Theoretical assessment of naphazoline redoxchemistry and photochemistry

The imidazoline derivative naphazoline (2-(1-naphtylmethyl)-2-imidazoline) is an alpha2-adrenergic agonist used as non-prescription eye and nasal preparations. Besides its functionality in generating vascoconstriction and decongestion in the patient, the toxicity, ROS generating capability, and recently also possible antioxidant capacity of the compound have been reported in the literature. In the current work the structural and electronic features of the drug are explored, using computational chemical tools. Electron affinities, ionization potentials, and excitation energies are reported, as well as charge and spin distributions of various forms of the drug. The difference in photochemical behavior between the protonated and unprotonated (basic) species is explained by the molecular orbital distributions, allowing for efficient excitation quenching in the basic structure but clear naphthalene to imidazolene charge transfer upon HOMO--> LUMO excitation in the protonated form, enabling larger intersystem crossing capability to the imidazole localized excited triplet and a resulting higher singlet oxygen quantum yield.