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.
Inhaltsverzeichnis
I. Theoretical Overview. - Energy Bands in DNA. - H-Bond Charge-Relay Chains in Multi-Heme Cytochromes and Other Biomolecules. - Hydrogen Bonding-Theoretical and Spectroscopic Aspects. - Hydrogen Bonds in Biological Structure and Mechanism. - II. Raman and Infrared Studies of the Structure and Dynamics of Nucleic Acids and Proteins. - Raman Studies on Dinucleoside Monophosphates. - Molecular Interaction between Nucleic Acids and Alkylating Agents by Raman Spectroscopy. - Raman and FT-IR Spectroscopy of Drug-Biological Target Interactions In Vitro and In Vivo. - Spectroscopic Properties of Metal-Nucleotide and Metal-Nucleic Acid Interactions. - Conformation and Dynamics of Nucleic Acids and Proteins from Laser Raman Spectroscopy. - Structural Transitions in DNA (A, B, Z) Studied By IR Spectroscopy. - Raman Spectroscopy of Biomaterials Acting as Bone Prosthesis. - III. NMR Spectroscopy and its Applications. - Teaching the New NMR: A Computer-Aided Introduction to the Density Matrix Formalism of Multipulse Sequences. - Solution and Solid State C-13 and N-15 NMR Studies of Visual Pigments and Related Systems: Rhodopsin and Bacteriorhodopsin. - High Resolution 1H NMR Studies of Mononucleotides with Metals. - IV. The Mechanism of Vision Plant Pigments. - Resonance Raman Determination of Retinal Chromophore Structure in Bacteriorhodopsin. - Structural and Kinetic Studies of Bacteriorhodopsin by Resonance Raman Spectroscopy. - Static and Time-Resolved Infrared Difference Spectroscopy Applied to Rhodopsin and Bacteriorhodopsin. - Intermediate States in Vision. - Correlation of Cellular and Molecular Changes in Visual Photoreceptors by Light Scattering Relaxation Photometry. - Spectroscopy of Plant Tetrapyrroles In Vitro And In Vivo. - Preparation of 2H and 13C Labeled Retinals. - An Introduction to Two-Photon Spectroscopy. - Two-Photon Spectroscopy of Biological Molecules. - V. Spectroscopy of Membranes. - Molecular Structure of the Gramicidin Transmembrane Channel: Utilization of Carbon-13 Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, Ultraviolet Absorption, Circular Dichroism and Infrared Spectroscopies. - Ionic Mechanisms and Selectivity of the Gramicidin Transmembrane Channel: Cation Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, Dielectric Relaxation, Carbon-13 Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, and Rate Theory Calculation of Single Channel Currents. - In Situ Monitoring of Membrane-Bound Reactions by Kinetic Light-Scattering. - Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy as a Probe of Biomembrane Structure. - Investigations on Biologically Important Hydrogen Bonds. - VI. Recent Advances in Spectroscopic Techniques. - A Review of the Fourier Transform Near Infrared Spectrometer for the Determination of Non-Metals in Organic Compounds by Atomic Emission from an Atmospheric Pressure Argon Inductively Coupled Plasma. - Raman Microprobe and Microscope. Time Resolved Raman Techniques. - Far-Infrared Spectroscopy of Biomolecules. - Picosecond Relaxations in Haemoglobin, Lysozyme, and Poly-L-Alanine Observed by MM-Wave Spectroscopy. - Author Index.
