SPIN RESONANCE STUDY OF SEROTONIN-FMN INTERACTION

Abstract

Even though the technique of electron spin resonance does not measure a property of the complex directly, it does shed light on the nature of the complex. It seems most unlikely that a weak charge transfer complex could dissociate into free radicals. In the case of strong charge transfer, however, under proper environmental conditions, such dissociation seems reasonable. Spin resonance techniques yield 2 overlapping spectra, one of which is that of the ribo-flavin free radical. This is evidence that the serotonin-riboflavin complex is of the strong charge transfer or predominantly ionic type and is consistent with data previously obtained using optical absorption methods.