Ligand binding, photonic proteins

G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), also known as seven transmembrane receptors (7TMs), are the largest known superfamily of proteins. They are involved in all types of responses to stimuli, from intercellular communication to the senses of vision, taste, and smell. They respond to diverse ligands ranging from photons (e.g., rhodopsin. Fig. 1) to small molecules (e.g., binding of epinephrine to the f52-adrenergic receptor) and... 

More recently, confocal fluorimetry itself has been impressively extended. In particular, the implementation of multi-photon excitation opened the potential to excite different fluorescent labels by a single laser line [47]. This considerably simplified the optical setup of confocal instruments. For example, Heinze et al. [48] described a setup for two-photon excitation confocal fluorimetry where three molecular species were quantified simultaneously using a single laser. When included in screening systems, these spectroscopic advancements enable the quantification of enzymatic reaction rates on several substrates in parallel or, when applied for peptide or protein ligands, the simultaneous measurement of binding affinities on different target receptors. In this way, biopharmaceuticals can be selected on the basis of their specificity and selectivity. As a consequence, undesired side activities can be controlled very early in the hit identification process. 

---