β-Isocyanoalanine as an IR probe: comparison of vibrational dynamics between isonitrile and nitrile-derivatized IR probes

Abstract

An infrared (IR) probe based on isonitrile (NC)-derivatized alanine 1 was synthesized and the vibrational properties of its NC stretching mode were investigated using FTIR and femtosecond IR pump–probe spectroscopy. It is found that the NC stretching mode is very sensitive to the hydrogen-bonding ability of solvent molecules. Moreover, its transition dipole strength is larger than that of nitrile (CN) in nitrile-derivatized IR probe 2. The vibrational lifetime of the NC stretching mode is found to be 5.5 ± 0.2 ps in both D₂O and DMF solvents, which is several times longer than that of the azido (N₃) stretching mode in azido-derivatized IR probe 3. Altogether these properties suggest that the NC group can be a very promising sensing moiety of IR probes for studying the solvation structure and dynamics of biomolecules.