Dynamics of proteins in the picosecond region.

Biological functions of proteins can be understood in terms of protein dynamics. The results by theoretical considerations according to the method of molecular dynamics have predicted that protein structure is inherently dynamic in the time region of subpicosecond to picosecond. To observe such a fast dynamics of proteins a picosecond laser photolysis and a time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy in the picosecond region are considered to be the most useful technique. In this review article, firstly the biological significance of protein dynamics and secondly, experimental evidences for picosecond dynamics of flavoproteins, and finally, the protein dynamics studied by the time-resolved fluorescence of tryptophanes are documented.