Vol.26 No.4（2004 August）：399-403

The Construction, Function and Applications of R-phycoerythrin

Xiao-Qiang Chen, Feng SHI, Xing-Guo Gong*

（Department of Biotechnology, College of Life Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China）

Abstract: R-phycoerythrin, the most important type of phycoerythrin, is accessory light-harvesting protein-pigment complex of marine algae. It can emit the orange-red fluorescence excited by light. This paper summarizes several major areas of the study of R-phycoerythrin, including the relationship between its construction and function, the applications of its optical properties used as photosensitizer in photodynamic therapy and probe in fluorescent immunoassay etc..

Key words: R-phycoerythrin; construction and function; photodynamic therapy; fluorescent probe

*Corresponding author. Tel: 86-571-87953002, E-mail: gongxg@zju.edu.cn