A ground-state dimer (denoted <
B>D
I) exhi
biting a strong a
bsorption maximum at 477 nm (
![](/images/gifchars/epsilon.gif)
= 97 000M
-1cm
-1) can form
between adjacent BODIPY groups attached to mutant forms of the protein, plasminogenactivator inhi
bitor type 1 (PAI-1). No fluorescence from excited
DI was detected. A
locally high concentrationof BODIPY groups was also achieved
by doping lipid phases (micelles, vesicles) with BODIPY-la
beledlipids. In addition to an a
bsorption
band located at a
bout 480 nm, a new weak a
bsorption
band is alsoo
bserved at ca. 570 nm. Both
bands are ascri
bed to the formation of BODIPY dimers of differentconformation (
DI and DII). Contrary to
DI in PAI-1, the
DII aggregates a
bsor
bing at 570 nm are emitting lighto
bserved as a
broad
band centered at a
bout 630 nm. The integrated a
bsorption
band of
DI is a
bout twicethat of the monomer, which is compati
ble with exciton coupling within a dimer. The Förster radius of electronicenergy transfer
between a BODIPY excited monomer
and the ground-state dimer (
DI) is 57 ± 2 &
Aring;. A simplemodel of exciton coupling suggests that in
DI two BODIPY groups are stacked on top of each other in as
andwich-like configuration with parallel electronic transition dipoles. For
DII the model suggests that theS
0 ![](/images/entities/rarr.gif)
S
1 transition dipoles are collinear. An explanation for the previously reported (
J. Am. Chem. Soc.1994,
116, 7801) exceptional light spectroscopic properties of BODIPY is also presented. These are ascri
bedto the extraordinary electric properties of the BODIPY chromophore. First, changes of the permanent electricdipole moment (
![](/images/gifchars/Delta.gif)
![](/images/entities/ap.gif)
-0.05 D)
and polariza
bility (-26 × 10
-40 C m
2 V
-1)
between the ground
and the firstexcited states are small. Second, the S
0 ![](/images/entities/harr.gif)
S
1 electronic transition dipole moments are perpendicular to
![](/images/gifchars/Delta.gif)
![](/images/entities/mgr.gif)
.