Chiral synthetic pseudopeptidic derivatives as triplet excited state quenchers

The behavior of 6 pseudopeptidic models, synthesized by connecting different protected amino acids (Trp, Tyr, Phe, and Lys) with various diamino spacers, as quenchers of the triplet excited state of tiaprofenic acid (and its methyl ester), has been investigated. A series of quenching constants have been determined, which depend on the nature of the quencher and on the stereochemistry of the excited drug. A significant degree of stereodifferentiation has been found for the peptidomimetic synthesized with Phe and Tyr linked by a piperazine bridge. The obtained results support the utility of laser flash photolysis (LFP) as a tool to investigate the interactions between photoexcited drugs and simple models of binding sites in proteins.