Ultrafast photo-initiated molecular quantum dynamics in the DNA dinucleotide d(ApG) revealed by broadband transient absorption spectroscopy

Abstract

The ultrafast photo-initiated quantum dynamics of the adenine–guanine dinucleotide d(ApG) in aqueous solution (pH 7) has been studied by femtosecond time-resolved spectroscopy after excitation at λ = 260 nm. The results reveal a hierarchy of processes on time scales from τ < 100 fs to τ > 100 ps. Characteristic spectro-temporal signatures are observed indicating the transformation of the molecules in the electronic relaxation from the photo-excited state to a long-lived exciplex. In particular, broadband UV/VIS excited-state absorption (ESA) measurements detected a distinctive absorption by the excited dinucleotide around λ = 335 nm, ≈0.5 eV to the blue compared to the maximum of the broad and unstructured ESA spectrum after excitation of an equimolar mixture of the mononucleotides dAMP and dGMP. A similar feature has been identified as signature of the excimer in the dynamics of the adenine dinucleotide d(ApA). The lifetime of the d(ApG) exciplex was found to be τ = 124 ± 4 ps both from the ESA decay time and from the ground-state recovery time, far longer than the sub-picosecond lifetimes of excited dAMP or dGMP. Fluorescence–time profiles measured by the up-conversion technique indicate that the exciplex state is reached around ≈6 ps after excitation. Very weak residual fluorescence at longer times red-shifted to the emission from the photo-excited state shows that the exciplex is almost optically dark, but still has enough oscillator strength to give rise to the dual fluorescence of the dinucleotide in the static fluorescence spectrum.