The photophysical behavior of Coumarin 1 (Cou1), a well-known 7-aminocoumarin
derivative, is very sensitive to the microenvironment in which it
resides. In the present study, the effect of six bile salt variants
on the photophysical behavior of Cou1 has been investigated. Dihydroxy
(deoxycholates) as well as trihydroxy (cholates) bile salts with conjugated
and unconjugated side chains have been chosen to get insight into
the role of bile salt structure on the microenvironment of Cou1. Cou1
photophysics was found to be extremely sensitive to the aggregation
process of the bile salt variants. The reduced polarity of the micellar
environment stabilizes the planar intramolecular charge transferred
state of Cou1, resulting
in significant modulation in its photophysics in the bile salt media.
The changes in the fluorescence parameters such as fluorescence intensity,
emission energy, fluorescence quantum yield, anisotropy, and lifetime
of Cou1 reveal that there is a distinct difference in the aggregation
behavior of deoxycholates from that of cholates. The deoxycholates
form micelles more or less critically similar to those of conventional
surfactants, whereas the cholates self-assemble rather noncritically
over a wide concentration range, thus signifying the vital role of
the extra hydroxyl group in the aggregation pattern of trihydroxy
bile salts. The conjugated bile salts are found to provide a relatively
more compact, rigid, and hydrophobic microenvironment to Cou1 as compared
to their unconjugated counterparts. Considering the significant modulation
in the photophysical properties of Cou1, it has been employed as a
molecular reporter for monitoring the aggregation process of bile
salt variants and important information could be obtained about the
effect of bile salt structure on the aggregation pattern and also
about the micellar properties.