Energy transfer at the active sites of heme proteins

Experiments using a picosecond pump-probe apparatus at the Picosecond Free-electron Laser Center at Stanford University, were performed to investigate the relaxation of carbon monoxide bound to the active sites of heme proteins. The significance of these experiments is two-fold: (1) they provide detailed information about molecular dynamics occurring at the active sites of proteins; and (2) they provide insight into the nature of vibrational relaxation processes in condensed matter. Molecular engineering is used to construct various molecular systems which are studied with the FEL. We have studied native proteins, mainly myoglobin obtained from different species, mutant proteins produced by genetic engineering using recombinant DNA techniques, and a variety of model systems which mimic the structures of the active sites of native proteins, which are produced using molecular synthesis. Use of these different systems permits us to investigate how specific molecular structural changes affect dynamical processes occurring at the active sites. This research provides insight into the problems of how different species needs are fulfilled by heme proteins which have greatly different functionality, which is induced by rather small structural changes