A naphthalene exciplex based Al3+ selective on-type fluorescent probe for living cells at the physiological pH range: experimental and computational studies.

2-((Naphthalen-6-yl)methylthio)ethanol (HL) was prepared by one pot synthesis using 2-mercaptoethanol and 2-bromomethylnaphthalene. It was found to be a highly selective fluorescent sensor for Al(3+) in the physiological pH (pH 7.0-8.0). It could sense Al(3+) bound to cells through fluorescence microscopy. Metal ions like Mn(2+), Fe(3+), Co(2+), Ni(2+), Cu(2+), Zn(2+), Ag(+), Cd(2+), Hg(2+), Cr(3+) and Pb(2+) did not interfere. No interference was also observed with anions like Cl(-), Br(-), F(-), SO(4)(2-), NO(3)(-), CO(3)(2-), HPO(4)(2-) and SCN(-). Experimentally observed structural and spectroscopic features of HL and its Al(3+) complex have been substantiated by computational calculations using density functional theory (DFT) and time dependent density functional theory (TDDFT).

A naphthalene-based Al3+ selective fluorescent sensor for living cell imaging.

An efficient fluorescent Al(3+) receptor, N-(2-hydroxy-1-naphthalene)-N'-(2-(2-hydroxy-1-naphthalene)amino-ethyl)-ethane-1,2-diamine (L) has been synthesized by the condensation reaction between 2-hydroxy naphthaldehyde and diethylenetriamine. High selectivity and affinity of L towards Al(3+) in ethanol (EtOH) as well as in HEPES buffer at pH 7.4, makes it suitable to detect intracellular Al(3+) with fluorescence microscopy. Metal ions, viz. Li(+), Na(+), K(+), Mg(2+), Ca(2+), Mn(2+), Co(2+), Ni(2+), Cu(2+), Zn(2+), Ag(+), Cd(2+), Hg(2+) and Pb(2+) do not interfere. The lowest detection limit for Al(3+) is 3.0 × 10(-7) M and 1.0 × 10(-7) M in EtOH and HEPES buffer respectively.

Determination of individual proton affinities of ofloxacin from its UV-Vis absorption, fluorescence and charge-transfer spectra: effect of inclusion in beta-cyclodextrin on the proton affinities.

Individual proton affinities of the four dissociable functional groups of (+/-)-9-fluoro-2,3-dihydro-3-methyl-10-(4-methyl-1-piperazinyl)-7-oxo-7H-pyrido[1,2,3-de]-1,4-benzoxazine-6-carboxylic acid (commonly called "ofloxacin" and to be denoted henceforth as OflH), have been determined from the pH-dependent variation of the UV-vis absorption and fluorescence spectra of the compound itself and of its charge transfer complexes (CT) with p-bromanil and p-chloranil (in aqueous medium containing 0.1% ethanol, v/v). To utilize the CT spectra for determination of the proton affinity of the anilinic N, the CT absorption band of the ofloxacin-p-bromanil complex has been studied by changing the pH of the medium. Further, the effect of inclusion on the proton affinities of the four dissociable groups of OflH has been studied in presence of beta-cyclodextrin (beta-CD). Two pK(a) values corresponding to anilinic and tertiary N atoms change, whereas those corresponding to phenolic -OH and aromatic -COOH groups remain unchanged by the addition of beta-CD, a fact that indicates partial inclusion of the ofloxacin molecule in beta-CD. Formation constant and related thermodynamic parameters for the OflH(2)(+).beta-CD inclusion complex in aqueous solution have been determined from absorption intensities. A general relation between pK(a) values of guests having proton-releasing functional groups and formation constants of the inclusion complexes of the protonated and deprotonated forms with a host molecule has been utilized for determination of the formation constant of the OflH(3)(+2).beta-CD complex from the pK(a) values of OflH(3)(+2) in the presence and absence of beta-CD, along with the formation constant of the OflH(2)(+).beta-CD complex. Results of the present study reveal that the N-methylpiperazinyl moiety of ofloxacin is included in beta-CD, and the remaining part of the guest molecule remains outside. Also, in molecular interaction with quinone-type electron acceptors, charge transfer occurs from the aromatic part of the ofloxacin molecule, which is conjugated with the anilinic N atom of ofloxacin.

Inclusion of riboflavin in beta-cyclodextrin: a fluorimetric and absorption spectrometric study.

Formation of inclusion complexes between riboflavin and beta-cyclodextrin (beta-CD) with both 1:1 and 1:2 stoichiometry has been established by fluorimetric titration. However, in absorption spectrometric experiment, spectral change of riboflavin in the visible range could be observed only by taking beta-CD at a much higher concentration (about 100 times) than riboflavin and under such condition only 1:2 complexes could be detected. Its formation constant (K) was determined by a multiple linear regression analysis of the absorption data. The reliability of the K value was confirmed by the consistency achieved on analyzing the data at two different wavelengths.

Fluorimetric study of water-ethanol interaction and its effect on the micellisation of sodium dodecyl sulphate in the presence of bovine serum albumin.

The model for self-association of ethanol in water which was established earlier by compressibility and infrared absorption measurements, has been further supported in the present work by monitoring fluorimetrically the variation of the solvatochromic Kamlet-Taft pi* parameter of ethanol-water mixtures over the entire mole fraction range. This model has been used to interpret the variation of the critical micellisation concentration (cmc) of sodium dodecyl sulphate in the presence of bovine serum albumin (BSA) in aqueous ethanol mixtures (as obtained from the tryptophan fluorescence intensity of BSA) in low ethanol mole fraction range.

Determination of individual proton affinities of reserpine from its UV-vis and charge-transfer spectra.

Proton affinities of the two N atoms of reserpine (methyl-11,17alpha-dimethoxy-18beta-[(3,4,5-trimethoxybenzoyl)oxy]-3beta,20alpha-yohimban-16beta-carboxylate) have been determined in two ways from the pH-dependent variation of the UV-vis absorption spectra (i) of reserpine itself and (ii) of the charge-transfer (CT) spectra of its complexes with o-chloranil, p-chloranil, and DDQ in aqueous medium (containing 0.1% ethanol v/v). For the second method, the CT absorption bands of the complexes were determined, their formation constants were estimated by a modified Benesi-Hildebrand equation, and variation of CT absorption spectra with a change in pH was noted. A necessary working formula for the second method was derived and utilized with the experimental data. The pKa values obtained by the two methods are well in agreement with each other within the limits of experimental error. To our knowledge, so far, this is the first report on determination of pKa from charge-transfer complex formation in aqueous solution using simple absorption spectroscopy in the UV-vis region. The results obtained were further checked by noting the variation of fluorescence intensity of reserpine upon addition of o-chloranil, acid, and base, and almost complete agreement with the absorption spectrometric result was observed.

Charge transfer interaction of 4-acetamidophenol (paracetamol) with 2,3-dichloro-1,4-naphthoquinone: a study in aqueous ethanol medium by UV-vis spectroscopic and DFT methods.

4-Acetamidophenol (paracetamol) is shown to form charge transfer complex with 2,3-dichloro1,4-naphthoquinone in aqueous ethanol media exhibiting the unusual 2:1 (paracetamol:quinone) stoichiometry. The complexation enthalpy and entropy have been estimated from the formation constant (K) determined spectrophotometrically at five different temperatures. In aqueous ethanol mixtures of varying composition K increases with increasing dielectric constant of the medium. This has been rationalized by calculating the electronic charge distribution in paracetamol molecule and its conjugate base at the DFT/B3LYP/6-31++G(d,p) level. The theoretically calculated vertical ionization potential of paracetamol also agrees with reported experimental value.

Spectroscopic and thermodynamic study of charge transfer interaction between vitamin B6 and p-chloranil in aqueous ethanol mixtures of varying composition.

Charge transfer complexes of 1:1 stoichiometry have been found to form between vitamin B(6) (pyridoxine hydrochloride) and a series of electron acceptors including p-chloranil. Since vitamin B(6) is soluble in water while the electron acceptors are insoluble in water but soluble in ethanol, the medium chosen for study is water-ethanol mixture. From the trends in the CT absorption bands the vertical ionization potential of vitamin B(6) has been determined to be 8.12 eV. The enthalpy and entropy of formation of the complex between p-chloranil and vitamin B(6) have been determined by estimating the formation constant (K) spectroscopically at four different temperatures in 75% ethanol-water mixture. Again, the magnitude of K has been found to decrease noticeably with decrease in dielectric constant of the medium (as the percentage of ethanol in the aqueous-ethanol mixture is increased). A plausible explanation for this has been given in terms of hydrolysis of pyridoxine hydrochloride.

Study of quenching of anthracene fluorescence by [60]fullerene.

[60]Fullerene has been shown to have a very high quenching effect on the fluorescence of anthracene at room temperature in n-hexane, n-heptane and carbontetrachloride medium. The possibility that the quenching is due to ground state electron donor-acceptor (EDA) complex formation between [60]fullerene and anthracene has been shown to be untanable in the concentration range used ( approximately 10(-5)moldm(-3) in both anthracene and C(60)). No exciplex formation under the present experimental conditions has been observed. In the non-quenching solvents n-hexane and n-heptane the Stern-Volmer constant follows the right trend with respect to change in solvent viscosity but in case of the quenching solvent CCl(4), the trend is opposite.

Aggregation of [70]fullerene in presence of acetonitrile: a chemical kinetic experiment.

[70]fullerene solutions in carbon tetrachloride and o-xylene exhibit a noteworthy spectral variation with time when acetonitrile is added. This has been ascribed to self-aggregation of [70]fullerene caused by the repulsion between polar acetonitrile and hydrophobic [70]fullerene, and the aggregation numbers have been determined from a kinetic scheme and also from a scanning electron microscopic study. The numbers thus obtained follow a cuboctahedral stacking pattern proposed recently and also agree with the magic formula n=55+3m (m=1 to 14) proposed by Branz et al. for [60]fullerene clusters [Phys. Rev. B. 66, 094107 (2002)].

Spectroscopic and thermodynamic study of charge transfer complex formation between cloxacillin sodium and riboflavin in aqueous ethanol media of varying composition.

Cloxacillin sodium has been shown to form a charge transfer complex of 2:1 stoichiometry with riboflavin (Vitamin B(2)) in aqueous ethanol medium. The enthalpy and entropy of formation of this complex have been determined by estimating the formation constant spectrophotometrically at five different temperatures in pure water medium. Pronounced effect of dielectric constant of the medium on the magnitude of K has been observed by determining K in aqueous ethanol mixtures of varying composition. This has been rationalized in terms of ionic dissociation of the cloxacillin sodium (D(-)Na(+)), hydrolysis of the anion D(-) and complexation of the free acid, DH with riboflavin.

A comparative study of molecular complexation of [60]- and [70]fullerenes with 1,3,5-tribromobenzene by UV-vis spectrophotometric method.

By UV-vis spectrophotometric method it has been shown that 1,3,5-tribromobenzene (TBB) forms molecular complexes of 1:2 stoichiometry with [60]- and [70]fullerenes. An isosbestic point could be detected in case of the [70]fullerene complex. The formation constant of the [60]fullerene complex is higher than that of the [70]fullerene complex at each of the four temperatures under study. This is in opposite order of the electron affinities of the two fullerenes; moreover, no charge transfer band was observed in the spectra of either complex in solution. This indicates that van der Waals forces, rather than CT interactions, are responsible for complexation. The results reveal that the C-atoms at the pentagon vertices of [60]fullerene have greater polarizing power than those in [70]fullerene.

Spectroscopic and thermodynamic study of charge transfer complexes of cloxacillin sodium in aqueous ethanol medium.

Cloxacillin sodium has been shown to form charge transfer (CT) complexes of 1:1 stoichiometry with a number of electron acceptors in 50% (v/v) aqueous ethanol medium. From the trends in the CT absorption bands, the vertical ionization potential of the drug molecule (cloxacillin sodium) has been estimated to be 7.89 eV. The enthalpies and entropies of formation of two such complexes have been determined by estimating the formation constants spectrophotometrically at five different temperatures. The oscillator strengths and transition dipole moments of these complexes have been determined. It has further been noted that the reduction of o-chloranil by aqueous ethanol is completely inhibited by cloxacillin sodium, a phenomenon that makes the present study of formation equilibrium possible.

Cuboctahedral symmetry in the aggregation of [60]fullerene in polar organic media.

[60]fullerene is known to aggregate in water and all experimental and theoretical evidences support that the aggregates contain (C60)13 units. No chemical kinetic study of the effect of solvent polarity on the aggregation of C60 has so far been reported. Here we show by simple kinetic study of the aggregation process and by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) that when methanol is added to a solution of [60]fullerene in CCl4, spontaneous aggregation starts immediately and the aggregation numbers (n) found to be dependent on the CCl4:CH3OH ratio (v/v) of the medium. One particular ratio of the two liquids gives uniformly sized (C60)13 clusters for about 10 min. The values of n correspond to the minima of the previously reported energy calculations and in the present work, they have been shown to be a natural consequence of stacking of cuboctahedra made up of C60 molecules. A Young diagram-like method has been developed for counting the number of C60 molecules in these cuboctahedral stacks and the numbers obtained from this model and also from the present chemical kinetic and SEM studies agree very well with the "magic numbers" obtained by earlier mass spectrometric studies.

Spectroscopic and thermodynamic study of charge transfer interactions of retinol palmitate with [60]- and [70]fullerenes by absorption spectrometric method.

Retinol palmitate (1), which is commonly called "Vitamin A palmitate", has been shown to form charge transfer (CT) complexes with a series of electron acceptors including [60]- and [70]fullerenes, and from the trends in CT transition energies the vertical ionization potential of 1 has been estimated to be 7.73eV. Stoichiometries of the fullerene complexes have been shown to be 1(Vitamin 1): 1([70]fullerene) and 1(Vitamin 1): 2([60]fullerene). The enthalpies and entropies of formation of these two complexes have been determined by estimating the formation constants spectrophotometrically at five different temperatures. The complexation phenomenon may be utilised to dissolve the fullerenes in the non-toxic Vitamin A oil and the solution may be used for testing the biological activity of the fullerenes in vivo.

Absorption spectrometric and thermodynamic study of charge transfer complexes of menadione (Vitamin K3) with a series of phenols.

The electron donor-acceptor (EDA) interactions between menadione (i.e., 2-methyl-1,4-naphthoquinone, which is also called 'Vitamin K3') and a series of phenols (viz., phenol, resorcinol and p-quinol) have been studied in CCl4 medium. In all the cases, charge transfer (CT) bands have been located. The CT transition energies (h nu(CT)) of the complexes are found to change systematically with change in the number and position of the -OH groups in the aromatic ring of the phenol moiety. From the trends in the h nu(CT) values, the Hückel parameters (h(O) and k(C-O)) for the -OH group have been obtained. The CT transition energies are well correlated with the ionisation potentials of the phenols. From an analysis of this variation the electron affinity of Vitamin K3 has been found to be 2.28 eV. The stoichiometry of the complexes in each case has been found to be 1(menadione):2 (phenol). Formation constants of the complexes have been determined at four different temperatures from which the enthalpies and entropies of formation of the complexes have been estimated.

Supramolecular interactions of [60]- and [70]fullerenes with calix[n]arenes.

[60]- and [70]fullerenes have been shown to form 1:1 supramolecular complexes with (i) 24,26-dimethoxy-25,27-dihydroxy-5,11,17,23-tetra(4-tert-butyl)calix[4]arene (1) and (ii) 37,39,41-trimethoxy-38,40,42-trihydroxy-5,11,17,23,29,35-hexa(4-tert-butyl)calix[6]arene (2) in CCl(4) medium by absorption spectroscopy. Charge transfer absorption bands of the complexes have been located in each of the cases (except [70]fullerene-2 complex) studied from which the vertical ionisation potential of 1 has been obtained. Formation constants of the complexes have been determined at four different temperatures from which the enthalpies and entropies of formation of the complexes have been obtained. Moreover, the formation constant of [70]fullerene-2 complex is higher than that of the [60]fullerene-1 and [60]fullerene-2 complexes at all the four temperatures studied. This has been accounted in terms of greater cavity size of 2 which is a calix[6]arene compared to 1 which is a calix[4]arene and also by the fact that a high degree of preorganisation takes place in case of 2 through intramolecular H-bonding at its lower rim.

Absorption spectrometric study of charge transfer complex formation between 4-acetamidophenol (paracetamol) and a series of quinones including vitamin K3.

The formation of charge transfer (CT) complexes of 4-acetamidophenol (commonly called 'paracetamol') and a series of quinones (including Vitamin K3) has been studied spectrophotometrically in ethanol medium. The vertical ionisation potential of paracetamol and the degrees of charge transfer of the complexes in their ground state has been estimated from the trends in the charge transfer bands. The oscillator and transition dipole strengths of the complexes have been determined from the CT absorption spectra at 298 K. The complexes have been found by Job's method of continuous variation to have the uncommon 2:1 (paracetamol:quinone) stoichiometry in each case. The enthalpies and entropies of formation of the complexes have been obtained by determining their formation constants at five different temperatures.

Study of a reaction between 2,3-dichloro-1,4-naphthoquinone and N,N'-diphenyl thiourea involving an EDA adduct as intermediate.

The reaction between 2,3-dichloro-1,4-naphthoquinone and N,N'-diphenyl thiourea in acetonitrile medium, which yields the product, 2,3-(N,N'-diphenylthioureylene)-naphtho-1,4-quinone has been found to take place in two ways--thermal and photochemical. The thermal (dark) reaction occurs through an electron donor-acceptor (EDA) adduct as intermediate with evolution of HCl and kinetic data fit into the scheme A + B<==>AB(fast)-->product(slow) Formation constant of the EDA adduct and the rate constant of the slow process have been determined at four different temperatures from which the enthalpy of formation of AB has been determined. The photochemical reaction has been studied with 360 nm ordinary light and also with 365 and 370 nm laser beams. Use of laser causes about 10(3)-fold increase in the rate of the reaction but does not affect the quantum yield. The final product has been isolated and characterised by elemental analysis, 1H and 13C NMR, IR spectroscopy and mass spectrometry.

NMR spectrometric study of molecular complex formation of [60]- and [70]fullerenes with a number of phosphine oxides.

Molecular complex formation between [60]- and [70]fullerenes with a series of phosphine oxides, namely, tri-n-octyl phosphine oxide, triphenyl phosphine oxide and tri-n-butyl phosphine oxide has been studied in CCl4 medium by NMR spectrometric method. Both [60]- and [70]fullerenes have been shown to form 1:1 adducts with the above series of phosphine oxides. Formation constants (K) for all the complexes have been determined from the systematic variation of NMR chemical shifts of specific protons of the donors in presence of [60]- and [70]fullerenes. Trends in the values of K suggest that [70]fullerene binds stronger with the phosphine oxides relative to [60]fullerene.