Caged Phosphate and the Slips and Misses in Determination of Quantum Yields for Ultraviolet-A-Induced Photouncaging

Philipp Anstaett; Anna Leonidova; Gilles Gasser

doi:10.1002/cphc.201402547

Caged Phosphate and the Slips and Misses in Determination of Quantum Yields for Ultraviolet-A-Induced Photouncaging

Chemphyschem. 2015 Jun 22;16(9):1857-60. doi: 10.1002/cphc.201402547. Epub 2014 Aug 26.

Authors

Philipp Anstaett¹, Anna Leonidova¹, Gilles Gasser²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemistry, Winterthurerstrasse, 190, 8057, Zurich (Switzerland).
² Department of Chemistry, Winterthurerstrasse, 190, 8057, Zurich (Switzerland). [email protected].

PMID: 25158040
DOI: 10.1002/cphc.201402547

Abstract

The quantum yields for photouncaging reactions are mostly determined relative to other uncaging reactions, often using 1-(2-nitrophenyl)ethyl-phosphate ("caged phosphate"). Herein, we demonstrate that the quantum yields acquired by using this method can be off by an order of magnitude at the typical irradiation wavelengths around 350 nm and describe an easy-to-use alternative procedure using inexpensive azobenzene.

Keywords: azo compounds; caged compounds; photochemistry; photouncaging; quantum yield.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Molecular Structure
Phosphates / chemistry*
Quantum Theory*
Ultraviolet Rays*

Substances

Phosphates