title: Photophysics of GFP-related chromophores imposed by a scaffold design.
abstract: In this paper, a rigid scaffold imposes the photophysics of chromophores with a benzylidene imidazolidinone core by mimicking the β-barrel structure of the green fluorescent protein (GFP) and its analogs. The designed artificial frameworks maintain fluorescence responses and, therefore, conformational rigidity of typically non-emissive GFP-related chromophores. To replicate a small weight percent of the chromophore inside the natural GFP, two synthetic approaches were utilized: coordinative immobilization and non-coordinative inclusion. Despite low chromophore loading in the rigid matrix, both approaches resulted in formation of photoluminescent hybrid materials. Furthermore, the rigid scaffold dictates chromophore fluorescence by replicating its behavior in solution or the solid state. The presented results open an avenue for utilization of rigid scaffolds in the engineering of materials with tunable photoluminescence profiles for a variety of practical applications.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of South Carolina, 631 Sumter St, Columbia, SC 29208, USA. shustova@sc.edu.
authors.forename: E A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Dolgopolova
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of South Carolina, 631 Sumter St, Columbia, SC 29208, USA. shustova@sc.edu.
authors.forename: T M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Moore
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of South Carolina, 631 Sumter St, Columbia, SC 29208, USA. shustova@sc.edu.
authors.forename: W B
authors.initials: WB
authors.lastname: Fellows
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of South Carolina, 631 Sumter St, Columbia, SC 29208, USA. shustova@sc.edu.
authors.forename: M D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of South Carolina, 631 Sumter St, Columbia, SC 29208, USA. shustova@sc.edu.
authors.forename: N B
authors.initials: NB
authors.lastname: Shustova
mesh_terms: D001597:Benzylidene Compounds / Q000737:chemistry*; D002616:Chemical Engineering; D060326:Chemistry Techniques, Synthetic; D003116:Color; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins / Q000737:chemistry*; D007093:Imidazoles / Q000737:chemistry*; D008958:Models, Molecular; D015394:Molecular Structure; D011487:Protein Conformation; D011522:Protons; D013050:Spectrometry, Fluorescence
chemical_list: D001597:Benzylidene Compounds; D007093:Imidazoles; D011522:Protons; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins; C029899:imidazole