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Microscopic autofluorescence spectral imaging of chloroplasts in maize mesophyll cells using near-infrared laser excitation has previously shown that a photosystem I spectral component exhibits an intensity similar to that of photosystem II at ~294 K when a continuous-wave laser at 800-820 nm is used. To establish the generality of this phenomenon, chloroplasts in Parachlorella kessleri cells (P. kessleri) were studied. A continuous-wave laser at 785 nm promoted photosystem-I-specific fluorescence in P. kessleri chloroplasts. The difference in chlorophyll fluorescence peak wavelengths between P. kessleri and maize correlated well with those observed at cryogenic temperatures. To further clarify the nature of anti-Stokes fluorescence, we studied chloroplasts in acetone-treated P. kessleri cells (in a medium containing 15% (v/v) acetone) by microscopic fluorescence and absorption spectra on a cell-by-cell basis. A continuous-wave laser at 785 nm led to significant fluorescence from acetone-treated cells, which was attributed to aggregation of chlorophylls. Anti-Stokes fluorescence spectral imaging thus seems to be effective for detection of lowest-energy trap states that are only weakly fluorescent.

Comparison of the steady-state FTIR absorption spectra of coumarin-102 (C-102) in tetrachloroethylene with added aniline of various concentrations, in neat aniline and in neat N,N-dimethylaniline (...

Excitation-wavelength dependence of the transient absorbance changes of photosystem I reaction center particles with a reduced number of antenna chlorophylls (16 chlorophylls/primary electron donor chlorophyll (P700)) hasbeen studied in an effort to understand the energy equilibration among the chlorophylls in the electron-transfer system. The photobleaching and stimulated-emission signals in the Q y band region of the chlorophylls upon the preferential excitation of chlorophyll spectral forms at the blue edge (662 nm) and red edge (697 nm) of the Q y band are analyzed. In the case of the red-edge excitation, spectral equilibration proceeds with a time constant of 0.34 (′0.07) ps, which is attributable to the energy equilibration between P700 and neighboring chlorophylls absorbing around 686 nm in the electron-transfer system. This equilibration seems to precede the fastest phase of the primary charge separation (apparent time constant of 0.8 ps) reported previously (Kumazaki et al. J. Phys. Chem. B 2001, 105, 1093). A slow decay of the excited states because of the slow phase of the primary charge separation proceeds with a time constant of 7.2 (′0.6) ps. In the case of the blue-edge excitation, vibrational relaxation and downhill energy transfer proceed with a time constant of 0.38 (′0.08) ps, which are followed by a slow downhill energy transfer from residual antenna chlorophylls to the electron-transfer system. Even with the slow energy transfer from the residual antenna chlorophylls to the electron-transfer system, the overall primary charge separation is completed with a time constant of 10 (′0.7) ps. These interpretations are in part supported by control experiments on chlorophyll a in ethanol under equivalent optical conditions. Implications of these results for understanding the primary processes in more intact photosystem I are discussed.

Spectral sensitization and supersensitization of the silver bromide nanocrystals were studied by the femtosecond fluorescence up-conversion technique. An annihilation-free fluorescence from J-aggregates of the Dye 1 (3,3‘-disulfopropyl-5,5‘-dichloro-9-ethylthiacarbocyanine) adsorbed on the silver bromide nanocrystals (edge-to-edge distance from 40 to 900 nm) of different shapes (cubic and octahedral) was measured. Very fast nonexponential fluorescence decays were observed with a fast component from 0.4 to 2.5 ps, and an average decay time from 1.1 to 5.5 ps, depending on the type and size of AgBr grains. The average fluorescence decay time is several times longer on the cubic grains than that on the octahedral grains. Upon addition of a supersensitizer (SS) (3,3‘-disulfopropyl-9-ethyl-4,5,4‘,5‘-dibenzothiacarbocyanine), which is coadsorbed on the surface of silver bromide grains, the fluorescence decay became several times faster with a mean decay time of 0.60−1.3 ps. Different models of supersensitizatio...

Radiationless deactivation of 2-piperidinoanthraquinone (2PAQ) in its excited singlet state induced by an intermolecular hydrogen bond interaction was studied by picosecond and femtosecond transien...

Femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy was applied to the photosystem I reaction center particles containing only 12−13 chlorophylls per primary electron donor chlorophyll (P700), which were prepared from spinach. Upon preferential excitation of P700, an absorption band due to the excited state of P700 was newly observed in the 730−750 nm region. The primary charge separation dynamics at ≈280 K were revealed by the rise of the absorption band of the radical pair of chlorophylls. The rise was biphasic: 0.8 ps (50%) and 9 ps (50%). The 0.8 ps component is the fastest phase of the charge separation ever observed in photosystem I reaction center. On the basis of the observed dynamics and a kinetic model of excitation migration, the rate constant of the charge separation between P700 and the nearest-acceptor chlorophyll is predicted to be (0.5−0.8 ps)-1.

The primary processes in a photosystem I reaction center were studied by fluorescence up-conversion with a subpicosecond time resolution at room temperature. The samples were P700(primary donor chlorophyll)-enriched particles which retained ≈14 chlorophylls per P700. Upon selective excitation of P700 at 701 nm at ≈5 °C, anisotropy of the fluorescence at 749 nm decayed from ≈0.3 to ≈0.15 with a time constant of 1 ps. The dynamic depolarization is attributed to electronic excitation equilibration between P700 and the surrounding chlorophylls. In the isotropic fluorescence kinetics, at least two decaying components of 2.2 ps (≈35%) and 15 ps (≈55%) were found. The fast and slow components indicate the charge separation before and after full equilibration of excitation energy, respectively. A kinetic model calculation based on the above results suggests that the intrinsic rate constant of the primary electron transfer from P700* is > 0.25 ps-1.

The rate of the electron transfer reaction from the reduced primary electron acceptor chlorophyll a (A0-) to the secondary acceptor quinone (Q) was measured by picosecond−nanosecond laser spectroscopy at 280 K in the photosynthetic reaction center (RC) complex of plant photosystem I (PS I). The free energy change (ΔG0) of the reaction was varied between −1.1 and +0.2 eV by the reconstitution of 13 different quinone/quinonoid compounds after the extraction of the intrinsic phylloquinone. Phylloquinone and its natural analog menaquinone, both of which show a ΔG0 value of −0.34 eV, gave the highest rate constant (k) of (23 ps)-1. Analysis of log k versus ΔG0 plot according to the quantum mechanical electron transfer theory gave the total reorganization energy (λtotal) of 0.30 eV and the electronic coupling (V) of 14 cm-1. The natural system is shown to be highly optimized to give a ΔG0= −λtotal condition. The λtotal value is smaller and the V value is larger than those estimated in the corresponding reaction...

Transient absorption spectroscopy has been used to study sub-picosecond energy transfer processes in isolated photosystem II (PS II) reaction centers. As reported previously [Durrant, J. R.; et al. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 1992, 89, 11632−11636], using long wavelength (694 nm) excitation, spectral evolution of the isotropic Qy band bleach/stimulated emission is dominated by energy transfer processes with a 100 ± 50 fs time constant. In contrast, depolarization of this signal occurs with a time constant of 400 ± 30 fs, from an initial anisotropy of ∼0.4 to a value of ∼0.15 at 1.5 ps. This decay of the anisotropy is attributed to energy transfer between at least two degenerate states contributing to reaction center absorption circa 680 nm, with these states having approximately orthogonal transition dipoles. The transient anisotropy barely changes between 1.5 and 60 ps, indicating that under these excitation conditions equilibration of the excitation energy between reaction center excited states occurs...

Rates of sequential electron transfer reactions from the primary electron donor chlorophyll dimer (P700) to the electron acceptor chlorophyll a-686 (A[sub 0]) and to the secondary acceptor quinone (Q[sub [phi]]) are measured by picosecond absorption spectroscopy in spinach photosystem I (PS I) particles. In the particles, 85-90% of antenna chlorophylls are extracted and the intrinsic phylloquinone (Q[sub [phi]]) is removed and replaced by different quinones. (1) The excited single state of P700, monitored by the absorbance change at 695 nm, appeared with a time constant shorter than 1 ps after excitation with a 605 nm, 1 ps pulse at an intensity of 0.8 or 1.5 photons/reaction center. Indication for the absorbance change of the chlorophylls, which may function as the intermediate electron acceptor between P700 and A[sub 0] or between A[sub 0] and Q[sub [phi]], was not obtained. 45 refs., 5 figs., 1 tab.