ABSTRACT
Abstract ..................................................................................................................228 11.1 Introduction ................................................................................................228 11.2 Structure, Stability, Dynamics and Conformational Changes
of Rhodopsin..............................................................................................230 11.2.1 Early Magnetic Resonance Studies of Chromophore and
Protein-Lipid Interactions ...........................................................230 11.2.2 Advent of Recombinant Expression and Purification
Technology...................................................................................231 11.2.3 Rhodopsin Structure via Cysteine Mutagenesis Followed by
Biochemical and Biophysical Analyses ......................................232 11.2.3.1 Cysteine Reactivity as Qualitative Indicator for
Structure .......................................................................233 11.2.3.2 Distance Constraints by Rates of Disulfide Bond
Formation .....................................................................235 11.2.3.3 Mobility, Accessibility, and Distance Constraints via
Electron Paramagnetic Resonance Spectroscopy........235 11.2.4 Solid-State Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Applications
to Rhodopsin................................................................................237 11.2.4.1 Chromophore Structure and Schiff Base Linkage ......237 11.2.4.2 Other Tertiary Interactions...........................................238
