Fluorescence Spectroscopy (also known as Fluorometry or Spectrofluorometry) is a type of electromagnetic spectroscopy which can measure the intensity of photons emitted from a sample after it has absorbed photons. In practice, most fluorescent molecules are aromatic, like tryptophan in proteins/peptides. Optical techniques, such as UV-Vis, Circular Dichroism (CD), Fourier Transform Infrared (FT IR) and Fluorescence Spectroscopy all above are used to obtain information about the structure, interactions and dynamics of tested compounds. As you see, It is the key step to determine the right analytical method, which should be both relevant and sensitive to specific issues of your case. Currently Fluorescence Spectroscopy has been taken as an important investigational tool to investigate real-time structure and dynamics of proteins/peptides, both in solution state and under microscopes.
Macromolecular therapeutics, specifically proteins and peptides, present unique challenges throughout the R & D process. Before successful approvement and marketing, the therapeutical proteins/peptides requires a thorough understanding of the biophysical/biochemical properties and 3D structure, since the activity, stability, toxicity, efficacy and shelf life of products are affected based on the structure-activity relationship. Unlike small molecules, these macromolecules require a multitude of analytical approaches. As a professional proteomics lab, we have extensive expertise in protein/peptide characterization, and fluorescence spectroscopy can be applied to but not limited to the following:
Probe structural changes or binding of two molecules by changes of fluorescence intensity;
Locate the tryptophan residuals (in protein surface or buried deep within the protein) by the wavelength of tryptophan fluorescence;
Study fluorophore mobility by fluorescence polarization anisotropy
The mentioned optical techniques, like the UV-Vis, CD, FT IR and Fluorescence Spectroscopy are available in Creative Proteomics. Our tech team are glad to learn the experimental details of your projects, to characterize the proteins with the optimal technique.
