Competing pathways in the photo-Favorskii rearrangement and release of esters: Studies on fluorinated p-hydroxyphenacyl GABA and glutamate phototriggers

摘要

Three new trifluoromethylated p-hydroxyphenacyl (pHP) caged γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and glutamate (Glu) derivatives have been examined for their efficacy as photoremovable protecting groups in aqueous solution. By replacing hydrogen with fluorine, e.g., a m-trifluoromethyl or a m-trifluoromethoxy vs. m-methoxy substituents on the pHP chromophore, modest increases in the quantum yields for release of the amino acids GABA and glutamate were realized as well as improved lipophilicity. The pHP triplet undergoes a photo-Favorskii rearrangement with concomitant release of the amino acid substrate. Deprotonation competes with the rearrangement from the triplet excited state and yields the pHP conjugate base that, upon reprotonation, regenerate the starting ketoester, a chemically unproductive or “energy wasting” process. Employing picosecond pump–probe spectroscopy, GABA derivatives >2 – >5 are characterized by short triplet lifetimes, a manifestation of their rapid release of GABA. The bioavailability of released GABA at the GABAA receptor improved when the release took place from m-OCF3 (>2) but decreased for m-CF3 (>3) when compared with the parent pHP derivative. These studies demonstrate that pKa and lipophilicity exert significant but sometimes opposing influences on the photochemistry and biological activity of pHP phototriggers.