Abstract

The Schiff base of retinal (SBR) is the only chromophore which is active in such important photobiological processes as vision and bacteriorhodopsin photosynthesis. The steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence techniques are the most sensitive to study properties of the lowest excited states of organic molecules. Unfortunately, emission studies of SBR and protonated SBR (PSBR) are complicated because of their very weak and fast fluorescence.

© 1994 Optical Society of America