On the photochemistry of purine nucleobases

Eyal Nir, Karl Kleinermanns, Louis Grace, Mattanjah S. De Vries

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

183 Scopus citations

Abstract

We present R2PI spectra of a series of purine nucleobases, nucleosides, and related derivatives, including adenine, guanine, guanosine, 2-aminopurine, 2,6-diaminopurine, 9-ethyladenine, and 9-methylguanine. We compare the results with models involving two interacting excited states, which have been proposed to explain the short excited-state lifetime of most nucleobases. The amino group in the 2 position appears to have a strong effect on the excited-state potentials, as does any substitution in the 9 position. This explains the very different fluorescence characteristics of 2-aminopurine, but it raises new questions concerning the short lifetime of guanine in solution.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)5106-5110
Number of pages5
JournalJournal of Physical Chemistry A
Volume105
Issue number21
DOIs
StatePublished - 31 May 2001
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Physical and Theoretical Chemistry

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