Magnetic field effect on electron transfer reactions of flavin derivatives associated with micelles

Abstract

The magnetic field effects (MFEs) on the electron transfer reactions from indole derivatives to flavin derivatives in micellar solutions are studied. The MFEs on the free radical yields observed by transient absorption (TA) reflect effectively the association of the donor and acceptor molecules with the micelles. In the system of riboflavin and indole, the MFE increases rapidly with increasing concentration of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) higher than the critical micellar concentration. In contrast, in the system of flavin mononucleotide and indole, the increase of MFE is very slow even at higher concentrations of SDS. This result shows that riboflavin is well associated with the SDS micelle and the diffusion process of the radical pair is restricted by the micellar cages. The MFE in the system of riboflavin and indole is twice as large as that of riboflavin and tryptophan. This result shows the difference of the dynamics of radicals in micelles. The escape rate of the cation radical generated from tryptophan is much faster than that generated from indole. The dependence of the MFEs on the type of surfactant is studied. The effect of the Coulomb force between the ionic reactant molecules and the charged head group of the surfactant and the effect of the molecular size are discussed by comparison of the MFE intensities.