Proton transfer in oxidized adenosine self-aggregates.

The UV-vis and the IR spectra of derivativized adenosine in dichloromethane have been recorded during potentiostatic oxidation at an optically transparent thin layer electrode. Oxidized adenosine shows a broad Zundel like absorption extending from 2800 up to 3600 cm(-1), indicating that a proton transfer process is occurring. Theoretical computations predict that proton transfer is indeed favored in oxidized 1:1 self-association complexes and allow to assign all the observed transient spectroscopic signals.