Extended Förster theory: a quantitative approach to the determination of inter-chromophore distances in biomacromolecules

Abstract

This review highlights recent theoretical and experimental advances in the study of biomacromolecular structure by using electronic transfer. The considered electronic transport in the extended Förster theory occurs within donor–acceptor pairs, donor–donor pairs, as well as within regular arrangements of many donors which may undergo reorienting and translational dynamics. The classical and the extended Förster theory are compared. Applications concern the determination of structural properties of proteins and non-covalent protein polymers. Studies of energy migration by means of two-photon excited fluorescence spectroscopy, as well as the relevant extension of the Förster theory are presented.