Histidine oxidation photosensitized by pterin: pH dependent mechanism

•Pterins photosensitize the oxidation of histidine in aqueous solutions under UV-A irradiation.•A competition between energy and electron transfer mechanisms is established.•The main mechanism at acidic pH is a type I photooxidation.

Aromatic pterins accumulate in the skin of patients suffering from vitiligo, a chronic depigmentation disorder, due to the oxidation of tetrahydrobiopterin, the biologically active form of pterins. In this work, we have investigated the ability of pterin, the parent compound of aromatic pterins, to photosensitize the oxidation of histidine in aqueous solutions under UV-A irradiation. Histidine is an α-amino acid with an imidazole functional group, and is frequently present at the active sites of enzymes. The results highlight the role of the pH in controlling the competition between energy and electron transfer mechanisms. It has been previously demonstrated that pterins participate as sensitizers in photosensitized oxidations, both by type I (electron-transfer) and type II mechanisms (singlet oxygen (1O2)). By combining different analytical techniques, we could establish that a type I photooxidation was the prevailing mechanism at acidic pH, although a type II mechanism is also present, but it is more important in alkaline solutions.