Kinetic Spectroscopy of Erythrosin Phosphorescence and Delayed Fluorescence in Aqueous Solution at Room Temperature

Effect of additives on physicochemical properties in amorphous starch matrices

The effect of the addition of non-reducing sugars or methylcellulose on the matrix physical properties and rate of non-enzymatic browning (NBR) between exogenous glucose+lysine in a starch-based glassy matrix were studied, using the methods of luminescence and FTIR. Amorphous starch-based matrices were formulated by rapidly dehydrating potato starch gel mixed with additives at weight ratios of 7:93 (additive:starch). Data on the phosphorescence emission energy and lifetime from erythrosin B dispersed in the matrices indicated that sugars decreased starch matrix mobility in a Tg-dependent manner, except for trehalose that interacted with starch in a unique mode, while methylcellulose, the additive with the highest Tg, increased the molecular mobility. Using FTIR, we found that methylcellulose decreased the strength of hydrogen bond network and sugars enhanced the hydrogen bond strength in the order: trehalose>maltitol>sucrose. Comparing those changes with the rate of NBR between exogenous glucose+lysine, we suggest that NBR rates are primarily influenced by matrix mobility, which is modulated by the hydrogen bond network, and interactions among components.

A large-scale allosteric transition in cytochrome P450 3A4 revealed by luminescence resonance energy transfer (LRET)

Effector-induced allosteric transitions in cytochrome P450 3A4 (CYP3A4) were investigated by luminescence resonance energy transfer (LRET) between two SH-reactive probes attached to various pairs of distantly located cysteine residues, namely the double-cysteine mutants CYP3A4(C64/C468), CYP3A4(C377/C468) and CYP3A4(C64/C121). Successive equimolar labeling of these proteins with the phosphorescent probe erythrosine iodoacetamide (donor) and the near-infrared fluorophore DY-731 maleimide (acceptor) allowed us to establish donor/acceptor pairs sensitive to conformational motions. The interactions of all three double-labeled mutants with the allosteric activators α-naphthoflavone and testosterone resulted in an increase in the distance between the probes. A similar effect was elicited by cholesterol. These changes in distance vary from 1.3 to 8.5 Å, depending on the position of the donor/acceptor pair and the nature of the effector. In contrast, the changes in the interprobe distance caused by such substrates as bromocriptine or 1-pyrenebutanol were only marginal. Our results provide a decisive support to the paradigm of allosteric modulation of CYP3A4 and indicate that the conformational transition caused by allosteric effectors increases the spatial separation between the beta-domain of the enzyme (bearing residues Cys₆₄ and Cys₃₇₇) and the alpha-domain, where Cys₁₂₁ and Cys₄₆₈ are located.

Pulsed-source time-resolved phosphorimetry: comparison of a commercial gated photomultiplier with a specially wired ungated photomultiplier

A common problem encountered in recording delayed light emission is that the signal of interest is preceded by a much more intense signal arising from prompt fluorescence. When a photomultiplier tube (PMT) is used as the photosensor in a pulsed-source phosphorimeter, two options are open to an experimenter who finds mechanical shutters inconvenient or impracticable and photon counting inappropriate: apply an electronic gate that suppresses the PMT gain for a brief period, or use a wiring scheme that enables the PMT to quickly regain normal operation after an intense burst of prompt emission. The performance of a squirrel-cage PMT that operates in the latter mode is compared with a new gateable PMT (Hamamatsu H11526 series) with a minimum gate time of 100 ns. The two detectors are found to provide practically the same temporal record of the delayed emission, but the ungated PMT is slightly superior in terms of recovery time and signal-to-noise ratio.

Single shot laser flash photolysis with a fibre-coupled reference beam monitor

In the standard nanosecond laser photolysis method for kinetic studies, a Q-switched laser generates transient species, and absorption spectrophotometry provides a measure of their concentrations. The sample is placed between the monitoring source (a pulsed xenon arc or a flash lamp) and a monochromator, and a photomultiplier tube (PMT) is used for measuring the intensity of the light leaving the exit slit of the monochromator. With this (single-beam) arrangement, the laser-induced change in the absorbance of the sample, ΔA, can be calculated only if the intensity of the monitoring beam remains constant during the time interval of interest. When this condition is not fulfilled, a second measurement of the PMT output is made after blocking the path of the laser beam, but shot-to-shot variations in the output of the monitoring source vitiate the analysis when ΔA is small. To overcome this problem, double-beam versions were developed in the last century, but the single-beam version still enjoys greater popularity. With a view to making the double-beam method easily implementable, some simple modifications are introduced, which permit the conversion of an existing laser kinetic spectrometer into a double-beam variant (with one or two monochromators).

Fluorescence, Phosphorescence, and Delayed Fluorescence of Benzil in Imidazolium Ionic Liquids

Temperature dependence of the emission behaviour of benzil has been studied in three imidazolium ionic liquids differing in their polarity and viscosity. Room temperature absorption and steady-state emission spectra suggest that the ground and excited state conformers of benzil in ionic liquids are similar to those in conventional organic solvents. The non-degassed solutions of benzil in ionic liquids show phosphorescence at room temperature in contrast to conventional solvents where phosphorescence is commonly observed in degassed conditions. This study reveals that a thermally activated reverse intersystem crossing (T1↝S1) process is responsible for the drastic change in phosphorescence intensity with temperature in ionic liquids. The rate constant () of this process is found to be dependent on the polarity of the media and is 5 times higher in most polar ionic liquids. The evidence of the presence of multiple conformers of benzil in frozen conditions is obtained from the excitation wavelength dependence of the phosphorescence spectra.

Antioxidants modulate molecular mobility, oxygen permeability, and microstructure in zein films

The effect of octyl gallate and propyl gallate on the molecular mobility, oxygen permeability, and microstructure of zein/glycerol films was studied. Films were cast from 70% ethanol/water containing 20% (w/w) glycerol and different amounts of the antioxidants propyl gallate or octyl gallate. The oxygen permeability and local mobility of these films were measured using phosphorescence from the dispersed triplet probe erythrosin B. Although both antioxidants increased the local mobility of the zein matrix to about the same extent, octyl gallate and to a lesser extent propyl gallate dramatically increased the permeability of the film to oxygen. Atomic force microscopy imaging indicated that propyl gallate induced aggregation of zein complexes, which could lead to a more condensed film. These results indicate that the addition of specific functional ingredients, such as antioxidants, to edible films may significantly affect the physical properties and structure and, thus, functional properties in ways that influence their eventual use.

Effect of starch on the molecular mobility of amorphous sucrose

Molecular mobility in amorphous solid biomaterials is modulated by the composition and environment (primarily temperature). Phosphorescence of the triplet probe erythrosin B was used to generate a mobility map within amorphous sucrose films doped with starch ranging from 0.001 to 0.1 g starch/g sucrose. Data on the emission energy and lifetime of erythrosin B in sucrose and sucrose-starch films over the temperature range from 5 to 100 °C indicates that starch influences the molecular mobility as well as dynamic site heterogeneity of amorphous sucrose in a dose-dependent manner. At a starch/sucrose weight (wt) ratio below 0.005, both emission energy and lifetime decreased, and both the dipolar relaxation rate and nonradiative quenching rate k(TS0) increased, indicating that starch increased the matrix molecular mobility. At a ratio above 0.005, both emission energy and lifetime increased, and the dipolar relaxation rate and nonradiative quenching rate decreased, indicating that starch decreased the matrix mobility both in the glass and in the melt. The mobility showed a minimum value at a ratio of 0.01. The interactions existing in the sucrose-starch matrix are considered as the determining factor to influence the molecular mobility of sucrose-starch mixtures. Changes in the distribution of emission energies (emission bandwidth) and lifetimes indicated that starch increased the spectral heterogeneity at high contents while showing insignificant change or a slight decrease in the heterogeneity at low starch contents. These data illustrate the complex effects of a polymer with mainly linear structure and flexible conformation on the mobility of an amorphous, hydrogen bonded sugar matrix.

Effect of xanthan on the molecular mobility of amorphous sucrose detected by erythrosin B phosphorescence

Molecular mobility in amorphous solids is modulated by composition and environmental conditions such as temperature. Phosphorescence of erythrosin B was used to generate a mobility map of amorphous sucrose film doped with xanthan gum at weight ratios of xanthan/sucrose ranging from 0.0001 to 0.01. On the basis of analysis of the emission energy and lifetime of erythrosin B in pure sucrose and sucrose-xanthan films over the temperature range from 5 to 100 degrees C, we conclude that xanthan influences the molecular mobility as well as the dynamic site heterogeneity of amorphous sucrose in a dose-dependent fashion. At xanthan/sucrose weight ratios below approximately 0.0005, both emission energy and lifetime decreased and k(TS0) (the nonradiative decay rate of the triplet state) increased, indicating that xanthan increased the matrix molecular mobility. At weight ratios above 0.001, both emission energy and lifetime increased and k(TS0) decreased, indicating that xanthan decreased matrix mobility, reaching a plateau at weight ratios between 0.005 and 0.01. The concentration at which the effect of xanthan switched from increasing to decreasing mobility was similar to the concentration at which polymer chains overlapped in solution, suggesting that the dynamic changeover reflected the onset of chain overlap in the amorphous solid. Systematic trends in the emission bandwidth and lifetime heterogeneity and variations in the emission lifetime vs wavelength indicated that xanthan reduced the matrix dynamic site heterogeneity except at a weight ratio of 0.01. These data illustrate the complex effects of a polymer with a rigid structure and large side chains on the mobility of an amorphous, hydrogen-bonded sugar matrix.

Molecular mobility and dynamic site heterogeneity in amorphous lactose and lactitol from erythrosin B phosphorescence

We have used phosphorescence from erythrosin B to characterize the molecular mobility and dynamic heterogeneity in dry films of amorphous lactose and lactitol from -25 to 120 degrees C. The phosphorescence emission spectra red-shifted and broadened with temperature in both sugars, indicating that both the rate of dipolar relaxation and the extent of inhomogeneous broadening increased dramatically at higher temperature. Phosphorescence intensity decays were well fit using a stretched exponential decay model; the rate constant for non-radiative quenching due to collisions with the matrix was calculated from the lifetimes. Arrhenius plots of this rate were non-linear, increasing very gradually at low and dramatically at high temperatures in both sugars. The rate of quenching was significantly lower in a 1:1 (wt/wt) mixture of lactose/lactitol in both the glass and the melt, providing strong evidence that specific interactions within the mixture lowered the matrix mobility. The lifetimes varied systematically with emission wavelength in both matrixes; analysis of the temperature dependence indicated that the activation energy for non-radiative quenching of the triplet state varied somewhat with emission wavelength. Time-resolved emission spectra collected as a function of delay time following pulsed excitation exhibited significant shifts to higher energy as a function of time. These data support a photophysical model in which erythrosin B molecules are distributed among matrix sites that vary such that blue-emitting sites with slower rates of matrix dipolar relaxation also have slower rates of molecular collisions. The amorphous matrixes of lactose and lactitol in both the glass and the melt state are thus characterized by dynamic site heterogeneity in which different sites vary in terms of their overall molecular mobility.

Phosphorescence of erythrosin B as a robust probe of molecular mobility in amorphous solid sucrose

Luminescence from the triplet probe erythrosin B (tetra-iodo fluorescein, Ery B) provides spectroscopic characteristics such as lifetime and emission energy that are sensitive to molecular mobility of the local environment in amorphous solids. This study investigated how variations in the local concentration of Ery B free acid as well as the presence of the dispersing solvent affect the spectroscopic measurements of solid matrix properties (the free acid of Ery B is poorly soluble in water and thus must be introduced via an organic solvent). The emission energy of Ery B from 5 to 100 degrees C in thin films of amorphous sucrose at various probe and solvent (N,N-dimethyl formamide, DMF) concentrations was determined using excitation at 500 nm and emission over the range 520-750 nm. The emission lifetime was determined over the same temperature range using a stretched exponential analysis of intensity decays collected using excitation at 530 nm and emission at 680 nm. Variations in the probe/sucrose mole ratio (concentration) over the range from 0.5 to 10 x 10(-4) and 10-fold variations in the amount of DMF used to disperse the probe did not affect the emission energy, the shape of the emission spectra, or the measured lifetimes of Ery B in amorphous sucrose. These results thus indicate that erythrosin B introduced into amorphous solids can provide a robust measure of the intrinsic mobility of the solid matrix that is relatively insensitive to final probe concentration or presence of residual solvent.

Molecular mobility and the glass transition in amorphous glucose, maltose, and maltotriose

We have used measurements of the phosphorescence intensity decay of the triplet probe erythrosin B, dispersed in amorphous glucose, maltose, and maltotriose at probe:sugar mole ratios of approximately 1:10(4), to monitor the molecular mobility of the sugar matrix in the glass and melt around the glass-transition temperature (Tg). Intensity decays were well fit using a stretched-exponential decay model in which the Kohlrausch-Williams-Watts lifetime tau and the stretching exponent beta are the physically meaningful parameters. When normalized to the glass-transition temperature, the erythrosin lifetime decreased in the order glucose>maltose>maltotriose. Analysis of the lifetime provided an estimate of the collisional quenching constant for deexcitation of the triplet state (kTS0); kTS0 increased in the order glucose<maltose<maltotriose over the range of T-Tg from about -40 to 50 degrees C. Although approximately constant in the glass, the magnitude of beta decreased around Tg in the order glucose>maltose>maltotriose, indicating that the lifetime heterogeneity increased in the order glucose<maltose<maltotriose. These data demonstrate that both the average rate of matrix molecular mobility and the width of the distribution of matrix mobility rates around the glass transition increase with an increase in the molecular size of the sugar in this homologous series.

Dynamic site heterogeneity in amorphous maltose and maltitol from spectral heterogeneity in erythrosin B phosphorescence

We have used phosphorescence from erythrosin B (tetraiodofluorescein) dispersed in thin films of either maltose or maltitol to investigate the physical properties of these amorphous pure sugar matrixes. Intensity decays collected as a function of emission wavelength over the range from 640 to 720 nm were analyzed using a stretched exponential kinetic model in which the lifetime (tau) and the stretching exponent (beta) were the physically relevant parameters. The lifetimes varied systematically with emission wavelength in both matrixes. Analysis of the temperature dependence of the lifetime at each wavelength provided an estimate of the activation energy for nonradiative quenching of the triplet state; the activation energy also varied with emission wavelength. In addition, time-resolved emission spectra exhibited a blue shift with time following excitation. These data support a photophysical model in which probes are distributed among sites that vary in terms of overall molecular mobility and in which sites with lower rates of dipolar relaxation also have lower rates of collisional quenching of the erythrosin triplet state. The amorphous matrix of both maltose and maltitol in both the glass and the melt state is thus characterized by dynamic site heterogeneity in which different sites vary in terms of their overall molecular mobility.

Molecular Mobility in Amorphous Maltose and Maltitol from Phosphorescence of Erythrosin B

We have used phosphorescence from erythrosin B (tetraiodofluorescein) dispersed in amorphous thin films of maltose and maltitol at mole ratios of 0.8:10(4) dye:sugar to monitor the molecular mobility of these matrixes over the temperature range from -25 to over 110 degrees C. Analysis of the emission peak frequency and bandwidth (full width at half-maximum) and time-resolved intensity decay parameters provided information about thermally activated modes of matrix mobility that enhanced the rate of dipolar relaxation around the triplet state and the rate of intersystem crossing to the ground state (k(TS0)). Detectable dipolar relaxation began in the glassy state about 50 degrees C below T(g) in both maltose and maltitol; the relaxation rate, however, while 3-4 orders of magnitude slower than literature values for the beta relaxation determined from dielectric relaxation, had an activation energy only 2-fold smaller. Dipolar relaxation was further enhanced in the melt above T(g); the dipolar relaxation rates in the melt scaled nearly exactly with rates for the alpha relaxation determined from dielectric relaxation. Intensity decays were well fit using a stretched exponential decay function in which the lifetime (tau) and the stretching exponent (beta) were the physically significant parameters. In maltose, the magnitude of k(TS0) was essentially constant in the glass and increased dramatically at the T(g); in maltitol k(TS0) increased moderately at T(g) = -50 degrees C and more dramatically in the melt at T(g) = +20 degrees C. The value of k(TS0) in maltose:maltitol mixtures was significantly smaller than that seen in pure maltose and maltitol, suggesting that specific interactions decreased the mobility of the mixed sugar matrix; this phenomenon was comparable to the antiplasticization seen in mixtures of small molecule plasticizers with synthetic polymers and starch. The extent of inhomogeneous broadening and dynamic heterogeneity were essentially constant in the glass and increased dramatically in maltose and more gradually in maltitol at the glass transition.

Erythrosin B phosphorescence monitors molecular mobility and dynamic site heterogeneity in amorphous sucrose

Molecular mobility modulates the chemical and physical stability of amorphous biomaterials. This study used steady-state and time-resolved phosphorescence of erythrosin B to monitor mobility in thin films of amorphous solid sucrose as a function of temperature. The phosphorescence intensity (lifetime), emission energy, and red-edge excitation effect were all sensitive to localized molecular mobility on the microsecond timescale in the glass and to more global modes of mobility activated at the glass transition. Blue shifts in the emission spectrum with time after excitation and systematic variations in the phosphorescence lifetime with wavelength indicated that emission originates from multiple sites ranging from short lifetime species with red-shifted emission spectrum to long lifetime species with blue-shifted emission spectrum; the activation energy for nonradiative decay of the triplet state was considerably larger for the blue-emitting species in both the glass and the melt. This study illustrates that phosphorescence from erythrosin B is sensitive both to local dipolar relaxations in the glass as well as more global relaxations in the sucrose melt and provides evidence of the value of phosphorescence as a probe of dynamic site heterogeneity as well as overall molecular mobility in amorphous biomaterials.

The conformation of serum albumin in solution: a combined phosphorescence depolarization-hydrodynamic modeling study

There is a striking disparity between the heart-shaped structure of human serum albumin (HSA) observed in single crystals and the elongated ellipsoid model used for decades to interpret the protein solution hydrodynamics at neutral pH. These two contrasting views could be reconciled if the protein were flexible enough to change its conformation in solution from that found in the crystal. To investigate this possibility we recorded the rotational motions in real time of an erythrosin-bovine serum albumin complex (Er-BSA) over an extended time range, using phosphorescence depolarization techniques. These measurements are consistent with the absence of independent motions of large protein segments in solution, in the time range from nanoseconds to fractions of milliseconds, and give a single rotational correlation time phi(BSA, 1 cP, 20 degrees C) = 40 +/- 2 ns. In addition, we report a detailed analysis of the protein hydrodynamics based on two bead-modeling methods. In the first, BSA was modeled as a triangular prismatic shell with optimized dimensions of 84 x 84 x 84 x 31.5 A, whereas in the second, the atomic-level structure of HSA obtained from crystallographic data was used to build a much more refined rough-shell model. In both cases, the predicted and experimental rotational diffusion rate and other hydrodynamic parameters were in good agreement. Therefore, the overall conformation in neutral solution of BSA, as of HSA, should be rigid, in the sense indicated above, and very similar to the heart-shaped structure observed in HSA crystals.