Amino acid spectra analysis properties

Direct labeling of a biomolecule involves the introduction of a covalently linked fluorophore in the nucleic acid sequence or in the amino acid sequence of a protein or antibody. Fluorescein, rhodamine derivatives, the Alexa, and BODIPY dyes (Molecular Probes [92]) as well as the cyanine dyes (Amersham Biosciences [134]) are widely used labels. These probe families show different absorption and emission wavelengths and span the whole visible spectrum (e.g., Alexa Fluor dyes show UV excitation at 350 nm to far red excitation at 633 nm). Furthermore, for differential expression analysis, probe families with similar chemical structures but different spectroscopic properties are desirable, for example the cyanine dyes Cy3 and Cy5 (excitation at 548 and 646 nm, respectively). The design of fluorescent labels is still an active area of research, and various new dyes have been reported that differ in terms of decay times, wavelength, conjugatibility, and quantum yields before and after conjugation [135]. New ruthenium markers have been reported as well [136]. 

The electronic properties of amino acid side chains are summarized in Table 3, and they represent a wide spectrum of measures. The NMR data are derived experimentally (37). The dipole (38), C mull, inductive, field, and resonance effects were derived from QM calculations (15). The VHSE5 (39) and Z3 (25) scales were developed for use in quantitative structure-activity relationship analysis of the biologic activity of natural and synthetic peptides. Both were derived from principal components analysis of assorted physico-chemical properties, which included NMR chemical shift data, electron-ion interaction potentials, charges, and isoelectric points. Therefore, these scales are composites rather than primary measures of electronic effects. The validity of these measures is indicated by their lack of overlap with hydrophobicity and steric parameters and by their ability to predict biologic activity of synthetic peptide analogs (25, 39). Finally, coefficients of electrostatic screening by amino acid side chains (ylocal and Ynon-local) were derived from an empirical data set (40), and they represent a composite of electronic effects. 

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