  Analysis of fluorescent spectra from complex biological systems containing
various fluorescent probes with overlapping emission bands is a challenging
task. Valuable information can be extracted from the full spectra, however, by
using multivariate analysis (MA) of measurements at different wavelengths. We
applied MA to spectral data of purified Torpedo nicotinic acetylcholine
receptor (AChR) protein reconstituted into liposomes made up of
dioleoylphosphatidic acid (DOPA) and dioleoylphosphatidylcholine (DOPC) doped
with two extrinsic fluorescent probes (NBD-cholesterol/pyrene-PC). Forster
resonance energy transfer (FRET) was observed between the protein and pyrene-PC
and between pyrene-PC and NBD-cholesterol, leading to overlapping emission
bands. Partial least squares analysis was applied to ...
