Special Section: Membrane Proteins

In spite of the functional importance of membrane proteins, information on their structure and organization is lacking due to the paucity of crystal structures. In the absence of a detailed crystallographic database, approaches based on fluorescence spectroscopy have proved useful in elucidating the organization, topology and orientation of membrane proteins. This review is focussed on the application of various approaches based on fluorescence spectroscopy to explore the organization and dynamics of membrane proteins and peptides. Some of the important approaches include analysis of depth of penetration of membrane proteins and peptides utilizing fluorescence quenching, site-directed fluorescence labeling and the wavelength-selective fluorescence approach.