Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Vitamin E Circular Dichroism Studies: Insights Into Conformational Changes Induced By The Solvent’S Polarity, Drew Marquardt, Brad J. Van Oosten, Mikel Ghelfi, Jeffrey Atkinson, Thad A. Harroun

Chemistry and Biochemistry Publications

We used circular dichroism (CD) to study differences in CD spectra between α-, δ-, and methylated-α-tocopherol in solvents with different polarities. CD spectra of the different tocopherol structures differ from each other in intensity and peak locations, which can be attributed to chromanol substitution and the ability to form hydrogen bonds. In addition, each structure was examined in different polarity solvents using the Reichardt index—a measure of the solvent’s ionizing ability, and a direct measurement of solvent–solute interactions. Differences across solvents indicate that hydrogen bonding is a key contributor to CD spectra at 200 nm. These results are a first …