Photooxidation of tryptophan: O2(1 delta g) versus electron-transfer pathway

Tris (2,2'-bipyridyl)ruthenium(II)chloride hexahydrate (Ru[bpy]3(2+)) free in solution and adsorbed onto antimony-doped SnO2 colloidal particles was used as a photosensitizer for a comparison of the O2(1 delta g) and electron-transfer-mediated photooxidation of tryptophan (TRP), respectively. Quenching of excited Ru(bpy)3(2+) by O2(3 sigma g-) in an aerated aqueous solution leads only to the formation of O2(1 delta g) (phi delta = 0.18) and this compound was used as a type II photosensitizer. Excitation of Ru(bpy)3(2+) adsorbed onto Sb/SnO2 results in a fast injection of an electron into the conduction band of the semiconductor and accordingly to the formation of Ru(bpy)3(2+) and was used for the sensitization of the electron-transfer-mediated photooxidation. The Ru(bpy)3(3+) is reduced by TRP with a bimolecular rate constant kQ = 5.9 x 10(8) M-1 s-1, while O2(1 delta g) is quenched by TRP with kt = 7.1 x 10(7) M-1 s-1 (chemical + physical quenching). Relative rate constants for the photooxidation of TRP (kc) via both pathways were determined using fluorescence emission spectroscopy. With Np, the rate of photons absorbed, being constant for both pathways we obtained kc = (372/Np) M-1 s-1 for the O2(1 delta g) pathway and kc > or = (25,013/Np) M-1 s-1 for the electron-transfer pathway, respectively. Thus the photooxidation of Trp is more than two orders of magnitude more efficient when it is initiated by electron transfer than when initiated by O2(1 delta g).