Fluorescent rotors and their applications to the study of G-F transformation of actin

✍ Scribed by Seiji Sawada; Takayoshi Iio; Yumiko Hayashi; Sho Takahashi

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 1992
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 857 KB
• Volume: 204
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0003-2697
• DOI: 10.1016/0003-2697(92)90148-z

✦ Synopsis

New fluorescent rotor molecules having hydrophilic functional groups, which are derivatives of p-(N,N-dialkylamino)benzylidenemalononitrile, were synthesized. Their properties as fluorescent rotors were confirmed by an observation of solvent viscosity-dependent fluorescence. Incorporation of hydrophilic groups into the molecules increased the solubility of fluorescent rotors in aqueous media; the application of the compounds to biochemical systems became feasible as a consequence. To demonstrate this applicability, we attempted to monitor the G-F transformation of rabbit skeletal muscle actin with these newly synthesized compounds. All the compounds carrying a malononitrile moiety showed greater fluorescence in F-actin. Among them, 1-(2-hydroxyethyl)-6-[(2,2-dicyano)vinyl]-2,3,4-trihydroquinoli ne gave the best result by the criteria of the difference in fluorescence quantum yield for G- and F-actin, solubility, and stability of the compound. The method has the major advantage of not requiring covalent modification of actin.