Large two-photon absorptivity of hemoglobin in the infrared range of 780–880nm

Porphyrin molecules have a highly conjugated cyclic structure and are theorized to have unusually large two-photon absorptivities (sigmaTPA), i.e., sigmaTPA approximately 10(2) GM. The authors tested this claim. Ultrafast two-photon absorption (TPA) spectroscopy was performed on solutions of hemoglobin, which contains a naturally occurring metaloporphyrin. They used a pump-probe technique to directly detect the change in transmission induced by TPA over the wavelength range of lambda0=780-880 nm. As controls, they measured the TPA of the dyes rhodamine 6G and B; their measurements both verify and extend previously reported values. In new results, hemoglobin was found to have a peak two-photon absorptivity of sigmaTPA approximately 150 GM at lambda0=825 nm, near a resonance of the Soret band. This value supports theoretical expectations. They also found a significant difference in the TPA of carboxyhemoglobin versus oxyhemoglobin, e.g., sigmaTPA=61 GM versus sigmaTPA=18 GM, respectively, at lambda0=850 nm, which shows that the ligand affects the electronic states involved in TPA.