Abstract

The absorption and fluorescence emission of pyridoxamine were studied as function of pH and solvent properties. In the ground state, pyridoxamine exhibits different protonated forms in the range of pH 1.5 - 12. Fluorescence studies showed that the same species exist at the lowest singlet excited state but at different pH ranges. The phenol group is by ca. 8 units more acidic in the excited state than in the ground state. On the other hand, the pyridine N-atom is slightly more basic in the lowest excited state than in the ground state. Excitation spectra and emission decays in the pH range of 8 - 10 indicate the protonation of the pyridine N-atom by proton transfer from the amine group, in the ground and singlet excited states. Spectroscopic studies in different solvents showed that pyridoxamine in the ground or excited states exhibits intramolecular proton transfer from the pyridine N-atom to the phenol group, which is more favorable in solvents of low hydrogen-bonding capacity. The cationic form with the protonated phenolic group, which emits at shorter wavelength, is the dominant species in nonprotic solvents, but, in strong proton-donor solvents, both forms exist. The fluorescence spectra of these species exhibit blue shift in protic solvents. These shifts are well-correlated with the polarity and the H-donor ability of the solvent.