The goal of this research is threefold: (1) to demonstrate the first application of some recently developed fluorescence techniques for measuring rates of specific surface binding reactions on intact biological membranes; (2) to develop new optical systems for selective detection, bleaching or quenching of surface fluorescence; and (3) to understand how specific and nonspecific surface binding kinetic rates and possible surface diffusion may regulate reaction speeds or molecular structures at membranes. Numerous biochemical processes such as the binding of hormones to cell surface receptors, the triggering of blood coagulation and the assembly/disassembly of submembrane cytoskeletal structures occur at membrane surfaces. The proximity of the surface can greatly affect these reactions, for example, by speeding or slowing diffusion and by changing local concentrations and orientation. Fluorescence techniques will be refined and used to answer specific outstanding questions about the dynamic behavior of molecules embedded in or adsorbed to membranes.***
