Excited-State Dynamics of Thienoguanosine, an Isomorphic Highly Fluorescent Analogue of Guanosine

Thienoguanosine ((th)G) is an isomorphic analogue of guanosine with promising potentialities as fluorescent DNA label. As a free probe in protic solvents, (th)G exists in two tautomeric forms, identified as the H1, being the only one observed in nonprotic solvents, and H3 keto-amino tautomers. We herein investigate the photophysics of (th)G in solvents of different polarity, from water to dioxane, by combining time-resolved fluorescence with PCM/TD-DFT and CASSCF calculations. Fluorescence lifetimes of 14.5-20.5 and 7-13 ns were observed for the H1 and H3 tautomers, respectively, in the tested solvents. In methanol and ethanol, an additional fluorescent decay lifetime (approximate to 3 ns) at the blue emission side (lambda approximate to 430 nm) as well as a 0.5 ns component with negative amplitude at the red edge of the spectrum, typical of an excited-state reaction, were observed. Our computational analysis explains the solvent effects observed on the tautomeric equilibrium. The main radiative and nonradiative deactivation routes have been mapped by PCM/TD-DFT calculations in solution and CASSCF in the gas phase. The most easily accessible conical intersection, involving an out-of plane motion of the sulfur atom in the five-membered ring of (th)G, is separated by a sizeable energy barrier (>= 0.4 eV) from the minimum of the spectroscopic state, which explains the large experimental fluorescence quantum yield.