PHOTOCHEMICAL, CHEMICAL, AND THERMAL STUDIES ON BILIRUBIN IN CdCl3 AND NaOH SOLUTIONS

ABSTRACT This study examined the depletion and growth of bilirubin and biliverdin, respectively, after exposing dilute solutions of the unconjugated specimen of bilirubin to light and heat. Firstly, the solar photolysis of bilirubin in CHCl3 resembled a chemical reaction of bilirubin in CDCl3. Secondly, at temperatures up to about 70°C, appreciable yields of biliverdin were converted from bilirubin in NaOH, before and after irradiation with cool white light produced from a phototherapy facility. This derivation augurs well for purposes of separating suitable quantities of biliverdin for implementation as precursors in biochemical studies. The aspect of the study associated with CDCl3 demonstrated that the systematic decrease in the characteristic bilirubin peak at 453 nm, via a chemical reaction, emulated the photolysis of bilirubin with sunlight in regular chloroform. The respective rate constants of the photochemical and chemical reactions were approximately 0.15 s−1  and 0.17 s−1. The temperature depen...