Abstract
The ability of β-cyclodextrin (β-CD), γ-CD, hydroxypropyl-β-CD (HP-β-CD), trimethyl-β-CD (TM-β-CD), sulfurbutylether-β-CD (SBE-β-CD) and carboxymethyl-β-cyclodextrin (CM-β-CD) to break the aggregate of the meso-tetrakis(4-N-trimethylaminobenzyl)porphyrin (TAPP) and to form 2:1 inclusion complexes has been studied by absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy. The formation constants are calculated, respectively, by fluorimetry, from which the inclusion capacity of different CDs is compared and the inclusion mechanism of charged-β-CD (SBE-β-CD and CM-β-CD) is quite different from that of the parent β-CD. At lower pH, the complexation between TM-β-CD and H2TAPP2+ (the form of the diprotonated TAPP) hampers the continuous protonation of the pyrrole nitrogen of TAPP and the hydrophobic cavity may prefer to bind an apolar neutral porphyrin molecule. 1HNMR data support the inclusion conformation of the porphyrin–cyclodextrin supramolecular system, indicating the interaction of the meso-phenyl groups of TAPP with the cavity of CDs. For this host–guest inclusion model, cyclodextrin being regarded as the protein component, which acts as a carrier enveloping the active site of heme prosthetic group within its hydrophobic environment, provides a protective sheath for the porphyrin, creating artificial analogues of heme-containing proteins. However, for TAPP, encapsulated within this saccharide-coated barrier, its photophysical and photochemical properties changed strongly.
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and by the National Natural Science Foundation of Shanxi province of China.