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Relationship between Absorption Spectrum and Molecular Conformations of 11-cis-Retinal

Abstract

THE absorption spectrum of 11-cis-retinal is strongly influenced by the presence of a cis bond between carbon atoms 11 and 12. The cis bond in this position results in two important spatial properties of the molecule: first, steric hindrance between the C13-methyl group and the C10-hydrogen atom; second, a bend in the system of conjugated double bonds. Both the steric hindrance and the bend in the molecule give rise to particular absorption bands. We now report the results of experiments which allow the identification of these absorption bands in the 11-cis-retinal spectrum.

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SPERLING, W., RAFFERTY, C. Relationship between Absorption Spectrum and Molecular Conformations of 11-cis-Retinal. Nature 224, 591–594 (1969). https://doi.org/10.1038/224591a0

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