Hydration dynamics of 4-aminophthalimide in a substituted β-cyclodextrin nanocavity

Solvation dynamics of water molecules around a probe, 4-aminophthalimide (4-AP) inside a heptakis(2,3,6-tri-O-methyl)-β-cyclodextrin (TRIMEB) cavity has been studied using picosecond time dependent fluorescence Stokes’ shift. The solvation time of 4-AP within the TRIMEB cavity in water is found to be 250 ± 50 ps. This is substantially slower than the solvation time observed in bulk water (∼1 ps).