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Color Tuning in Photofunctional Proteins
Author(s) -
Hasegawa Junya,
Fujimoto Kazuhiro J.,
Nakatsuji Hiroshi
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
chemphyschem
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.016
H-Index - 140
eISSN - 1439-7641
pISSN - 1439-4235
DOI - 10.1002/cphc.201100452
Subject(s) - chromophore , excited state , fluorescence , quantum , chemistry , chemical physics , pigment , photochemistry , biological system , physics , atomic physics , optics , quantum mechanics , organic chemistry , biology
Depending on protein environment, a single photofunctional chromophore shows a wide variation of photoabsorption/emission energies. This photobiological phenomenon, known as color tuning, is observed in human visual cone pigments, firefly luciferase, and red fluorescent protein. We investigate the origin of color tuning by quantum chemical calculations on the excited states: symmetry‐adapted cluster‐configuration interaction (SAC‐CI) method for excited states and a combined quantum mechanical (QM)/molecular mechanical (MM) method for protein environments. This Minireview summarizes our theoretical studies on the above three systems and explains a common feature of their color‐tuning mechanisms. It also discuss the possibility of artificial color tuning toward a rational design of photoabsorption/emission properties.