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Science 12 August 2005:
Vol. 309. no. 5737, pp. 1096 - 1100
DOI: 10.1126/science.1115001
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Reports

Pre-Unfolding Resonant Oscillations of Single Green Fluorescent Protein Molecules

Giancarlo Baldini,* Fabio Cannone, Giuseppe Chirico

Fluorescence spectroscopy of a green fluorescent protein mutant at single-molecule resolution has revealed a remarkable oscillatory behavior that can also be driven by applied fields. We show that immediately before unfolding, several periodic oscillations among the chemical substates of the protein chromophore occur. We also show that applied alternating electric or acoustic fields, when tuned to the protein characteristic frequencies, give rise to strong resonance effects.

Laboratory for Advanced BioSpectroscopy, Physics Department, and Centro Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR)–Istituto Nazionale per la Fisica della Materia (INFM), University of Milano–Bicocca, Milano I-20126, Italy.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: baldini{at}mib.infn.it

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