Radiolytic one-electron reduction characteristics of tyrosine derivative caged by 2-oxopropyl group.

We employed X-irradiation to activate a caged amino acid with a 2-oxoalkyl group. We designed and synthesized tyrosine derivative caged by a 2-oxoalkyl group (Tyr(Oxo)) to evaluate its radiolytic one-electron reduction characteristics in aqueous solution. Upon hypoxic X-irradiation, Tyr(Oxo) released a 2-oxopropyl group to form the corresponding uncaged tyrosine. In addition, radiolysis of dipeptides containing Tyr(Oxo) revealed that the efficiency of radiolytic removal of 2-oxopropyl group increased significantly by the presence of neighboring aromatic amino acids.