Fluorescence-based Techniques to Study the Structure and Dynamics of Mass-selected Biomolecular Ions

Abstract

Laser-induced fluorescence studies on mass-selected biomolecules are a promising route to understand their properties in the gas phase and probe their intrinsic properties in a solvent-free environment. Fluorescence has been used to investigate the conformation and dynamics of gaseous biomolecular ions. With Förster Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET), it is now possible to obtain sensitive intramolecular distance information from large biomolecules, like proteins, with high chemical specificity. With growing interest and applications, gas-phase fluorescence measurements can shed greater light on the characteristics of proteins in the gas phase. Compared to the solution phase measurements, gas-phase fluorescence can also help understand the influence of solvent interactions on the protein structure and function.

Keywords

• biomolecular structure
• dynamics
• fluoresence
• ion spectroscopy
• mass spectrometry