(BQ) Part 2 book "Biophysics" has contents: Thermoluminescence in chloroplast thylakoid, chlorophyll fluorescence in plant biology, electromagnetic radiation and life - bioelementological point of view, recent developments in the study of the behavior of fluor escent membrane probes in lipid bilayers - molecular dynamics approach. | 5 Recent Developments in the Study of the Behavior of Fluorescent Membrane Probes in Lipid Bilayers: Molecular Dynamics Approach Luís . Loura1,2, . Palace Carvalho3,4 and . Prates Ramalho3,4,* 1Centro de Química de Coimbra, Universidade de Coimbra, Coimbra, 2Faculdade de Farmácia, Universidade de Coimbra, Pólo das Ciências da Saúde, Azinhaga de Santa Comba, Coimbra, 3Centro de Química de Évora, Universidade de Évora, Évora, 4Departamento de Química, Universidade de Évora, Évora, Portugal 1. Introduction The molecular level organization of biomembranes and the establishment of structure/function relationships of membrane-active biomolecules are topics of crucial importance for the understanding of many phenomena in cell biophysics and biochemistry. This poses challenging problems that most frequently require the use of advanced experimental techniques (Gennis, 1989), among which fluorescence stands out as one of the most powerful and commonly used due to its sensitivity and versatility (Lakowicz, 2006; Royer & Scarlata, 2008). The sub-nanosecond time resolution of fluorescence allows following the kinetics of both fast (fluorophore rotation, conformational changes) and relatively slow (translocation, hindered diffusion) processes, and its extremely high sensitivity (as evidenced in techniques such as single-fluorophore imaging and fluorescence correlation spectroscopy) is almost unrivaled. But, perhaps the most salient feature of fluorescence spectroscopy is its high versatility which allows, through different parameters, the retrieval of complementary molecular information on the system under study. Spectral and fluorescence lifetime/quantum yield variations are informative regarding the polarity and/or solvent accessibility of the fluorophore microenvironment and the extent of partition of a fluorophore-bearing molecule between the aqueous and membrane media, or between coexisting membrane phases or domains. Fluorescence quenching, depending on .
