As a naturally occurring anthraquinone pigment, chrysophanol (MHAQ) has attracted considerable attention in recent years owing to its efficient photosensitivity under the solar spectrum. Considering the successful use of time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) in investigating the photo-physicochemical behaviors of dyes and pigments, we performed a study by means of TD-DFT calculations, which provided us with various excited state properties of chrysophanol, including absorption spectrum, lowest triplet excited-state energy, vertical electron affinity and vertical ionization potential. On the basis of the calculated results, the photosensitive mechanisms of chrysophanol were discussed and some deeper insights were gained. First, we indicated that the experimentally observed chrysophanol’s photo-damage to DNA in oxygen-free media is more likely to arise from MHAQ•+ rather than from T1 state chrysophanol. Second, we revealed that it is the MHAQ•− that is responsible for the O2•− generation in solvents. Based on the photosensitive activities, chrysophanol may be potentially used as the photodynamic medicine for clinical therapy of the diseases occurring on the shallow surface and vascular capillary diseases.
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