kinetics probed at 950 nm for β-carotene radical cation (β-Car•+) was
detected with an avalanched photodiode (model C5460, Hamamatsu
Photonics, Hamamatsu, Japan) attached to a TriVista spectrograph
(Princeton Instruments, Trenton, NJ), and the kinetics traces were
stored and averaged with a digital storage oscilloscope (bandwidth 600
MHz; LeCroy WaveSurfer 64Xs, Chestnut Ridge, NY) connected to a
personal computer. For kinetics analyses, the time evolution profiles of
optical density change (ΔOD) upon pulsed excitation were fit to a threeexponential
model function as previously described12