Ultrafast studies of single semiconductor and metal nanostructures through transient absorption microscopy

Interaction of nucleic acids with light is a scientific question of paramount relevance not only in the understanding of life functioning and evolution, but also in the insurgence of diseases such as malignant skin cancer and in the development of biomarkers and novel light-assisted therapeutic tools. This work shows that the UVA portion of sunlight, not absorbed by canonical DNA nucleobases, can be absorbed by 5-formyluracil (ForU) and 5-formylcytosine (ForC), two ubiquitous oxidative lesions and epigenetic intermediates present in living beings in natural conditions. We measure the strong propensity of these molecules to populate triplet excited states able to transfer the excitation energy to thymine-thymine dyads, inducing the formation of the highly toxic and mutagenic cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers (CPDs). By using steady-state and transient absorption spectroscopy, NMR, HPLC, and theoretical calculations, we quantify the differences in the triplet-triplet energy transfer mediated by ForU and ForC, revealing that the former is much more efficient in delivering the excitation energy and producing the CPD photoproduct. Although significantly slower than ForU, ForC is also able to harm DNA nucleobases and therefore this process has to be taken into account as a viable photosensitization mechanism. The present findings evidence a rich photochemistry crucial to understand DNA photodamage and of potential use in the development of biomarkers and non-conventional photodynamic therapy agents.

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Catalyst Halogenation Enables Rapid and Efficient Polymerizations with Visible to Near-Infrared Light

10.26434/chemrxiv.12588965 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Alex Stafford ◽

Dowon Ahn ◽

Emily Raulerson ◽

Kun-You Chung ◽

Kaihong Sun ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Near Infrared ◽

Transient Absorption ◽

Reaction Times ◽

Infrared Light ◽

Structure Property ◽

Light Emitting ◽

Structure Property Relationships ◽

Nir Light ◽

Light Intensities ◽

Emission Quenching

Driving rapid polymerizations with visible to near-infrared (NIR) light will enable nascent technologies in the emerging fields of bio- and composite-printing. However, current photopolymerization strategies are limited by long reaction times, high light intensities, and/or large catalyst loadings. Improving efficiency remains elusive without a comprehensive, mechanistic evaluation of photocatalysis to better understand how composition relates to polymerization metrics. With this objective in mind, a series of methine- and aza-bridged boron dipyrromethene (BODIPY) derivatives were synthesized and systematically characterized to elucidate key structure-property relationships that facilitate efficient photopolymerization driven by visible to NIR light. For both BODIPY scaffolds, halogenation was shown as a general method to increase polymerization rate, quantitatively characterized using a custom real-time infrared spectroscopy setup. Furthermore, a combination of steady-state emission quenching experiments, electronic structure calculations, and ultrafast transient absorption revealed that efficient intersystem crossing to the lowest excited triplet state upon halogenation was a key mechanistic step to achieving rapid photopolymerization reactions. Unprecedented polymerization rates were achieved with extremely low light intensities (< 1 mW/cm<sup>2</sup>) and catalyst loadings (< 50 μM), exemplified by reaction completion within 60 seconds of irradiation using green, red, and NIR light-emitting diodes.

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Probing the Structural Features and the Micro-heterogeneity of Various Deep Eutectic Solvents and their Water Dilutions by the Photophysical Behaviour of Two Fluorophores

10.26434/chemrxiv.13395683.v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Matteo Tiecco ◽

Irene Di Guida ◽

Pier Luigi Gentili ◽

Raimondo Germani ◽

Carmela Bonaccorso ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Hydrogen Bond ◽

Transient Absorption ◽

Photophysical Properties ◽

Deep Eutectic Solvents ◽

Structural Features ◽

Solvation Dynamics ◽

Structured Systems ◽

Reduced Viscosity ◽

Bond Network ◽

Fluorescent Molecules

<div><div><div><p>The structural features of a series of diverse Deep Eutectic Solvents (DESs) have been investigated and characterized by means of two fluorescent probes. The spectral and photophysical properties of the latter are strictly dependent on the experienced environment, so that they can provide insights into the polarity, viscosity, hydrogen-bond network, and micro-heterogeneity of the various DESs.</p><p>In fact, the investigated DESs exhibit a variety of properties with regards to their hydrophilicity, acidity, and hydrogen-bond ability, and these details were deeply probed by the two fluorescent molecules. The effect of the addition of water, which is a key strategy for tuning the properties of these structured systems, was also tested. In particular, the excited state dynamics of the probes, measured by femtosecond-resolved transient absorption, proved instrumental in understanding the changes in the structural properties of the DESs, namely reduced viscosity and enhanced heterogeneity, as the water percentage increases. Differences between the various DESs in terms of both local microheterogeneity and bulk viscosity also emerged from the peculiar multi-exponential solvation dynamics undergone by the excited states of the probes.</p></div></div></div>

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Probing the Structural Features and the Micro-heterogeneity of Various Deep Eutectic Solvents and their Water Dilutions by the Photophysical Behaviour of Two Fluorophores

10.26434/chemrxiv.13395683 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Matteo Tiecco ◽

Irene Di Guida ◽

Pier Luigi Gentili ◽

Raimondo Germani ◽

Carmela Bonaccorso ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Hydrogen Bond ◽

Transient Absorption ◽

Photophysical Properties ◽

Deep Eutectic Solvents ◽

Structural Features ◽

Solvation Dynamics ◽

Structured Systems ◽

Reduced Viscosity ◽

Bond Network ◽

Fluorescent Molecules

<div><div><div><p>The structural features of a series of diverse Deep Eutectic Solvents (DESs) have been investigated and characterized by means of two fluorescent probes. The spectral and photophysical properties of the latter are strictly dependent on the experienced environment, so that they can provide insights into the polarity, viscosity, hydrogen-bond network, and micro-heterogeneity of the various DESs.</p><p>In fact, the investigated DESs exhibit a variety of properties with regards to their hydrophilicity, acidity, and hydrogen-bond ability, and these details were deeply probed by the two fluorescent molecules. The effect of the addition of water, which is a key strategy for tuning the properties of these structured systems, was also tested. In particular, the excited state dynamics of the probes, measured by femtosecond-resolved transient absorption, proved instrumental in understanding the changes in the structural properties of the DESs, namely reduced viscosity and enhanced heterogeneity, as the water percentage increases. Differences between the various DESs in terms of both local microheterogeneity and bulk viscosity also emerged from the peculiar multi-exponential solvation dynamics undergone by the excited states of the probes.</p></div></div></div>

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Excited-State Dynamics in the RNA Nucleotide Uridine 5’-Monophosphate Investigated by Femtosecond Broadband Transient Absorption Spectroscopy

10.26434/chemrxiv.7860023 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Matthew M. Brister ◽

Carlos Crespo-Hernández

Keyword(s):

Excited State ◽

Excited States ◽

Ground State ◽

Transient Absorption ◽

Electronic Energy ◽

Transient Absorption Spectroscopy ◽

Electronic Relaxation ◽

Vibrationally Excited ◽

Excited State Dynamics ◽

Π State

<p></p><p> Damage to RNA from ultraviolet radiation induce chemical modifications to the nucleobases. Unraveling the excited states involved in these reactions is essential, but investigations aimed at understanding the electronic-energy relaxation pathways of the RNA nucleotide uridine 5’-monophosphate (UMP) have not received enough attention. In this Letter, the excited-state dynamics of UMP is investigated in aqueous solution. Excitation at 267 nm results in a trifurcation event that leads to the simultaneous population of the vibrationally-excited ground state, a longlived <sup>1</sup>n<sub>O</sub>π* state, and a receiver triplet state within 200 fs. The receiver state internally convert to the long-lived <sup>3</sup>ππ* state in an ultrafast time scale. The results elucidate the electronic relaxation pathways and clarify earlier transient absorption experiments performed for uracil derivatives in solution. This mechanistic information is important because long-lived nπ* and ππ* excited states of both singlet and triplet multiplicities are thought to lead to the formation of harmful photoproducts.</p><p></p>

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