Luminescence of carbon monoxide hemocyanins.

Abstract
The effect of CO on the luminescence properties of Helix pomatia .alpha.-hemocyanin and Panulirus interruptus hemocyanin was studied. These proteins, when sautrated with CO, show, besides the intrinsic fluorescence arising from the aromatic amino acid residues, emission in the visible region with a maximum between 540-560 nm. CO titration experiments and data from absorption and excitation-emission spectra provide evidence that the observed emission originates from a fluorescent Cu (I)-CO complex and this emission is interpreted as charge-transfer luminescence.