SEPARATION ET CARACTERISATION SPECTROSCOPIQUE DU MONOMERE ET DES POLYMERES DE LA C. PHYCOCYANINE.*

Abstract— Monomer, trimer and hexamer states of C. Phycocyanin chromophore protein have been isolated. Owing to a very slow approach to equilibrium mixing, it has been possible to estimate the number of each type of the two chromophores ‘s’; and ‘f’ present, using a fluoros-cence polorization method. It is found that there is one s chromophore and one f chromophore per protein monomer of molecular weight 30,000, a value in agreement with the monomer mol. wt. determined by Berns et al and by thermodynamic measurements in this laboratory. Absorption and fluorescence spectra of hexamer and monomer solutions have been compared. The hexamer solution shows greater fluorescence than the monomer solution, a phenomenon that may be attributable to a change in environment of chromophore following polymerization, with consequent change of fluorescence yield of each chromophore type and/or variation in energy transfer between them.