The conformer model of tryptophan photophysics ascribes the multiple fluorescence lifetimes to ground-state heterogeneity. It is usually assumed that the different conformers do not interconvert in the excited state. Previous studies of two constrained tryptophan derivatives supported this assumption (Colucci, W. J.; Tilstra, L.; Sattler, M. C.; Fronczek, F. R.; Barkley, M. D. J. Am. Chem. Sec. 1990, 112, 9182-9190; Yu, H.-T.; Vela, M. A.; Fronczek, F. R.; McLaughlin, M. L.; Barkley, M. D. J. Am. Chem. Sec. 1995, 117, 348-357). Five constrained derivatives have been synthesized and shown to undergo conformer inversion during the lifetime of the excited state. All derivatives have two ground-state conformations as determined by X-ray crystallography, molecular mechanics calculations, and H-1-NMR. Fluorescence lifetime data were fit to single and double-exponential models and to a reversible two-state excited-state reaction model. 2-Amino-1,2-dihydrocyclopenta[b]indole-2-carboxylic acid has a single-exponential decay consistent with conformer inversion much faster than fluorescence decay. 1,2,3,4-Tetrahydrocarbazole-3-carboxylic acid, ethyl 1,2,3,4-tetrahydrocarbazole-3-carboxylate, and their 9-methyl derivatives have double-exponential decays with a minor second component of small positive or negative amplitude. Conformer inversion rates of similar to 10(7) s(-1) were determined by analyzing the fluorescence decay data using the excited-state reaction model. Temperature dependence of the fluorescence lifetimes was measured in H2O and D2O, and solvent quenching rates were calculated from the Arrhenius parameters. The carboxylate and carbonyl functional groups appear to have little effect on solvent quenching of indole fluorescence. Model calculations examining the effect of conformer inversion rate on the decay parameters of a biexponential model indicate that the presence of a small amplitude, short lifetime component may be a good predictor of excited-state conformer interconversion of tryptophans in peptides and proteins.