title: Fluorescence properties of pyrylretinol.
abstract: A fluorescent analog of retinol, 3,7-dimethyl-9-(1-pyryl)-2E,4E,6E,8E-nonatetr aene-1-ol (referred to as pyrylretinol, or 1) has been synthesized. The fluorescence properties (e.g. quantum yield, lifetime, steady-state anisotropy, and excitation/emission spectra) of this compound in various organic solvents and in dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine (DMPC) liposomes have been studied, and the results are compared with those obtained from 3-methyl-5-(1-pyryl)-2E,4E-pentadiene-1-ol (2), which has the same fused aromatic ring system but a much shorter acyclic chain. 1 and 2 form excimer in aqueous media and fluorescence anisotropies of both 1 and 2 in DMPC liposomes exhibit an abrupt decrease at approximately 21-23 degrees C, which coincides with the main phase transition temperature of DMPC liposomes, indicating that both compounds may be a useful membrane probe. In addition, the binding and quenching capability of pyrylretinol (1) to bovine serum albumin has been investigated. Pyrylretinol (1) binds with BSA with a binding constant of 3.6 x 10(4) M-1, although the value is somewhat lower than that obtained for retinol (3.06 x 10(5) M-1). Pyrylretinol (1) also quenches the BSA intrinsic fluorescence with the quenching rate constant of 1.67 x 10(13) M-1 s-1 and the value is lower than that obtained for retinol (4.06 x 10(13) M-1 s-1). The binding and quenching studies suggest that pyrylretinol (1) may serve as a useful fluorescence probe for structure/function studies of different retinoid binding proteins.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston 29403, USA. joydip@mit.edu
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Das
authors.forename: R K
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Crouch
authors.forename: P L
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Chong
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle; D008081:Liposomes; D013050:Spectrometry, Fluorescence; D014801:Vitamin A / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D008081:Liposomes; D014801:Vitamin A