Infrared and Ultraviolet Spectral Signatures and Conformational Preferences of Jet-Cooled Serotonin

The ultraviolet and infrared spectroscopy of single conformations of neutral serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine) have been studied in the gas phase using a combination of methods including laser-induced fluorescence, resonance-enhanced two-photon ionization, UV−UV hole-burning spectroscopy, and resonant ion-dip infrared spectroscopy. By comparison to its close analogue tryptamine, for which firm assignments to seven low-energy conformations have been made, UV and IR transitions due to eight conformations of serotonin are observed and assigned. The ultraviolet spectrum divides into two subsets of transitions separated from one another by ∼230 cm-1 ascribable to syn and anti conformations of the 5-OH group. These two subsets are also distinguishable via their 5-OH stretch fundamentals, with the anti-OH subset shifted by ∼4−5 cm-1 to lower frequency than those due to syn-OH conformers. The existing firm assignments for tryptamine play a decisive role in assignments in serotonin, where the alkyl CH stretch infrared spectrum is diagnostic of the conformation of the ethylamine side chain. Conformer A of serotonin (SERO(A)), with S1 ← S0 origin transition at 32584 cm-1, is assigned to Gpy(out)/anti-OH, SERO(B) at 32548 cm-1 to Gpy(up)/anti, SERO(C) at 32545 cm-1 to Gph(out)/anti, SERO(D) at 32560 cm-1 to Anti(py)/anti, SERO(E) at 32537 cm-1 to Anti(up)/anti, SERO(F) at 32353 cm-1 to Gpy(out)/syn, SERO(G) at 32313 cm-1 to Gpy(up)/syn, and SERO(H) at 32282 cm-1 to Gph(out)/syn. The conformational preferences of serotonin differ from those of tryptamine most notably in the selective stabilization observed for the Gph(out)/anti-OH conformer SERO(C), which makes it the second-most intense transition in the ultraviolet spectrum, surpassed only by the Gpy(out)/anti-OH conformer SERO(A).