Biomaterial Database

Retinal chromophore of rhodopsin photoisomerizes within picoseconds. 1981

G Hayward, and W Carlsen, and A Siegman, and L Stryer

A new picosecond resonance Raman technique shows that resonance Raman lines characteristic of a distorted all-trans retinal appear within 30 picoseconds after photolysis of rhodopsin or isorhodopsin. This finding suggests that isomerization is nearly complete within picoseconds of the absorption of a photon.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D007536	Isomerism	The phenomenon whereby certain chemical compounds have structures that are different although the compounds possess the same elemental composition. (From McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 5th ed)	Isomerisms
D007700	Kinetics	The rate dynamics in chemical or physical systems.
D008027	Light	That portion of the electromagnetic spectrum in the visible, ultraviolet, and infrared range.	Light, Visible,Photoradiation,Radiation, Visible,Visible Radiation,Photoradiations,Radiations, Visible,Visible Light,Visible Radiations
D002417	Cattle	Domesticated bovine animals of the genus Bos, usually kept on a farm or ranch and used for the production of meat or dairy products or for heavy labor.	Beef Cow,Bos grunniens,Bos indicus,Bos indicus Cattle,Bos taurus,Cow,Cow, Domestic,Dairy Cow,Holstein Cow,Indicine Cattle,Taurine Cattle,Taurus Cattle,Yak,Zebu,Beef Cows,Bos indicus Cattles,Cattle, Bos indicus,Cattle, Indicine,Cattle, Taurine,Cattle, Taurus,Cattles, Bos indicus,Cattles, Indicine,Cattles, Taurine,Cattles, Taurus,Cow, Beef,Cow, Dairy,Cow, Holstein,Cows,Dairy Cows,Domestic Cow,Domestic Cows,Indicine Cattles,Taurine Cattles,Taurus Cattles,Yaks,Zebus
D000818	Animals	Unicellular or multicellular, heterotrophic organisms, that have sensation and the power of voluntary movement. Under the older five kingdom paradigm, Animalia was one of the kingdoms. Under the modern three domain model, Animalia represents one of the many groups in the domain EUKARYOTA.	Animal,Metazoa,Animalia
D012168	Retinal Pigments	Photosensitive protein complexes of varied light absorption properties which are expressed in the PHOTORECEPTOR CELLS. They are OPSINS conjugated with VITAMIN A-based chromophores. Chromophores capture photons of light, leading to the activation of opsins and a biochemical cascade that ultimately excites the photoreceptor cells.	Retinal Photoreceptor Pigment,Retinal Pigment,Visual Pigment,Visual Pigments,Retinal Photoreceptor Pigments,Photoreceptor Pigment, Retinal,Photoreceptor Pigments, Retinal,Pigment, Retinal,Pigment, Retinal Photoreceptor,Pigment, Visual,Pigments, Retinal,Pigments, Retinal Photoreceptor,Pigments, Visual
D012172	Retinaldehyde	A diterpene derived from the carotenoid VITAMIN A which functions as the active component of the visual cycle. It is the prosthetic group of RHODOPSIN (i.e., covalently bonded to ROD OPSIN as 11-cis-retinal). When stimulated by visible light, rhodopsin transforms this cis-isomer of retinal to the trans-isomer (11-trans-retinal). This transformation straightens-out the bend of the retinal molecule and causes a change in the shape of rhodopsin triggering the visual process. A series of energy-requiring enzyme-catalyzed reactions convert the 11-trans-retinal back to the cis-isomer.	11-trans-Retinal,3,7-dimethyl-9-(2,6,6-trimethyl-1-cyclohexen-1-yl)-2,4,6,8-Nonatetraenal,Axerophthal,Retinal,Retinene,Retinyl Aldehydde,Vitamin A Aldehyde,all-trans-Retinal,11-cis-Retinal,11 cis Retinal,11 trans Retinal,Aldehydde, Retinyl,Aldehyde, Vitamin A,all trans Retinal
D012243	Rhodopsin	A purplish-red, light-sensitive pigment found in RETINAL ROD CELLS of most vertebrates. It is a complex consisting of a molecule of ROD OPSIN and a molecule of 11-cis retinal (RETINALDEHYDE). Rhodopsin exhibits peak absorption wavelength at about 500 nm.	Visual Purple
D013059	Spectrum Analysis, Raman	Analysis of the intensity of Raman scattering of monochromatic light as a function of frequency of the scattered light.	Raman Spectroscopy,Analysis, Raman Spectrum,Raman Optical Activity Spectroscopy,Raman Scattering,Raman Spectrum Analysis,Scattering, Raman,Spectroscopy, Raman
D014785	Vision, Ocular	The process in which light signals are transformed by the PHOTORECEPTOR CELLS into electrical signals which can then be transmitted to the brain.	Vision,Light Signal Transduction, Visual,Ocular Vision,Visual Light Signal Transduction,Visual Phototransduction,Visual Transduction,Phototransduction, Visual,Transduction, Visual