The fundamental process of bond twisting that is responsible for the fluorescence sensing activity of the most extensively used amyloid fibril sensor, Thioflavin T, has been revealed using ultrafast time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy. From the wavelength-dependent fluorescence decay kinetics and the subsequently constructed time-resolved emission spectra (TRES), the dynamic Stokes shift and the change in the spectral width were observed. These results are rationalized on the basis of the proposition that, following photoexcitation, Thioflavin T undergoes ultrafast bond twisting to form a twisted intramolecular charge-transfer state that is weakly emissive in nature. Formation of the twisted state from the local excited state was found to occur in the subpicosecond time domain (time constant approximately = 570 fs). Quantum chemical calculations support the proposition of the bond twisting process in the photoexcited Thioflavin T and suggest that the twisting around the central C-C single bond, rather than the C-N single bond, of the Thioflavin T molecule is mainly responsible for the observed ultrafast dynamics in the excited state. Detailed time-resolved fluorescence studies of Thioflavin T incorporated in amyloid fibril show substantial retardation in the bond twisting dynamics, suggesting the involvement of this process in the sensor activity of the dye.

Photoinduced intermolecular electron transfer interaction between coumarin dyes and aromatic amines has been investigated in sodium dodecyl sulphate micellar solutions using steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence quenching measurements. Steady-state fluorescence quenching of the coumarin dyes by the amine quenchers always shows a positive deviation from linear Stern-Volmer relationship, which arises due to the localized high quencher concentrations at the micellar Stern layer. In time-resolved fluorescence measurements, the analysis of the fluorescence decays following a micellar quenching kinetics model assuming a unified quenching constant (k q Ј) per quencher occupancy does not give satisfactory results, especially for the higher quencher concentrations used. The observed fluorescence decays are, however, seen to fit reasonably well following a bi-exponential analysis for all the quencher concentrations used. The average fluorescence lifetimes of the coumarin dyes in the micellar solution as estimated from the bi-exponential decay analysis are seen to undergo a systematic reduction with the effective mean quencher concentrations. The bimolecular quenching constants (k q ) thus estimated are seen to be much smaller than those reported in the homogeneous solutions ͑e.g., in acetonitrile͒, indicating that the electron transfer in the micellar media is inherently inefficient. Correlation of the observed k q values in the micellar solutions with the free-energy changes (⌬G 0 ) for electron transfer reactions show an inversion in the observed rates as predicted by Marcus' outer sphere electron transfer theory at exergonicities more that ϳ0.65 eV. To the best of our knowledge this is the first report on the Marcus inverted region observed for the electron transfer reactions in micellar solution.

The femtosecond fluorescence upconversion technique is used to study the effect of viscosity on the excited state relaxation dynamics of an amyloid fibril sensor, thioflavin-T, in different solvent media. The excited state decay in all of the solvents is seen to be dependent on the emission wavelength. From the constructed time-resolved emission spectra, it is seen that the present system shows dynamic Stokes' shift as well as an appreciable increase in the spectral width with time. These temporal spectral characteristics of time-resolved emission spectra have been assigned to the formation of a new emissive species from the locally excited state of the thioflavin-T molecule. The formation of the new emissive state from the locally excited state is also supported by the fact that an iso-emissive point appears in the time-resolved area normalized emission spectra. From the detailed study on the excited state dynamics of thioflavin-T as a function of solvent viscosity, it is concluded that the new emissive state is formed due to the twisting around the central C-C single bond in the excited state of thioflavin-T. The formation rate of the twisted emissive state from the locally excited state is found to be nicely correlated with the viscosity of the medium.

Photoinduced electron transfer (ET) between coumarin dyes and aromatic amines has been investigated in Triton-X-100 micellar solutions and the results have been compared with those observed earlier in homogeneous medium. Significant static quenching of the coumarin fluorescence due to the presence of high concentration of amines around the coumarin fluorophore in the micelles has been observed in steady-state fluorescence studies. Time-resolved studies with nanosecond resolutions mostly show the dynamic part of the quenching for the excited coumarin dyes by the amine quenchers. A correlation of the quenching rate constants, estimated from the time-resolved measurements, with the free energy changes (DeltaG0) of the ET reactions shows the typical bell shaped curve as predicted by Marcus outer-sphere ET theory. The inversion in the ET rates for the present systems occurs at an exergonicity (-DeltaG0) of approximately 0.7-0.8 eV, which is unusually low considering the polarity of the Palisade layer of the micelles where the reactants reside. Present results have been rationalized on the basis of the two dimensional ET model assuming that the solvent relaxation in micellar media is much slower than the rate of the ET process. Detailed analysis of the experimental data shows that the diffusional model of the bimolecular quenching kinetics is not applicable for the ET reactions in the micellar solutions. In the present systems, the reactions can be better visualized as equivalent to intramolecular electron transfer processes, with statistical distribution of the donors and acceptors in the micelles. A low electron coupling (Vel) parameter is estimated from the correlation of the experimentally observed and the theoretically calculated ET rates, which indicates that the average donor--acceptor separation in the micellar ET reactions is substantially larger than for the donor--acceptor contact distance. Comparison of the Vel values in the micellar solution and in the donor--acceptor close contact suggests that there is an intervention of a surfactant chain between the interacting donor and acceptor in the micellar ET reaction.

Photoinduced electron transfer (ET) between coumarin dyes and aromatic amine has been investigated in two cationic micelles, namely, cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) and dodecyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (DTAB), and the results have been compared with those observed earlier in sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) and triton-X-100 (TX-100) micelles for similar donor-acceptor pairs. Due to a reasonably high effective concentration of the amines in the micellar Stern layer, the steady-state fluorescence results show significant static quenching. In the time-resolved (TR) measurements with subnanosecond time resolution, contribution from static quenching is avoided. Correlations of the dynamic quenching constants (k(q) (TR)), as estimated from the TR measurements, show the typical bell-shaped curves with the free-energy changes (DeltaG(0)) of the ET reactions, as predicted by the Marcus outersphere ET theory. Comparing present results with those obtained earlier for similar coumarin-amine systems in SDS and TX-100 micelles, it is seen that the inversion in the present micelles occurs at an exergonicity (-DeltaG(0)> approximately 1.2-1.3 eV) much higher than that observed in SDS and TX-100 micelles (-DeltaG(0)> approximately 0.7 eV), which has been rationalized based on the relative propensities of the ET and solvation rates in different micelles. In CTAB and DTAB micelles, the k(q) (TR) values are lower than the solvation rates, which result in the full contribution of the solvent reorganization energy (lambda(s)) towards the activation barrier for the ET reaction. Contrary to this, in SDS and TX-100 micelles, k(q) (TR) values are either higher or comparable with the solvation rates, causing only a partial contribution of lambda(s) in these cases. Thus, Marcus inversion in present cationic micelles is inferred to be the true inversion, whereas that in the anionic SDS and neutral TX-100 micelles are understood to be the apparent inversion, as envisaged from two-dimensional ET theory.