TIME-RESOLVED FLUORESCENCE SPECTROSCOPY

Time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy is used to monitor molecular i nteractions and motions that occur in the picosecond-nanosecond time r ange, and is especially useful in the analysis of biomolecular structu re and dynamics. Recent advances in the application of time-resolved f luorescence spectroscopy to biological systems have led to a better un derstanding of the origin of nonexponential fluorescence decay in prot eins, the use of tryptophan analogs as unique spectroscopic probes of protein-protein interactions, the detailed characterization of protein -folding processes and intermediates, and the development of new appro aches to the study of DNA-protein interactions.