Bilirubin (BR) is
the main end-product of the hemoglobin catabolism.
For decades, its photophysics has been mainly discussed in terms of
ultrafast deactivation of the excited state in solution, where, indeed,
BR shows a very low green emission quantum yield (EQY), 0.03%, resulting
from an efficient nonradiative isomerization process. Herein, we present,
for the first time, unique and exceptional photophysical properties
of solid-state BR, which amend by changing the type of crystal, from
a closely packed α crystal to an amorphous loosely packed β
crystal. BR α crystals show a very bright red emission with
an EQY of ca. 24%, whereas β crystals present, in addition,
a low green EQY of ca. 0.5%. By combining density functional theory
(DFT) calculations and time-resolved emission spectroscopy, we trace
back this dual emission to the presence of two types of BR molecules
in the crystal: a “stiff” monomer, M1, distorted by
particularly strong internal H-bonds and a “floppy”
monomer, M2, having a structure close to that of BR in solution. We
assign the red strong emission of BR crystals to M1 present in both
the α and β crystals, while the low green emission, only
present in the amorphous (β) crystal, is interpreted as M2 emission.
Efficient energy-transfer processes from M2 to M1 in the closely packed
α crystal are invoked to explain the absence of the green component
in its emission spectrum. Interestingly, these unique photophysical
properties of BR remain in polar solvents such as water. Based on
these unprecedented findings, we propose a new model for the phototherapy
scheme of BR inside the human body and highlight the usefulness of
BR as a strong biological fluorescent probe.