Rotamer-specific fluorescence quenching in tyrosinamide: Dynamic and static interactions

We have examined the environments of the three phenol rotamers about the C(α)-C(β) bond in tyrosinamide by fluorescence quenching. Steady-state acrylamide quenching yields a nonlinear stern-Volmer plot. With three distinct emitting species and no other information about the system, it is impossible to analyze the data due to the number of variables which have to be determined. We therefore reduced the number of variables by independently determining the fractional intensity and dynamic quenching constant for each rotamer through time-resolved fluorescence quenching studies. These parameters were then used to analyze the steady-state data for any contribution of static quenching. We conclude that the nonlinear Stern-Volmer plot for the quenching of tyrosinamide by acrylamide is a consequence of each rotamer having a distinct dynamic quenching constant and the presence of static quenching. The static quenching can be represented by either the sphere-of-action model involving two of the three rotamers or the ground-state complex model involving all three rotamers.