of modern microscopy tools promotes the investigation on cyclodextrins.

Ultrafast Electron Transfer in a Nanocavity. Dimethylaniline to Coumarin Dyes in Hydroxypropyl γ-Cyclodextrin

Photoinduced electron transfer (PET) from N,N-dimethylaniline (DMA) to four coumarin dyes (C151, C481, C153, and C480) inside the cavity of hydroxypropyl gamma-cyclodextrin (hpCD) is studied using femtosecond upconversion. The rate of PET is found to be nonexponential and to vary significantly with the coumarin dyes. The rate for C481 is 100 times faster than that for C480. The PET rate displays a bell-shaped dependence on the free energy change and thus reveals a Marcus-type inverted region. The anisotropy decay of the four dyes in hpCD are found to be very similar, and hence the observed variation in the rate of PET is not due to variation in rotational diffusion of the acceptors (coumarin dyes).

Entropy of Water in the Hydration Layer of Major and Minor Grooves of DNA

Transport properties (translational and rotational) of water in the two grooves of the B-DNA duplex are known to be different from those in the bulk. Here, we use a recently developed theoretical scheme to compute the entropies of water molecules in both of the grooves of DNA and compare them with that in the bulk. The scheme requires as input both translational and rotational velocity autocorrelation function (C(V)(t) and C(omega)(t), respectively) data. These velocity autocorrelation functions were computed from an atomistic MD simulation of a B-DNA duplex (36 base pairs long) in explicit water (TIP3P). The average values of the entropy of water at 300 K in both of the grooves of DNA (the TS value in the major groove is 6.71 kcal/mol and that in the minor groove is 6.41 kcal/mol) are found to be significantly lower than that in bulk water (the TS value is 7.27 kcal/mol). Thus, the entropic contribution to the free energy change (TDeltaS) of transferring a minor groove water molecule to the bulk is 0.86 kcal/mol and of transferring a major groove water to the bulk is 0.56 kcal/mol at 300 K, which is to be compared with 1.44 kcal/mol for melting of ice at 273 K. We also calculate the energy of interaction of each water molecule with the rest of the atoms in the system and hence calculate the chemical potential (Helmholtz free energy per water molecule, A = E - TS) in the different domains. The identical free energy value of water molecules in the different domains proves the robustness of the scheme. We propose that the configurational entropy of water in the grooves can be used as a measure of the mobility (or microviscosity) of water molecules in a given domain.

Cyclodextrin Cavity Size Effect on the Complexation and Rotational Dynamics of the Laser Dye 2,5-Diphenyl-1,3,4-oxadiazole: From Singly Occupied Complexes to Their Nanotubular Self-Assemblies

The general complexation scheme as well as the dynamic features of the supramolecular structures resulting from the interaction of the laser dye 2,5-diphenyl-1,3,4-oxadiazole (PPD) with the naturally occurring alpha-, beta-, and gamma-cyclodextrins in water are studied by means of fluorescence spectroscopy, both steady-state (SS) and time-resolved (TR). PPD interacts weakly, from a thermodynamic point of view, with alpha-cyclodextrin (alpha-CD), forming 1:1 complexes with an association constant of K(11) = 85 +/- 4 M(-1). However, the local motion of the substrate (PPD) with respect to the ligand (CD) in the complexed form is hindered; namely, dynamically, they are strongly coupled and only a global tumbling motion, = 370 +/- 30 ps, of the whole adduct is observed. The next homologue beta-CD also forms 1:1 entities with PPD, but although the binding strength of reactants (K(11) = 682 +/- 60 M(-1)) is almost an order of magnitude greater than the former case with the alpha-CD, these are dynamically weakly coupled. In fact, two independent motions are detected: one is that of the whole nanostructure motion (1:1, PPD/beta-CD) with a global rotational relaxation time of = 480 +/- 30 ps, and the other is an internal librational motion of the dye inside the host cavity with an average angular displacement of theta approximately 27 degrees . Finally, the interaction of PPD with the wider and more flexible cavity of the gamma-CD "triggers" a self-associative scheme of the initially formed supramolecular building blocks, namely, singly occupied complexes, leading to the formation of nanotubular superstructures. It is found that these linear arrays are constituted from more than 17 gamma-CD units which are held together with the aid of dimers of PPD. Interestingly, our results supported that two distinct dimeric forms of PPD play the role of the "shaft" between adjacent cyclodextrin units. The topology of the dimers in the interlinking space of gamma-CD units is such that PPD molecules are held in suitable proximity, resulting, upon excitation, in the observation of dual excimer emission.

Temperature dependence of solvation dynamics and anisotropy decay in a protein: ANS in bovine serum albumin

Temperature dependence of solvation dynamics and fluorescence anisotropy decay of 8-anilino-1-naphthalenesulfonate (ANS) bound to a protein, bovine serum albumin (BSA), are studied. Solvation dynamics of ANS bound to BSA displays a component (300 ps) which is independent of temperature in the range of 278-318 K and a long component which decreases from 5800 ps at 278 K to 3600 ps at 318 K. The temperature independent part is ascribed to a dynamic exchange of bound to free water with a low barrier. The temperature variation of the long component of solvation dynamics corresponds to an activation energy of 2.1 kcal mol(-1). The activation energy is ascribed to local segmental motion of the protein along with the associated water molecules and polar residues. The time scale of solvation dynamics is found to be very different from the time scale of anisotropy decay. The anisotropy decays are analyzed in terms of the wobbling motion of the probe (ANS) and the overall tumbling of the protein.