Solubilization and Photostabilization in a Sodium Deoxycholate Hydrogel of a Neutral Conjugated Thiophene Oligomer and Polymer

Oligo(3-hexylthiophene-co-1,4-phenylene) and poly(3-hexylthiophene) were solubilized in sodium deoxycholate self-assemblies in water solutions and hydrogels, with the goal of solubilizing sufficient material in a hydrogel for fluorescence applications. The neutral conjugated oligomer and polymer were incorporated as monomers into the self-assemblies with sodium deoxycholate aggregates, leading to the photoprotection of these neutral conjugated and water-insoluble molecules. Dynamic light scattering, rheology, and fluorescence experiments established that the deoxycholate aggregation and gel formation properties were not altered with the incorporation of the oligomer or polymer into the deoxycholate self-assemblies, showing that this adaptable host system with some molecular recognition elements is a viable strategy to incorporate into hydrogels neutral conjugated molecules as isolated monomers. This strategy has the potential to be used when conjugated molecules are used for fluorescence applications in hydrogels.

Preparation and analysis of photochromic behavior of carboxymethyl chitin derivatives containing spiropyran moieties

1ʹ-(2-Acryloxyethyl)-3,3ʹ-dimethyl-6-nitrospiro[2 H-1-benzopyran-2,2ʹ-indoline] (SPA) was synthesized and grafted onto a water-soluble carboxymethyl chitin (CMCH) macromolecule to prepare a photochromic copolymer (CMCH-g-SPA). The structure of CMCH-g-SPA was characterized by Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, thermogravimetric (TG) analysis, X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, water-solubility evaluation, and UV-vis spectroscopy. XRD patterns of CMCH-g-SPA revealed that grafting copolymerization disrupts the CMCH semicrystalline structure, thus improving water solubility. UV-vis spectroscopy results supported the negative photochromic behavior of the merocyanine (MC) form of CMCH-g-SPA (CMCH-g-MCA) present in a water solution of the target copolymer. In addition to high solvent polarity, the intermolecular and intramolecular electrostatic attraction between the indolenine cation and the COO⁻ anion were found to be influencing factors, which stabilize these MC form of spiropyran groups grafted onto CMCH. In a water solution, visible light bleaching was completed over a short period (8 minutes) under artificial visible light irradiation and the thermal coloration reaction, whose rate constant at 25 °C was 4.64 × 10⁻⁴ s⁻¹, which fit the first-order reaction equation. After ten photochromic cycles in water solution, the relative absorption intensity of CMCH-g-MCA decreased by 7.92%.

Differential Perturbation of the Protrotropic Equilibrium of a Biological Photosensitizer within Bile Salt Aggregates of Varying Hydrophobicity: A Fluorimetric Investigation

The present work reveals the binding interactions of a credible cancer cell photosensitizer, harmane (HM), with some selected bile salt aggregates of dissimilar hydrophobicity viz. sodium deoxycholate (NaDC), sodium cholate (NaC) and sodium taurocholate (NaTC). The explicit variation of the prototropic equilibrium of the photosensitizer both in the ground and excited state has been utilized to scrutinize the interaction phenomena. Differential modulation in the prototropic equilibrium of HM in the aforesaid aggregates has been explained on the basis of the structural dissimilarities of the bile salt monomers. The contrived hydrophobic surroundings provided by the aggregates have been reflected on the spectroscopic results, especially in the time-resolved fluorescence and the rotational dynamical behavior of the molecule of interest. Slow solvent reorientation time with regard to the lifetime of HM proliferated by the red-edge effect in two specific bile salts namely NaC and NaTC, whereas its absence in NaDC aggregates has also been elucidated on the basis of accessibility of the solvent molecules within the aggregates.

Direct insight into the nonclassical hydrophobic effect in bile salt:β-cyclodextrin interaction: role of hydrophobicity in governing the prototropism of a biological photosensitizer

The interaction of norharmane with bile salts is reported along with the evidence for nonclassical hydrophobic effect in bile salt:β-cyclodextrin interaction.

Water-dispersible and stable fluorescent Maya Blue-like pigments

Water-dispersible and stable fluorescent Maya Blue-like pigments were prepared via the host–guest interaction between LAPONITE® RD and Pigment Red 31.

Modulation of the aggregation properties of sodium deoxycholate in presence of hydrophilic imidazolium based ionic liquid: water dynamics study to probe the structural alteration of the aggregates

In this article, we have investigated the effect of hydrophilic 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate on the aggregation properties of sodium deoxycholate (NaDC).

Photochromism of a spiropyran and a diarylethene in bile salt aggregates in aqueous solution

Bile salt aggregates incorporate aqueous-insoluble photochromic compounds. The photochromism of a spiropyran (1, 1',3',3'-trimethyl-6-nitrospiro[2H-1]-benzopyran-2,2'-indoline) and a diarylethene derivative (2, 1,2-bis(2,4-dimethyl-5-phenyl-3-thienyl)-3,3,4,4,5,5-hexafluoro-1-cyclopentene) was quantified in different bile salt aggregates. These aggregates act as efficient hosts to solubilize aqueous insoluble photochromic compounds where either both isomers are nonpolar, for example, 2, or compounds where one isomer is hydrophobic and the other is more polar, for example, 1. Methodology was developed to determine molar absorptivity coefficients for solutions containing both isomers and to determine the photoconversion quantum yields under continuous irradiation. The methods were validated by determining parameters in homogeneous solution, which were the same as previously reported. In the case of the colored isomer of 1, the molar extinction coefficient in ethanol at 537 nm ((3.68 ± 0.03) × 10(4) cm(-1) M(-1)) was determined with higher precision. The quantum yields for the photoconversion between the isomers of 2 were shown to be the same in cyclohexane and in the aggregates of sodium cholate (NaCh), deoxycholate (NaDC), and taurocholate (NaTC), showing that bile salt aggregates are not sufficiently rigid to affect the equilibrium between the two possible conformers of the colorless form. In contrast, for 1 the quantum yields for the conversion from the colorless to the colored isomer were higher in bile salts than in ethanol, and the quantum yield was highest in the more hydrophobic aggregates of NaDC, followed by NaCh and then NaTC. The structure of the bile salt had no effect on the quantum yield for the conversion of the colored to the colorless isomer of 1, but these values were higher than in ethanol. For all three bile salts, the absorption maximum for the colored form of 1 suggested that this isomer was located in an environment that is more polar than ethanol.

Characterization of the thermal and photoinduced reactions of photochromic spiropyrans in aqueous solution

Six water-soluble spiropyran derivatives have been characterized with respect to the thermal and photoinduced reactions over a broad pH-interval. A comprehensive kinetic model was formulated including the spiro- and the merocyanine isomers, the respective protonated forms, and the hydrolysis products. The experimental studies on the hydrolysis reaction mechanism were supplemented by calculations using quantum mechanical (QM) models employing density functional theory. The results show that (1) the substitution pattern dramatically influences the pKa-values of the protonated forms as well as the rates of the thermal isomerization reactions, (2) water is the nucleophile in the hydrolysis reaction around neutral pH, (3) the phenolate oxygen of the merocyanine form plays a key role in the hydrolysis reaction. Hence, the nonprotonated merocyanine isomer is susceptible to hydrolysis, whereas the corresponding protonated form is stable toward hydrolytic degradation.

Aggregation behavior of pegylated bile acid derivatives

Bile acids are amphiphilic endogenous steroids that act as anionic surfactants in the digestive tract and aggregate in aqueous solutions. Nonionic surfactants were synthesized by grafting poly(ethylene glycol) chains of various lengths (pegylation) to three bile acids (lithocholic, deoxycholic, and cholic acid) using anionic polymerization. The aggregation properties of the derivatives were studied with viscosity measurements and light scattering as well as with steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence techniques, and the aggregates were visualized by transmission electron microscopy to elucidate the effect of pegylation on the aggregation process. The fluorescence results showed a good correlation with the capacity of the bile acid derivatives to solubilize a hydrophobic drug molecule. The solubilization of ibuprofen depends on the length and the number of grafted PEG chains, and the solubilization efficiency increases with fewer PEG chains on the bile acid. The results indicate their potential for use in the design of new bile acid-based drug-delivery systems.

Selective acceleration of the protonated merocyanine-spiropyran photochromic transformation by inclusion in cucurbit[7]uril

The effect of cucurbit[7]uril (CB7) on the spiropyran-merocyanine photochromic interconversion was studied in acidic and alkaline aqueous solutions. The merocyanine (MC) isomer was found to be the thermodynamically most stable form both in water and in the presence of CB7. A preferential binding of the protonated merocyanine (MCH(+)) to CB7 was observed with an equilibrium constant of 7.4×10(4) m(-1), and the complex formation led to significant diminution of acidity of the guest. The photoinduced transformation of MCH(+) to the spiropyran isomer was accelerated 2.3-fold upon addition of CB7, whereas the rates of the other photochromic processes were not affected. The partial inclusion of MCH(+) in CB7 led to dual fluorescence due to the incomplete deprotonation in the singlet-excited state.

Photochromism in cucurbit[8]uril cavity: inhibition of hydrolysis and modification of the rate of merocyanine-spiropyran transformations

The effect of inclusion complex formation on the photochromic behavior of a spirobenzopyran dye and its merocyanine isomer was studied in aqueous solution using cucurbit[8]uril (CB8) as a host. The merocyanine (MC) and protonated merocyanine (MCH(+)) were the most stable forms both in water and inside the cavity of CB8. The equilibrium constant of 1:1 complexation with CB8 was found to be 1.7 × 10(5) and 2.0 × 10(6) M(-1) for the former and latter species, respectively. The encapsulation led to significant change in the rate of the photoinduced and thermal photochromic transformations and hindered the hydrolysis of MC. The effect of CB8 on the reaction kinetics strongly altered with pH. The transition from the spiropyran form to trans-MC in a thermal reaction had 33 kJ mol(-1) lower activation energy and more than 5 orders of magnitude smaller Arrhenius pre-exponential factor in CB8 than in water.