Spectroscopic probing of ortho-nitrophenol localization

SÁNCHEZ, J.M. TURINA A.V. AND PERILLO M.A.

JOURNAL OF PHOTOCHEMISTRY AND PHOTOBIOLOGY B-BIOLOGY

Elsevier Science

Año: 2007 p. 56 - 62

1011-1344

In the present study we estimated the localization of ortho-nitrophenol (ONP) within model membranes through its efficiency to quench and to modify the anisotropy of DPH and TMA-DPH fluorescence. These fluorescent probes are known to sense the hydrocarbon core and the polar head group region of membranes, respectively. TMA-DPH fluorescence in MLVs was more efficiently quenched than DPH (Kq,TMA-DPH = 2.36 and Kq,DPH = 1.07 mM ns1). Moreover, these results demonstrated the interfacial localization of ONP and may contribute to understand membrane-mediated mechanisms of ONP-induced toxicity and the behavior of ONP as a product of several enzymatic reactions occurring in the presence of lipid?water interfaces.