Photochemical surface-labeling reagents

In recent years there has been considerable interest in the structure of biological membranes, and photochemical reagents capable of yielding low resolution structural information about membrane proteins have been developed. Several examples of photochemical surface-labeling reagents have appeared, and much effort has been devoted to the development of photoactivatable hydrophobic reagents for labeling from within the lipid bilayer. 

Photochemical surface labeling reagents introduced by Staros and Richards (1974) have a number of potential advantages. First, the high... 

A macromolecular, photochemical surface labeling reagent was developed by Louvard et al. (1976). It comprised a Fab fragment of a human myeloma protein with which 4-fluoro-3-nitrophenylazide (Table 5.1.1c) had been reacted. Used at a concentration of 0.1 mM, this conjugate could be used to label the surfaces of sealed vesicles or it could be trapped inside vesicles and used to label from within. Louvard and colleagues focused their attention on the modification of aminopeptidase in intact brush-border membranes and demonstrated that the enzyme spans the bilayer. From the... 

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