Fluorescence transduction of an enzyme-substrate reaction by covalently immobilized monolayers of amphiphiles

The emission intensity of the fluorophore nitrobenzoxadiazoledipalmitoylphosphatidylethanolamine (NBD-PE) is sensitive to the local environmental structure when this species is present as a component of an amphiphilic membrane. The physical and electrostatic structure of a membrane may be modulated by selective reactions which induce electrostatic changes at the surface of the membrane. The resulting change in the fluorescence signal may then …