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Updated: Jun 3, 2026

Determination of the Photoisomerization Quantum Yield of a Hydrazone Photoswitch
Published on: February 7, 2022
Emission properties of dihydropterins in aqueous solutions
Mariana P Serrano1, Mariana Vignoni, M Laura Dántola
1INIFTA, Departamento de Química, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, CCT La Plata-CONICET., C.C. 16, Suc. 4, (1900) La Plata, Argentina.
Abstract:
Pterins belong to a class of heterocyclic compounds present in a wide range of living systems and accumulate in the skin of patients affected by vitiligo, a depigmentation disorder. The study of the emission of 7,8-dihydropterins is difficult because these compounds are more or less unstable in the presence of O(2) and their solutions are contaminated with oxidized pterins which have much higher fluorescence quantum yields (Φ(F)). In this work, the emission properties of six compounds of the dihydropterin family (6-formyl-7,8-dihydropterin (H(2)Fop), sepiapterin (Sep), 7,8-dihydrobiopterin (H(2)Bip), 7,8-dihydroneopterin (H(2)Nep), 6-hydroxymethyl-7,8-dihydropterin (H(2)Hmp), and 6-methyl-7,8-dihydropterin (H(2)Mep)) have been studied in aqueous solution. The fluorescence characteristics (spectra, Φ(F), lifetimes (τ(F))) of the neutral form of these compounds have been investigated using the single-photon-counting technique. Φ(F) and τ(F) values obtained lie in the ranges 3-9 × 10(-3) and 0.18-0.34 ns, respectively. The results are compared to those previously reported for oxidized pterins.
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