Tuned lifetime, at the ensemble and single molecule level, of a xanthenic fluorescent dye by means of a buffer-mediated excited-state proton exchange reaction.

The photophysical behaviour of the new fluorescein derivative 9-[1-(2-methyl-4-methoxyphenyl)]-6-hydroxy-3H-xanthen-3-one has been explored by using absorption, and steady-state, time-resolved and single-molecule fluorescence measurements. The apparent ground-state acidity constant of the dye determined by both the absorbance and steady-state fluorescence is almost independent of the added buffer and salt concentrations. The excited-state proton exchange reaction around the physiological pH becomes reversible upon addition of phosphate buffer, inducing a pH-dependent change of the steady-state fluorescence and decay times. Fluorescence decay traces, collected as a function of total buffer concentration and pH, were analyzed by global compartmental analysis (GCA) to elucidate the values of the excited-state rate constants. The features of this system make the fluorescence decays monoexponential at pH values and phosphate buffer concentrations higher than 6.10 and 0.2 M respectively, with the possibility of tuning the fluorescence lifetime value by changing pH or buffer concentrations. The tuned lifetimes obtained by means of phosphate concentration at constant pH have also been recovered at the single-molecule level.