Ultrafast electronic and vibrational dynamics of TagRFP under mutation to improve photostability

Atsushi Yabushita^1,2*, Chia-Yun Cheng², Izumi Iwakura³, Takayoshi Kobayashi²

¹Research Institute of Engineering, Kanagawa University, Kanagawa, Japan
²Department of Electrophysics, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, Taiwan
³Department of Applied Chemistry, Kanagawa University, Kanagawa, Japan

* Presenter:Atsushi Yabushita, email:yabushita@nycu.edu.tw

Green fluorescent protein (GFP) has been widely used for bioimaging applications to visualize functions of cells in vivo. The discovery of GFP is followed by development of other FPs emitting different colors. Among those FPs, red FP is thought to be most promising for bioimaging application because longer wavelength is less absorbed in thick skin. TagRFP is known to be a red FP with high emission efficiency and stability and its stability is reported to be improved nine-folds by mutation. In this study, we have perforemd ultrafast transient spectroscopy to observe its electronic dynamics and vibrational dynamics under multation. The observed result has elucidated how the photostability of TagRFP is improved by mutation.

Keywords: femtochemistry, ultrafast spectroscopy, fluorescent protein