Patent ID: 7553624

Claim:
A method of analyzing the physiological function of a target by inactivating said target, comprising the steps of: (a) binding to the target a photoactive compound represented by formula (I): to form a composite comprising the target and the photoactive compound, in the formula, Q is a group for directly binding this compound with the target or indirectly binding through a partner substance, wherein Q is a group that can bind with the partner substance and is represented by -A-Q 1 ; wherein A is a chemical bond or a spacer group comprising 1 to 9 atoms selected from carbon, oxygen, and nitrogen in its chain, and Q 1 is a group selected from an isocyanate group, isothiocyanate group, sulfonyl chloride group, 4,6-dichlorotiazinyl amino group, maleimide group and iodine acetamide group; and (b) irradiating the obtained composite with light using a xenon arc light, mercury arc light, halogen lamp, tungsten lamp, color laser, argon laser having wavelength 488 or 514.5 nm lines, or double frequency Nd:YAG laser having wavelength 532 nm to inactivate the function of the target to which the photoactive compound has been bound, or to inactivate the function of the target at the site where the photoactive compound has been bound, thereby analyzing the physiological function of the target, wherein the amount of irradiation necessary for inactivation is from 0.1 W/cm 2 to 10 W/cm 2 .