Raman Spectroscopy In Biology

Raman spectroscopy has been known and used as a technique for 80 years, originally for the study of inorganic substances. Recent advances in underlying technology, such as lasers, detectors, filters and components, have transformed the technique into a very effective modern tool for studying complex biological problems. Professor Mahmoud Ghomi (of the University of Paris XIII) has edited this book on the applications of Raman spectroscopy to biology, covering in a readily accessible way the area from basic studies to the diagnosis of disease. The early chapters provide background information on basic principles underlying the main Raman methods covered in the book, with information on Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) and Surface-Enhanced Fluorescence (SEF), as well as giving accounts of applications to biomolecular and cellular investigations. Among the topics covered are studies of drugs and their complexes with biomolecules on nanoparticles, application of SERS to blood analysis, studies of single cells and of applications to human cancer diagnostics.This will be a useful book for experimental scientists in academic, governmental, industrial and clinical environments and for those entering the field of biomolecular spectroscopy.

Biochemical Applications of Raman and Resonance Raman Spectroscopies focuses on the application of Raman and resonance Raman spectroscopies to biochemical problems. The book reviews biological systems and details the application of Raman spectroscopy to biological molecules such as proteins, nucleic acids, and lipids. It also looks at codevelopments of lasers, optics, and electronics that drive advances in experimental Raman spectroscopy, along with the important ramifications of these advances for biochemical applications. This volume is organized into eight chapters and begins with an overview of the theoretical and experimental aspects of Raman spectroscopy, including a very brief explanation of what Raman and resonance Raman spectroscopies are and a discussion of their advantages and disadvantages for biochemical studies. The explanation of the Raman and resonance Raman effects is taken up in more detail in the next chapter, which develops the concept of the vibrational motions of molecules by initially considering mechanical ""ball and spring"" models and goes on to use this concept to formulate a classical model for Raman scattering. The resonance Raman effect is then described by another model which emphasizes the discrete or quantized energy levels available to a molecule. The reader is also introduced to the experimental aspects of Raman spectroscopy and the application of Raman spectroscopy across the entire field of biochemistry. Each chapter contains an outline of the basic chemistry and biochemical nomenclature involved. This book will be of interest to chemists, biochemists, and spectroscopists, as well as graduate students and experienced research workers.

Infrared and Raman Spectroscopy of Biological Materials facilitates a comprehensive and through understanding of the latest developments in vibrational spectroscopy. It contains explains key breakthroughs in the methodologies and techniques for infrared, near-infrared, and Raman spectroscopy. Topics include qualitative and quantitative analysis, biomedical applications, vibrational studies of enzymatic catalysis, and chemometrics.

The authors describe basic theoretical concepts of vibrational spectroscopy, address instrumental aspects and experimental procedures, and discuss experimental and theoretical methods for interpreting vibrational spectra. It is shown how vibrational spectroscopy provides information on general aspects of proteins, such as structure, dynamics, and protein folding. In addition, the authors use selected examples to demonstrate the application of Raman and IR spectroscopy to specific biological systems, such as metalloproteins, and photoreceptors. Throughout, references to extensive mathematical and physical aspects, involved biochemical features, and aspects of molecular biology are set in boxes for easier reading. Ideal for undergraduate as well as graduate students of biology, biochemistry, chemistry, and physics looking for a compact introduction to this field.

This volume contains the proceedings of the NATO-Advanced Study Institute on the "Spectroscopy of Biological Molecules", which took place on July 4-15, 1983 in Acquafredda di Maratea, Italy. The institute concentrated on three main subiects: the structure and dymanics of DNA, proteins, and visual and plant pigments. Its timeliness has been linked to rapid advances in certain spectroscopic techniques which yielded a consider able amount of new information on the structure and inter actions of biologically important molecules. Among these techniques Fourier transform infrared, resonance and surface enhanced 'Raman spectroscopies, Raman microscopy and micro probing, time resolved techniques, two photon and ultrafast electronic, and C-13, N-15 and P-31 NMR spectroscopies and kinetic and static IR difference spectroscopy receiced a great deal of attention at the Institute. In addition, an entirely new technique, near-millimeter-wave spectroscopy has been presented and discussed. Two introductory quantum chemical lectures, one on the structure of water in DNA, and another pn the energy bands in DNA and proteins set the stage for the experimentally oriented lectures that followed. Fundamental knowledge on hydrogen bonding was the topic of two other lectures. Panel discussions were held on the structure and confor mations of DNA, metal-DNA adducts and proteins and on visual pigments. Many scientists who normally attend different conferences and never meet, met at Aquafredda di Maratea. We feel, that at the end of our Institute a synthetic vi~w emerged on the powerful spectroscopic and theoretical methods which are now available for the study of biological molecules.