SPONTANEOUS AGGREGATION OF BACTERIORHODOPSIN IN BROWN MEMBRANE

Abstract— Halobacterium halobium cells grown in nicotine-containing medium synthesize bacterio-opsin (bO) but little bacteriorhod-opsin (bR) because nicotine inhibits retinal synthesis. In nicotine-grown cells, bacterio-opsin is found in a specific cell membrane fraction, the brown membrane (b.m.), which consists mainly of small round sheets. Freeze-fracture of isolated brown membrane reveals a dense particle population on its cytoplasmic fracture face, with few particles on the external face. There is no apparent order in the particle distribution and the fracture faces are practically indistinguishable from those of red membrane (r.m.). The absorbance spectrum of b.m. shows peaks at 550 and 410nm, the circular dichroism (CD) spectrum a positive band around 540nm and positive and negative bands around 410nm with a cross-over at 412nm. The photoreaction cycle of bR in b.m. has the same intermediates found in purple membrane (p.m.), but the apparent kinetics resemble those of bR monomers. Addition of 13-cis-, or all-trans-retinal to b.m. induces a rapid 5- to 10-fold increase in the visible absorbance band, and the absorbance maximum shifts to 560nm in the dark. Kinetic analysis of the absorbance increase shows three first order kinetic constants with t_½= 0.5 min, 6 min and 100 min, with most of the increase contributed by the fastest component. The CD bilobal pattern typical for purple membrane appears together with the strong negative band at 320nm. Ellipticity change at 590nm is nearly as rapid as the absorbance increase; within 5 min, 85% of the negative band is formed. Electron microscopy after addition of retinal reveals structurally distinct domains in the b.m. sheets which have the characteristic appearance of p.m. However, X-ray reflections are more diffuse compared to p.m. Flash spectroscopy of reconstituted b.m. detects the same photocycle intermediates as in b.m. or p.m., but with apparent kinetics closer to those of purple membrane than before reconstitution. These results show that bO in the b.m. binds retinal to form bR which spontaneously aggregates into a lattice. However, the reconstituted bR lattice is not as well-ordered as in p.m. and some bR is still present in the form of monomers and/or small aggregates.     

Photocycle of 13-cis-retinal in bacteriorhodopsin caused by destruction to the cooperative effect of purple membrane

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The laser-induced blue state of bacteriorhodopsin: mechanistic and color regulatory roles of protein-protein interactions, protein-lipid interactions, and metal ions

In this paper we characterize the mechanistic roles of the crystalline purple membrane (PM) lattice, the earliest bacteriorhodopsin (BR) photocycle intermediates, and divalent cations in the conversion of PM to laser-induced blue membrane (LIBM; lambda(max)= 605 nm) upon irradiation with intense 532 nm pulses by contrasting the photoconversion of PM with that of monomeric BR solubilized in reduced Triton X-100 detergent. Monomeric BR forms a previously unreported colorless monomer photoproduct which lacks a chromophore band in the visible region but manifests a new band centered near 360 nm similar to the 360 nm band in LIBM. The 360 nm band in both LIBM and colorless monomer originates from a Schiff base-reduced retinyl chromophore which remains covalently linked to bacterioopsin. Both the PM-->LIBM and monomer-->colorless monomer photoconversions are mediated by similar biphotonic mechanisms, indicating that the photochemistry is localized within single BR monomers and is not influenced by BR-BR interactions. The excessively large two-photon absorptivities (> or =10(6) cm(4) s molecule(-1) photon(-1)) of these photoconversions, the temporal and spectral characteristics of pulses which generate LIBM in high yield, and an action spectrum for the PM-->LIBM photoconversion all indicate that the PM-->LIBM and Mon-->CMon photoconversions are both mediated by a sequential biphotonic mechanism in which is the intermediate which absorbs the second photon. The purple-->blue color change results from subsequent conformational perturbations of the PM lattice which induce the removal of Ca(2+) and Mg(2+) ions from the PM surface.     

Direct Measurements for Isomer Ratio of Retinal in Bacteriorhodopsin by an Electrochemical Method

Abstract— The composition of retinal isomers in bacteriorhodopsin (bR) in purple membrane (PM) was determined by photoelectric response measurements using a sandwich-type electrochemical cell. The measured amplitude of the photocurrent obtained from a dark-adapted sample was 55% lower than that from a light-adapted sample. This ratio, 55:45, would correspond to the 13- cis /aU- trans isomer ratio of retinal in the dark if the 13- cis form of the pigment did not give a response. This amplitude change correlated with the visible spectral shift of bR. The isomer ratio in the dark depended only weakly on the temperature of the electrolyte, whereas the retinal isomerization rate strongly depended on the temperature and the pH of the electrolyte in the cell. Our results indicate that photoelectric response is elicited only by a species originating from bR containing all- trans retinal and that the behavior of the response in the dark is associated with the pKa of the proton release kinetics of Asp-85.     

EFFECTS OF TRYPTOPHAN OXIDATION ON BACTERIORHODOPSIN STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION

Abstract— N -bromosuccinimide at low molar ratios specifically oxidizes tryptophan residues in purple membranes (bR). Loss of 1 mol tryptophan per mol bR (which corresponds to oxidation of Trp₁₀ or Trp₁₂ or part of both) produces slight changes in the absorption and CD spectra and in the photobleaching kinetics. The efficiency of reconstituting the retinylidene protein after bleaching and heptane extraction of these membranes was comparable to control values(–80%). Photocycling yield (M₄₁₂) with 265 nm or 530 nm excitation (15 ns pulse) was only slightly decreased. Another mol of tryptophan was reacted at higher NBS:bR molar ratio (10:1). Partial oxidation of several residues rather than titration of a specific residue occurred: HPLC indicated no reaction with the chromophore. A considerable loss of extinction at 570 nm including enhanced red and blue shifts of LD_max at low and high pH respectively, was observed. Also the photobleaching rate was faster and functional retinylidene membranes could not be reconstituted from heptane-extracted, apomembranes. Exogenous retinal could still locate the attachment site, based on formation of the fluorescent NaBH₄-reduced retinoyl adduct. Perturbation in the near UV and visible CD infer changes in helical conformation, trimer dissociation and decreased asymmetry of the chromophore. Photocycling efficiency was greatly decreased. The relative decrease was greater for 265 nm rather than 530 nm excitation. These results are consistent with co-operative destabilization of the protein conformation by oxidized tryptophan residues, which leads to a decrease in the hydrophobicity of chromophoric site.     

Structural Changes in Bacteriorhodopsin in Purple Membranes Induced by Irreversible Photobleaching with Heterogeneous and Homogeneous Stability

Kinetic studies of irreversible photobleaching of bacteriorhodopsin (bR) in purple membrane (PM) at neutral pH have previously indicated the existence of two kinds of species which differ in their structural stability. bR was shown to have kinetically slow- and fast-decayed components with the faster one increasing with changes in intra- and intermolecular structures in darkness. However, our recent work reported that photobleaching kinetics above pH 10 were characterized by a single-decay component. In order to elucidate the factors responsible for the heterogeneous or homogeneous stability of photobleaching, we conducted investigations into the structural changes in bR in PM induced by photobleaching at pH 7 and 11 by attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy. ATR-FTIR spectra of bR photobleached at pH 7 and 11 showed that an increase in IR peak intensity at 1656 cm⁻¹ occurred simultaneously with decreases at 1666 cm⁻¹, indicating an α_II-to-α_I transition in transmembrane helices during photobleaching. The most significant change in IR spectra occurred at 1626 cm⁻¹ for samples photobleached at pH 7, and was attributed to structures formed between adjacent molecules. The origin of the heterogeneity of photobleaching is discussed on the basis of structural characteristics found in the bleached membranes.     

Photocurrent of purple membrane adsorbed onto a thin polymer film: action characteristics of the local anesthetics

The proton pumping activity of bacteriorhodopsin (bR) in the purple membrane adsorbed onto a thin polymer film as a solid support for electrical measurements has been examined in the presence of local anesthetics and 1-alcohols as an anesthetic model. This membrane adsorbed system provided high reproducibility of the photocurrents in bR due to the mechanical and the chemical stability and the electric properties of the thin polymer film. As the concentrations of the local anesthetics increased, the photocurrents generated by the proton pump of bR were cooperatively suppressed and the changes in the photocurrents were reversible. From the dose–response curves for the anesthetics, the concentration (EC₅₀) required for a 50% suppression showed a marked specificity in the order of lidocaine>bupivacaine>tetracaine>dibucaine. The suppression of the photocurrent in bR was more effective for the uncharged form of the local anesthetics than for the charged one. The absorption and fluorescence spectra suggested that the charged form of the anesthetics was bound to the purple membrane surface, while their uncharged form interacted with the hydrophobic portions of the purple membrane interior rather than with the membrane surface. From the dose–response curves for the 1-alcohols, an increase in hydrophobicity in their molecules effectively suppressed the photocurrent of bR. We found that the binding of hydrophobic organic cations such as tetracaine hydrochloride and bupivacaine hydrochloride to the blue membrane with loss of the proton pump, which was prepared by removal of the cations from the purple membrane, could regenerate the proton pumping activity. The photocurrent in bR in the purple membrane adsorbed onto a thin solid film sensitively responded to different local anesthetics.     

Adsorption behavior and photoelectric response characteristics of bacteriorhodopsin thin films fabricated by self-assembly technique

The characteristics of bacteriorhodopsin (bR)-based thin films fabricated by self-assembly (SA) technique were investigated. Self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of 11-mercaptoundecanoic acid (11-MUA) were spontaneously formed onto a pretreated gold substrate by soaking it into the ethanolic solution of 11-MUA, and used as a template for the adsorption of bR. Using poly- -lysine as a bridging molecule for bR adsorption onto SAMs of 11-MUA, bR-embedded purple membrane fragments were adsorbed by electrostatic attractive force. By ellipsometry and atomic force microscopy, the properties of the prepared bR-based thin films were investigated with the various fabrication conditions, such as bR suspension concentration and pH. An artificial photoreceptor was then fabricated with a sandwich-type structure of ITO/electrolyte gel/bR-based thin films/gold substrate. According to the monochromatic light illumination (560 nm) using Xenon lamp system, photoelectric responses of the fabricated photoreceptor were detected and analyzed. The stability of photoreceptors composed of the bR films fabricated by different technique was also examined over the period of 60 days. It is concluded that the SA technique could be usefully applied to the protein-based thin films preparation for the development of bioelectronic devices.     

Simulations of photomodulated solute transport in doubly illuminated liquid membranes containing photoactive carriers

A steady-state model describing photofacilitated transport in liquid membranes under double illumination is presented. The model allows for the exploration of the effects of a wide range of thermodynamic and kinetic carrier properties on the control of photoinduced transport rates of solutes, called photomodulation. Most previous experimental and theoretical studies have explored the illumination of only the feed or sweep side of the membrane, while this study examines the effects of illuminating both sides simultaneously. Under double illumination, solute transport rates can be as much as five times greater than those measured in the dark and 2.5 times greater than rates obtained under single illumination. Carriers that are predominantly in the weakly binding form in the dark generally provide slightly better performance at lower light intensities than do carriers that are predominantly in the strongly binding form in the dark. The greatest enhancement in solute transport under double illumination is seen for carriers with very slow interconversion rate constants between the strongly and weakly binding forms. These results provide guidelines to help those studying photofacilitated membranes select or design photoactive molecules that will act as optimal carriers in liquid membranes under double illumination.     

THE INWARD H+ PATHWAY IN BACTERIORHODOPSIN: THE ROLE OF M412 AND P(N)560 INTERMEDIATES

Abstract
In purple bacteriorhodopsin sheets adsorbed onto the phospholipid-impregnated collodion film, electrogenic stages are identified correlating with decays of the M and N(P)-type intermediates. It is concluded that both M N and N bR transitions are electrogenic.
The M decay is shown to be of a complex kinetics. In purple sheets, the lower the light intensity, the higher the rate of "slow M" decay. Such a dependence, which is absent from monomeric bacteriorhodopsin in proteoliposomes and from Triton X-100-solubilized protein, may be explained by the inhibiting effect of a light-induced conformation change in a bacteriorhodopsin molecule upon the M decay in some other bacteriorhodopsin molecules within the same sheet.
The light intensity-independent "slow M" decay in solubilized bacteriorhodopsin is shown to correlate with the decay of the N intermediate and H⁺ uptake after the flash. In contrast to "fast M", "slow M" is pH dependent, closely resembling in this respect the N intermediate. It is suggested that there is a fast light-independent equilibration between M and N so that "slow M" represents the portion of the M pool that monitors the N concentration. The M N equilibrium is assumed to be involved in the effect of the light-induced electric field on the M decay. No direct effect of light on the equilibrium was found.     

THE INWARD H+ PATHWAY IN BACTERIORHODOPSIN: THE ROLE OF M412 AND P(N)560 INTERMEDIATES*

Abstract— In purple bacteriorhodopsin sheets adsorbed onto the phospholipid-impregnated collodion film, electrogenic stages are identified correlating with decays of the M and N(P)-type intermediates. It is concluded that both M → N and N → bR transitions are electrogenic.
The M decay is shown to be of a complex kinetics. In purple sheets, the lower the light intensity, the higher the rate of "slow M" decay. Such a dependence, which is absent from monomeric bacteriorhodopsin in proteoliposomes and from Triton X-100-solubilized protein, may be explained by the inhibiting effect of a light-induced conformation change in a bacteriorhodopsin molecule upon the M decay in some other bacteriorhodopsin molecules within the same sheet.
The light intensity-independent "slow M" decay in solubilized bacteriorhodopsin is shown to correlate with the decay of the N intermediate and H⁺ uptake after the flash. In contrast to "fast M", "slow M" is pH dependent, closely resembling in this respect the N intermediate. It is suggested that there is a fast light-independent equilibration between M and N so that "slow M" represents the portion of the M pool that monitors the N concentration. The M → N equilibrium is assumed to be involved in the effect of the light-induced electric field on the M decay. No direct effect of light on the equilibrium was found.     

In situ characterization of functional purple membrane monolayers at the air-water interface

The purple membrane (PM) of Halobacterium salinarum contains a single type of protein, bacterio-rhodopsin (bR), which is a member of the seven alpha-helices transmembrane protein family. This protein is a photoactive proton pump, translocating one proton from the cytoplasmic to the extracellular side of the PM per photon absorbed. bR is found in trimers in PM, where they are assembled in a two-dimensional hexagonal lattice. We show herein that stable and functional films can be built in monolayers at the air-water interface by spreading aqueous suspensions of purified and native PM patches. In situ spectroscopic measurements at the air-water interface indicate that bR remains photoactive in this environment. Physical parameters of these PM films, such as protein molecular area, irreversible in-plane aggregation, z-axis orientation, film thickness, and surface roughness, were determined from surface pressure and surface potential-area isotherms, fluorescence spectroscopy, and X-ray reflectivity at the air-water interface. We find that PM do form organized monolayers of membranes, with an optimal packing density at a surface pressure of approximately 20 mN/m, although no preferential vectorial alignment, with respect to the plane normal to the membrane, can be detected from fluorescence quenching experiments.     

Engineered-membranes: A novel concept for clustering of native lipid bilayers

A strategy for clustering of native lipid membranes is presented. It relies on the formation of complexes between hydrophobic chelators embedded within the lipid bilayer and metal cations in the aqueous phase, capable of binding two (or more) chelators simultaneously Fig. 1. We used this approach with purple membranes containing the light driven proton pump protein bacteriorhodopsin (bR) and showed that patches of purple membranes cluster into mm sized aggregates and that these are stable for months when incubated at 19 °C in the dark. The strategy may be general since four different hydrophobic chelators (1,10-phenanthroline, bathophenanthroline, Phen-C10, and 8-hydroxyquinoline) and various divalent cations (Ni²⁺, Zn²⁺, Cd²⁺, Mn²⁺, and Cu²⁺) induced formation of membrane clusters. Moreover, the absolute requirement for a hydrophobic chelator and the appropriate metal cations was demonstrated with light and atomic force microscopy (AFM); the presence of the metal does not appear to affect the functional state of the protein. The potential utility of the approach as an alternative to assembled lipid bilayers is suggested.     

Buffer-induced changes of purple membrane surface electric properties: an electro-optical study

Buffer-induced alteration of the purple membrane electric dipole moments and electrokinetic charge was studied by electric light scattering and microelectrophoresis. The permanent dipole moment and electrophoretic mobility of purple membranes change in opposite direction in presence of 'P'- and 'N'-type buffer molecules, shown to produce 'positive' and 'negative' additional components to the bR light-induced charge displacement current. It is concluded that the two types buffer molecules distribute differently on the membrane surfaces, depending on their protonation state, as a result of different interaction with the membrane cytoplasmic and extracellular surfaces.     

Photosensitized heterogeneous chemistry of ozone on organic films

The interactions of ozone with benzophenone and phenol solid films have been investigated under simulated atmospheric conditions with respect to relative humidity, pressure, temperature, and O3 concentration using a coated flow tube reactor. The steady-state reactive uptake coefficients (gammass) of ozone on benzophenone films ranged from below 10(-6) in dark conditions to approximately 4 x 10(-6) under UV-A irradiation and decreased with increasing O3 concentration in the range 28-320 ppbv. A similar trend was observed for the initial uptake coefficient (gammai) which varied from ca. 1.5 x 10(-6) in the dark to approximately 7 x 10(-6) under UV-A irradiation. The uptake coefficients under irradiation were strongly dependent on the relative humidity (from 5 to 70%), with their lowest values at high humidity (70% RH). The ozone uptakes for multilayer coverage turned out to be independent of the deposited mass of the organic compound. The benzophenone-phenol mixture also showed photoenhanced uptake with a larger steady-state uptake under visible irradiation, approximately 2.9 x 10(-6). Contact angle measurements showed an increase of the organic film hydrophobicity for the benzophenone-phenol mixture upon combined exposure to light and ozone. A linear dependence of the kinetic values on the photon flux has been demonstrated and when extrapolated to the solar spectral irradiance would lead to uptake coefficients of approximately 10(-5). UV-vis analysis and contact angle measurements of the organic film after irradiation and ozone exposure showed relevant changes only in the mixture, with an increase in the hydrophobic character of the film and the appearance of a new absorption band up to 450 nm.     

Covalent Attachment of Bacteriorhodopsin Monolayer to Bromo‐terminated Solid Supports: Preparation,Characterization, and Protein Stability

The interfacing of functional proteins with solid supports and the study of related protein‐adsorption behavior are promising and important for potential device applications. In this study, we describe the preparation of bacteriorhodopsin (bR) monolayers on Br‐terminated solid supports through covalent attachment. The bonding, by chemical reaction of the exposed free amine groups of bR with the pendant Br group of the chemically modified solid surface, was confirmed both by negative AFM results obtained when acetylated bR (instead of native bR) was used as a control and by weak bands observed at around 1610 cm^?1 in the FTIR spectrum. The coverage of the resultant bR monolayer was significantly increased by changing the pH of the purple‐membrane suspension from 9.2 to 6.8. Although bR, which is an exceptionally stable protein, showed a pronounced loss of its photoactivity in these bR monolayers, it retained full photoactivity after covalent binding to Br‐terminated alkyls in solution. Several characterization methods, including atomic force microscopy (AFM), contact potential difference (CPD) measurements, and UV/Vis and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, verified that these bR monolayers behaved significantly different from native bR. Current–voltage (I–V) measurements (and optical absorption spectroscopy) suggest that the retinal chromophore is probably still present in the protein, whereas the UV/Vis spectrum suggests that it lacks the characteristic covalent protonated Schiff base linkage. This finding sheds light on the unique interactions of biomolecules with solid surfaces and may be significant for the design of protein‐containing device structures.     

Photochemical behavior and Na+,K+-ATPase sensitivity of voltage-sensitive styrylpyridinium fluorescent membrane probes

RH421 is a widely used voltage-sensitive fluorescent membrane probe. Its exposure to continuous illumination with 577 nm light from an Hg lamp leads, however, to an increase in its steady-state fluorescence level when bound to lipid membranes. The increase occurs on the second time scale at typical light intensities and was found to be due to a single-photon excited-state isomerization. Modifications to the dye structure are, therefore, necessary to increase photochemical stability and allow wider application of such dyes in kinetic studies of ion-transporting membrane proteins. The related probe ANNINE 5, which has a rigid polycyclic structure, shows no observable photochemical reaction when bound to DMPC vesicles on irradiation with 436 nm light. The voltage sensitivity of ANNINE 5 was tested with the use of Na+,K+-ATPase membrane fragments. As long as ANNINE 5 is excited on the far red edge of its visible absorption band, it shows a similar sensitivity to RH421 in detecting charge-translocating reactions triggered by ATP phosphorylation. Unfortunately the wavelengths necessary for ANNINE 5 excitation are in a region where the Hg lamps routinely used in stopped-flow apparatus have no significant lines available for excitation.     

Fractionated illumination after topical application of 5-aminolevulinic acid on normal skin of hairless mice: the influence of the dark interval

We have previously shown that light fractionation during topical aminolevulinic acid based photodynamic therapy (ALA-PDT) with a dark interval of 2h leads to a significant increase in efficacy in both pre-clinical and clinical PDT. However this fractionated illumination scheme required an extended overall treatment time. Therefore we investigated the relationship between the dark interval and PDT response with the aim of reducing the overall treatment time without reducing the efficacy. Five groups of mice were treated with ALA-PDT using a single light fraction or the two-fold illumination scheme with a dark interval of 30 min, 1, 1.5 and 2h. Protoporphyrin IX fluorescence kinetics were monitored during illumination. Visual skin response was monitored in the first seven days after PDT and assessed as PDT response. The PDT response decreases with decreasing length of the dark interval. Only the dark interval of 2h showed significantly more damage compared to all the other dark intervals investigated (P<0.05 compared to 1.5h and P<0.01 compared to 1h, 30 min and a single illumination). No relationship could be shown between the utilized PpIX fluorescence during the two-fold illumination and the PDT response. The rate of photobleaching was comparable for the first and the second light fraction and not dependent of the length of dark interval used. We conclude that in the skin of the hairless mouse the dark interval cannot be reduced below 2h without a significant reduction in PDT efficacy.     

Partial dehydration of the retinal binding pocket and proof for photochemical deprotonation of the retinal Schiff base in bicelle bacteriorhodopsin crystals

In bicelle bacteriorhodopsin (bcbR) crystals, the protein has a different structure from both native bacteriorhodopsin (bR) and in-cubo bR (cbR) crystals. Recently, we studied the ability of bcbR crystals to undergo the photocycle upon laser excitation, characterized by the appearance of the M intermediate by single crystal resonance Raman spectroscopy. Calculation of the M lifetime by flash photolysis experiments demonstrated that in our bcbR crystals, the M rise time is much faster than in the native or cbR crystals, with a decay time that is much slower than these other two forms. Although it is now known that the bcbR crystals are capable of photochemical deprotonation, it is not known whether photochemical deprotonation is the only way to create the deprotonated Schiff base in the bcbR crystals. We measured both the visible and Raman spectra of crystals dried under ambient lighting and dried in the dark in order to determine whether the retinal Schiff base is able to thermally deprotonate in the dark. In addition, changes in the visible spectrum of single bcbR crystals under varying degrees of hydration and light exposure were examined to better understand the retinal binding environment.     

Selective Examination of Plasma Membrane–Associated Photosensitizers Using Total Internal Reflection Fluorescence Spectroscopy: Correlation between Photobleaching and Photodynamic Efficacy of Protoporphyrin IX

Fluorescence spectra, fluorescence decay kinetics, photobleaching kinetics and photodynamic efficacy of protoporphyrin IX (PP) were investigated in endothelial cells in vitro after different incubation times. Fluorescence spectra and photobleaching kinetics were determined during total internal reflection (TIR) illumination or epiillumination. Because penetration depth of the excitation light during TIR illumination was limited to about 100 nm, plasma membrane-associated PP was almost selectively examined. Spectra obtained by TIR fluorescence spectroscopy (FS) showed a very low background, where-as spectra obtained by epi-illumination exhibited considerable background by autofluorescence and scattered light. For photobleaching kinetics during TIR illumination after 1 h or 24 h incubation, a biexponential fluorescence decrease was observed with a rapidly and a slowly bleaching portion. After 1 h incubation, the rapidly bleaching portion was the predominant fraction, whereas after 24 h incubation comparable relative amounts of the rapidly and slowly bleaching portion were determined. The rapidly and slowly bleaching portion were assigned to PP monomers and aggregated species in close vicinity to the plasma membrane. Fluorescence decay measurements after epi-illumination support the decrease of PP monomers within the whole cell with increasing incubation time. In contrast to TIR illumination, photobleaching of PP during epi-illumination was characterized by slow monoexponential fluorescence decrease after 1 h or 24 h incubation. Photodynamic efficacy of PP using epi-illumination was found to depend strongly on incubation time. Considerable cell inactivation was determined for short incubation times (1 h or 3 h), whereas photodynamic efficacy was diminished for longer incubation times. Reduced photodynamic efficacy after long incubation times was assigned to the lower amount of photodynamically active monomers determined close to the plasma membrane as well as within the whole cell. In conclusion, TIRFS measurements are suggested to be an appropriate tool for the examination of the plasma membrane-associated photosensitizer fraction in living cells.