Caracterização espectroscópica da Bufotenina e do óxido de bufotenina e suas interações com membranas modelo

Abstract

In this work, optical absorption and fluorescence emission properties of 5-hydroxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine (Bufotenine) and N-oxi-5-hydroxy-N-N-dimethyltryptamine (Bufotenine oxide) were studied. In the presence of organic solvents the molecules presented two optical absorption bands; the spectra indicate a red shift in an aprotic solvent. The absorption coefficients of both molecules in several solvents were calculated. Also in the presence of organic solvents, fluorescent emission spectra were obtained, and it was observed that the intensity decreases with increasing the polarity of the medium. Fluorescence anisotropy measurements in the several solvents suggest that no aggregates are present in the concentration range studied. In aqueous solution the molecules showed fluorescence over a wide pH range. Changes in the absorption and emission spectra were observed for different pH values, suggesting the existence of different absorber structures (protonated/deprotonated species). The results for the molecules in the presence of surfactants suggest that molecules are located on the outer surface of the micelle, above a specific concentration of the surfactant. In the presence of model cell membranes, the results show that the molecules are located at the interface between the polar groups of the phospholipids and the water.