Distance-dependent quenching of nile blue fluorescence by N,N-diethylaniline observed by frequency-domain fluorometry

Joseph R. Lakowicz, Bogumil Zelent, Józef Kuśba, Ignacy Gryczynski

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

9 Scopus citations

Abstract

Fluorescence quenching of Nile Blue by amines is thought to be due to electron transfer to the excited dye molecule from the amine electron donor. We used electron transfer quenching of Nile blue by N,N-diethylaniline in propylene glycol as a model system for an interaction which depends exponentially on distance. We investigated the time dependence of the presumed distance-dependent process using gigahertz harmonic-content frequency-domain fluorometry. The frequency-domain data and the steady-state quantum yield were analyzed globally based on either the Smoluchowski-Collins-Kimball radiation boundary condition (RBC) model or the distance-dependent quenching (DDQ) model, in which the rate of quenching depends exponentially on the flourophore-quencher distance. We performed a global analysis which included both the frequency-domain time-resolved decays and the steady-state intensities. The latter were found to be particularly sensitive to the model and parameter values. The data cannot be satisfactorily analyzed using the RBC model for quenching. The analysis shows the excellent agreement of the DDQ model with the experimental data, supporting the applicability of the DDQ model to describe the quenching by the electron transfer process, which depends exponentially on the donor-acceptor distance.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)187-194
Number of pages8
JournalJournal of Fluorescence
Volume6
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Jan 1996

Keywords

  • Electron transfer
  • Fluorescence
  • Frequency-domain fluorometry
  • Quenching
  • Time-resolved fluorescence

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