FTIR and Raman Spectroscopy of Rhodopsins
Hideki Kandori1, Yasuhisa Mizutani2
1Department of Life Science and Applied Chemistry, Nagoya Institute of Technology, Showa-ku, Nagoya, Japan. kandori@nitech.ac.jp.
Abstract:
Vibrational spectroscopy such as FTIR and Raman spectroscopy is a powerful, sensitive, and informative method for studying protein structural changes in rhodopsins during their functions. The usefulness has been historically proven for the study of bacteriorhodopsin and bovine rhodopsin before their structural determination of rhodopsins. We now have atomic structures of many animal and microbial rhodopsins, and it is now important to know the structural dynamics of rhodopsins for function. FTIR and Raman spectroscopy provides useful information for this aim. In this chapter, we introduce the methods of FTIR and resonance Raman spectroscopy applied to rhodopsins. These vibrational methods offer deeper understanding on the mechanism how rhodopsins change their structures for function.
Related Concept Videos
Raman Spectroscopy: Overview
However, a small fraction of the scattered light exhibits a frequency shift due to the exchange of energy between the incident photons and...
Raman Spectroscopy Instrumentation: Overview
The monochromatic laser source, typically using visible or near-infrared radiation, generates a highly focused beam of light. This light interacts with the molecules of the sample, scattering some of the light. Liquid and gaseous samples are usually tested in ordinary glass capillaries, while solids can be analyzed as powders packed in capillaries or as potassium...
Channel Rhodopsins
Rhodopsins belong to the family of cell surface proteins called G-protein coupled receptors,...
IR Spectrometers
Photoreceptors and Visual Pathways
Infrared (IR) Spectroscopy: Overview
Different compounds display unique properties due to their...


