The structure of an aggregate form of bacteriochlorophyll c showing the Qy absorption at 705 nm as determined by the ring-current effects on 1H and 13C nuclei and by 1H-1H intermolecular NOE correlations.

13C-enriched bacteriochlorophyll c (R[E, E] BChl cF) was suspended in chloroform to form an aggregate showing the Qy absorption at 705 nm. (1) The aggregate exhibited several largely split 13C-NMR signals suggesting the presence of non-equivalent BChl c molecules in the form of the piggyback dimer. (2) Changes in the 13C chemical shifts were traced when methanol was titrated to dissolve the aggregate, and the aggregation shifts (in reference to the monomeric state) were determined as a function of the amount of methanol titrated, and they were analyzed empirically. (3) The ring-current effects were calculated based on the loop-current approximation, and the results were compared with the observed aggregation shifts for 13C and 1H nuclei (the 1H aggregation shifts were determined by extrapolation of the data taken from Mizoguchi, T.; Limantara, L.; Matsuura, K.; Shimada, K.; Koyama, Y. J Mol Structure 1996, 379, 249-265). The results showed that the assembly of two straight columns consisting of the piggyback dimer stacked in the antiparallel orientation is the best choice as a model for the B705 aggregate. (4) Three-dimensional F1 13C-edited F3 13C-filtered heteronuclear single-quantum nuclear-Overhauser-effect spectroscopy was applied to the aggregate consisting of a 1:1 mixture of 13C-labeled and unlabeled BChl c in order to selectively detect the intermolecular 1H-1H NOE correlations. The NOE correlations were explained in terms of a straight column, supporting the above model.