Fluorescence spectroscopic behaviour of folic acid

The fluorescence spectroscopic behaviour of folic acid (FA) in 4 M HCl (dominant bi-cationic form), 0.1 M HCl (bi-cationic and cationic form), citric acid-NaOH pH 6 buffer (neutral form), 0.1 M and 4 M KOH (anionic form), and trifluoroacetic acid is studied. The thermal stability is investigated. Absolute absorption cross-section spectra are determined and compared with fluorescence excitation spectra. Intrinsic fluorescence quantum distributions and fluorescence quantum yields are extracted from fluorescence spectra measurements. The temporal fluorescence decay after picosecond pulse excitation is studied. The fluorescence quenching mechanisms for the different ionic forms of FA are discussed: excited-state proton release for bi-cationic FA, photo-physical non-radiative relaxation for cationic FA, and photo-induced intra-molecular electron transfer for neutral and anionic FA. Aerobic FA in 4 M KOH at elevated temperature dehydrated to 9,10-dehydro-folic acid. Its photo-dynamics was governed by twisted intra-molecular charge transfer and photo-isomerisation.