Sir: Neocarzinostatin (NCS) chromophore was obtained as a separable component from polypeptide antitumor antibiotic NCS by us1,2) and GOLDBERG et al.3,4), independently. This chromophore, which was demonstrated to have biological activities such as growth inhibition of bacterial and tumor cells1), inhibition of DNA synthesis in cultured mammalian cells, strand scission of DNA in vitro and in vi...

In this paper we provide both a theoretical and experimental analysis of the sensitivity of a DNA quantitation assay using a fluorescent chromophore which non-covalently binds dsDNA. It is well-known that the range of DNA concentrations available for fluorescence quantitation depends on the concentration of the chromophore, its affinity for nucleic acids, the binding site size on DNA and the ra...

The angular dependence of the hyper-Rayleigh scattered light intensity from a suspension of bacteriorhodopsin has been analyzed. The observation calls for combination of the second-order nonlinear hyperpolarizability of the retinal chromophore with the linear refractive index of the apo-protein matrix. The structuring of the small nonlinear chromophore in the large linear matrix imparts propert...

The ability of neurons to generate multiple arbor terminals from a single axon is crucial for establishing proper neuronal wiring. Although growth and retraction of arbor terminals are differentially regulated within the axon, the mechanisms by which neurons locally control their structure remain largely unknown. In the present study, we found that the kinesin-1 (Kif5 proteins) head domain (K5H...

An important method for establishing a high-energy, stable and recycled molecular solar heat system is by designing and preparing novel photo-isomerizable molecules with a high enthalpy and a long thermal life by controlling molecular interactions. A meta- and ortho-bis-substituted azobenzene chromophore (AZO) is covalently grafted onto reduced graphene oxide (RGO) for solar thermal storage mat...

Visual pigments can be thermally activated via isomerization of the retinyl chromophore and hydrolysis of the Schiff base (SB) through which the retinyl chromophore is bound to the opsin protein. Here, we present the first combined experimental and theoretical study of the thermal activation of a Siberian hamster ultraviolet (SHUV) pigment. We measured the rates of thermal isomerization and hyd...

The accommodation of chromophore-dissolved microdroplets in semicrystalline protein matrices succeeds achieving upconverting bioplastics with high efficiency, air-stability, and long-term durability for the first time.

Excessive ultraviolet radiation (UVR) exposure of the skin is associated with adverse clinical outcomes. Although both exogenous sunscreens and endogenous tissue components (including melanins and tryptophan-derived compounds) reduce UVR penetration, the role of endogenous proteins in absorbing environmental UV wavelengths is poorly defined. Having previously demonstrated that proteins which ar...

Photoactivatable fluorescent proteins (PAFPs) are required for super-resolution imaging of live cells. Recently, the first red PAFP, PAmCherry1, was reported, which complements the photo-activatable GFP by providing a red super-resolution color. PAmCherry1 is originally "dark" but exhibits red fluorescence after UV-violet light irradiation. To define the structural basis of PAmCherry1 photoacti...