Photophysical and electrochemical properties of chlorophyll a–cyclodextrins complexes

In this work, we have studied the interactions between two different cyclodextrins (CDs) and chlorophyll a (Chl a) in the presence of electrolyte by means of absorption, fluorescence spectroscopy, circular dichroism and cyclic voltammetry. The results obtained indicate that the presence of both CDs gives rise to an increase of Chl a solubility in water. In particular, heptakis-(2,3,6-tri-O-methyl)-β-cyclodextrin (TRIMEB) favours the dissolution of Chl a monomer in aqueous solution, whereas the presence of hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (β-HP-CD) promotes the pigment aggregation.