Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 19, 2026

Proton Transfer and Protein Conformation Dynamics in Photosensitive Proteins by Time-resolved Step-scan Fourier-transform Infrared Spectroscopy
Published on: June 27, 2014
Abstract:
Proteins are an important target of photochemical damage to the eye. The wavelength of irradiation is a major determinant of the initial mechanisms. The effects of ultraviolet radiation are initiated by absorption in the aromatic amino acid residues and cystine. Photoionization of tyrosine and tryptophan residues leads to aromatic free radicals. The ejected electrons are stabilized in the aqueous medium as hydrated electrons and may be temporarily trapped by cystyl bridges. N-formylkynurenine is an important tryptophan photoproduct, which can act as an endogenous photosensitizer of near-ultraviolet radiation by generating singlet oxygen and superoxide. Singlet oxygen is produced also by exogenous sensitizers absorbing in the visible and near ultraviolet regions. The mechanisms are illustrated by porphyrins and furocoumarins, in which dark binding interactions influence the photosensitization pathways.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Photosystem I
Both these photosystems work in concert. An excited electron from PSII is relayed to PSI via an electron transport chain in the thylakoid membrane of the chloroplast, which is comprised of the carrier molecule plastoquinone, the dual-protein cytochrome complex, and plastocyanin. As electrons move between PSII and PSI, they lose energy and must be re-energized...
Protein and Protein Structure
A protein's shape is critical to its function. For example, an enzyme can...
The Photochemical Reaction Center
Protein Organization
The primary structure of a protein is its amino acid sequence.
Protein Dynamics in Living Cells
Fluorescent recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) is a fluorescent-protein-based detection technique used to quantify protein movement rates within the cell. This method exposes a small portion of the cell to an intense laser beam. The laser beam causes permanent photobleaching of the fluorophore-tagged proteins in the exposed region. As the bleached...
Protein Denaturation

