Fluorescence of tryptophan in aqueous solution

In this work, the absorption and emission spectra of Tryptophan (Trp) in aqueous solution were studied. Moreover, a hydrogen-bonded zwitterionic Trp(H2O)9 model was proposed and its ground-state and excited-state properties were investigated using the density functional theory (DFT) and the time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) methods, respectively. All spectroscopic data in our experiments can be well explained by the hydrogen bond strengthening in the excited state of the model complex. The delocalization of electron density between indole moiety and neighboring H2O molecules in fluorescent state was proposed to be facilitated by the strengthened hydrogen-bond chain, and thus resulting in the large red-shift fluorescence of Trp in aqueous solution.

Graphical abstractFigure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slideHighlights► The absorption and emission spectra of Tryptophan (Trp) in aqueous solution. ► The spectroscopic data were explained by the hydrogen bond strengthening. ► The delocalization between indole moiety and neighboring H2O molecules was proposed.