FTIR study on the light sensitivity of the [NiFe] hydrogenase from Desulfovibrio vulgaris Miyazaki F: Ni-C to Ni-L photoconversion, kinetics of proton rebinding and H/D isotope effect.

The light-induced Ni-C to Ni-L transition results in the dissociation of a hydrogenic species, originating from the dihydrogen splitting at the active site. Back conversion in the dark to form Ni-C was investigated by studying the rebinding kinetics of this ligand in protonated (H(2)/H(2)O) and deuterated (D(2)/D(2)O) samples using time resolved FTIR spectroscopy.