Contrasting caging effect on the photodynamics of 1′-hydroxy-2′-acetonaphthone

Abstract

Confined environments, such as cyclodextrins, offer a convenient method to modulate the excited-state (ES) photodynamics of a probe molecule, and studies on such topics have attracted tremendous attention in numerous biological and chemical fields. Current study explores the photodynamic modulations of an ESIPT probe, 1′-hydroxy-2′-acetonaphthone (1HAN), by two homologous cyclodextrin derivatives having different cavity sizes, namely hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HPβCD) and hydroxypropyl-γ-cyclodextrin (HPγCD), using multispectroscopic techniques. 1HAN shows substantial fluorescence enhancement after forming 1:1 inclusion complexes with both of these host molecules. Time-resolved (TR) anisotropy studies indicate substantially longer rotational relaxation times for the 1HAN-HP(β/γ)CD systems compared to the free 1HAN, further supporting the formation of inclusion complexes in the current systems. Intriguingly, TR fluorescence studies reveal contrasting modulation of the ES equilibrium between keto (K1*) and twisted keto (K2*) tautomers of 1HAN by HPβCD and HPγCD hosts, respectively. In the presence of the HPβCD host, the ES equilibrium between keto tautomers of 1HAN is shifted more towards the K1* form. On the contrary, the ES equilibrium shifts more towards the K2* form of the dye in the presence of the HPγCD host. This contrasting modulation in the ES equilibrium between K1* and K2* tautomers of 1HAN indicates that the dimension of the interior cavity of the host and hydrophobic interactions play a decisive role in regulating the photodynamics of the excited 1HAN dye.