β-(1-Azulenyl)-L-alanine--a functional probe for determination of pKa of histidine residues.

β-(1-Azulenyl)-L-alanine (AzAla) can be incorporated into the influenza A virus M2 proton channel. AzAla's sensitivity to the protonation state of the nearby histidines and the lack of environmental fluorescence dependence allow for direct and straightforward determination of histidine pKa values in ion channels.