INVESTIGATION OF LIGHT-INDUCED CONFORMATION CHANGES IN SPIROPYRAN-MODIFIED SUCCINYLATED POLY(L-LYSINE)

To determine the maximum range of coupling between side-chain photochromism and polypeptide conformation change, we modified the carboxylate side chains of succinylated poly(L-lysine) with a spiropyran to form polypeptide I. The extent of modification was determined to be 35.5%. The spacer group length between the polypeptide alpha-carbon and the dye was 12 atoms, providing minimum polypeptide-dye interaction. Conformation changes were monitored by circular dichroism as a function of light adaptation and solvent composition (hexafluoroisopropanol [HFIP] vs trifluoroethanol [TFE]), Under all solvent compositions, the dark-adapted dye was in the merocyanine form. Light adaptation by visible light converted the dye to the spiropyran form. When dissolved in TFE, I adopted a helical conformation insensitive to light adaptation. With increasing percentage HFIP, a solvent-induced helix-to-coil transition was observed around 80% (vol/vol) HFIP. At 100% HFIP, both light- and dark-adapted forms of I were in the coil state. Near the midpoint of the solvent-induced helix-to-coil transition, light adaptation caused conformation changes. Applying helix-to-coil transition theory, we measured a statistically significant difference in coil segment-HFIP binding constant for light- vs dark-adapted solutions (6.38 +/- 0.03 M(-1) vs 6.56 +/- 0.03 M(-1)), but not for the nucleation parameter sigma (1.2 +/- 0.4 10(-3) vs 1.3 +/- 0.3 x 10(-3)). The small binding constant difference translated to a light-induced binding energy difference of 17 cal/mol/monomer. Near the midpoint of the helix-to-coil transition, collective interactions between monomer units made possible the translation of a small energy difference (less than RT) into large macromolecular conformation changes. This work parallels similar behavior observed in poly(isocyanate) (Green, M. M. et al. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 115, 4941-4942, 1993). The subtle differences in dye-backbone interaction in I suggested a maximum coupling distance (12 atoms) beyond which polypeptide conformation and dye state are uncoupled.