RESUMEN
We observed optical rotation of the plane of polarization of the second harmonic (SH) radiation at 532 nm (in resonance with the retinal absorption) generated in reflection geometry in Langmuir-Blodgett film of bacteriorhodopsin (bR). The analysis of the experimental data showed that this effect arises from the nonvanishing contribution of the antisymmetrical part of the hyperpolarizability tensor. This requires that the dipole moment of the resonant electronic transition, the change of the dipole moment upon electronic excitation, and the long axis of the retinal not be coplanar. Such conditions are satisfied only if the retinal has a nonplanar geometry, a conclusion that could lend support to the heterogeneity model of the origin of the biphasic band shape of the linear CD spectrum of the retinal in bR. On the basis of our theoretical analysis, we were able to estimate the angle between the induced dipole moment and the plan that contains the long axis of the chromophore and the transition dipole moment of the retinal absorption.
Asunto(s)
Bacteriorodopsinas/química , Retinaldehído/química , Fenómenos Biofísicos , Biofisica , Dicroismo Circular , Estructura Molecular , Óptica y Fotónica/instrumentación , Espectrofotometría/instrumentaciónRESUMEN
A fast (Tau(response) <90 fs) free-electron spin-f lipping frequency-degenerate nonlinearity with a signif icant value of|chi((3))(xxyy)(omega,omega,omega,-omega)chi((3))(xxyy)(omega,omega,omega,-omega)|~10(-)(8)esu has been observed in bulk gold at 1260 nm by use of a new pump-probe polarization-sensitive technique.
RESUMEN
Photophsical processes are studied in a new class of dyes contining a chromophoric part and a crown ether part. Fluorescence decays were oebserved to be strongly dependent on temperature in the range from 294 to 4 K. Photoinduced isomerization and electron transfer are considered as possible mechanisms to explain the results.
RESUMEN
A sharp resonant amplification of the third-order susceptibility of a diluted beta-carotene solution in dodecane is observed by means of the time-resolved optical Kerr effect when the wavelength of the probe is tuned in the range of 490-570 nm. The resonance is well in the red with respect to the 0-0 first electronic transition; some evidence is given of the possible role of higher excited states and of two-photon resonance.
RESUMEN
The results of a laser picosecond microspectrofluorometric study of the spectral and kinetic characteristics of haematoporphyrin (Hp) fluorescence at various sites in cultured SPEV cells and phosphatidylcholine liposomes are presented. The computer-controlled detection system is based on the single-photon counting method with picosecond time resolution. In aqueous medium, the Hp fluorescence spectrum is characterized by two bands at 615 and 675 nm. In living cells and liposomes, Hp fluorescence is red shifted to 630 and 690 nm. In addition a new band at 665 nm is detected. The dependence of this band on the incubation time and Hp concentration was investigated. The fluorescence decay kinetics of Hp in a culture medium, liposome and a cell nuclear membrane were measured. Possible Hp aggregate formation in the lipid bilayer and its implications are discussed.
Asunto(s)
Hematoporfirinas/química , Liposomas , Animales , Línea Celular , Cinética , Rayos Láser , Espectrometría de Fluorescencia/instrumentación , Espectrometría de Fluorescencia/métodos , Porcinos , Factores de TiempoRESUMEN
The melanophores of the teleost Gymnocorymbus ternetzi are filled with pigment granules, melanosomes, which in response to appropriate treatments, can disperse throughout the cytoplasm or form an aggregate in the cell center. Melanophores with the dispersed pigment were irradiated by a laser microbeam, focused on the cell center by the microscope objective. If the average energy of the microbeam was 6-7 microJ, either the center of the melanophore was damaged and a single ring-shaped fragment was formed, or the cell was broken into several fragments of smaller size. The fragments retained their ability to move the pigment granules. In ring-shaped fragments, after adrenaline treatment, the melanosomes formed a ring-shaped aggregate moving away from both outer and inner (irradiation-produced) margins of the fragment. The smaller fragments treated with adrenaline moved the pigment to their centers. Both small and ring-shaped fragments could aggregate melanosomes as soon as 5 minutes after irradiation.