Fluorescence line narrowing applied to the study of proteins

Fluorescence line narrowing is a high resolution spectroscopic technique that uses low temperature and laser excitation to optically select specific subpopulations from the inhomogeneously broadened absorption band of the sample. When applied to the study of fluorescent groups in proteins one can obtain vibronically resolved spectra, which can be analyzed to give information on spectral line shapes, vibrational energies of both the ground and excited state molecule, and the inhomogeneous distribution function of the electronic transitions. These parameters reveal information about the chromophoric prosthetic group and the protein matrix and are functions of geometric strains and local electric fields imposed by the protein. Examples of the use of fluorescence line narrowing are discussed in investigations of heme proteins, photosynthetic systems and tryptophan-containing proteins.