Photo-reactive amino acid analogs are artificial analogs of natural amino acids that can be used for crosslinking of protein complexes. Photo-reactive amino acid analogs may be incorporated into proteins and peptides in vivo or in vitro. Photo-reactive amino acid analogs in common use are photoreactive diazirine analogs to leucine and methionine, and para-benzoylphenylalanine. Upon exposure to ultraviolet light, they are activated and covalently bind to interacting proteins that are within a few angstroms of the photo-reactive amino acid analog.
