Photolysis of the Sulfonamide Bond of Metal Complexes ofN-Dansyl-1,4,7,10-Tetraazacyclododecane in Aqueous Solution: A Mechanistic Study and Application to the Photorepair ofcis,syn-Cyclobutane Thymine Photodimer

This brief review gives an overview of the gene family of photolyases and cryptochromes, followed by a description of the main features of the three-dimensional structures of photolyases known to date. It then discusses recent biophysical studies of photolyase function, and modelling studies on the interaction between the enzyme and its substrate.