Asymmetric Photoprocesses in Chiral Biopolymer Matrices and Possible Application to Chiroptical Photorecording

偶氮苯等光致变色基团直接连接到螺旋多肽链上，发色团之间具有不同的间距。多肽显示出大的圆二色性（CD），其强度依赖于光致变色基团的空间排列。光照射改变了CD和旋光度。这种现象可以成为一种新型手握光学光记录的基础，因为这种存储器可以在比写入过程更长的波长下读出。类似地，新合成了由芳香族氨基酸组成的Belayer膜。该膜具有较强的圆二色性和旋光性，含偶氮苯基团的膜在光照下呈现出圆二色性和旋光性的可逆变化。因此，这些材料也是一个很好的候选人的光学记录。

Photochromic groups, such as azobenzene, were linked directly to helical polvpeptide chain with different spacinas between the chromophores. The polypeptides showed large circular dichroism (CD), its intensity being dependent on the spatial arrangement of the photochromic groups. The CD and the optical rotation were changed by photoirradiation. This phenomena can be a basis for a novel chiroptical photorecording, because the memory can be read out at longer wavelengths than those for writing processes. Similarly, Belayer membranes consisting of aromatic amino acids were newly synthesized. The membranes showed strong CD and optical rotation, and those containing azobenzene groups showed reversible change of CD and optical rotation under photoirradiation. Therefore, these materials are also an excellent candidate for the chriotical photorecording.