Starting from a comprehensive quantum mechanical description, this book introduces the optical (IR, Raman, UV/Vis, CD, fluorescence and laser spectroscopy) and magnetic resonance (1D and 2D-NMR, ESR) techniques. The book offers a timely review of the increasing interest in using spin-label ESR as an alternative structural technique for NMR or X-ray diffraction. Future aspects are treated as well, but only as an illustration of the progress of ESR in this field.

Starting from a comprehensive quantum mechanical description, this book introduces the optical (IR, Raman, UV/Vis, CD, fluorescence and laser spectroscopy) and magnetic resonance (1D and 2D-NMR, ESR) techniques. The book offers a timely review of the increasing interest in using spin-label ESR as an alternative structural technique for NMR or X-ray diffraction. Future aspects are treated as well, but only as an illustration of the progress of ESR in this field.

This book is based on two keywords: Bioradical and ESR. Bioradical is a newly coined word which encompasses paramagnetic species in biological systems, such as active oxygen radicals and transition metal ions. Research on the structure and function of bioradicals has been attrac ting growing attention in the field of biological science, and comprehensive investigations from many fields are helping to understand the real features of these species. ESR spectroscopy also has interdisciplinary features in that its techniques have been applied to many fields, ranging from physics to medicine. It was our hope, therefore, that this book would help to clarify many aspects of bioradicals and that significant progress would be achieved in combining basic research from many different fields. This book arises from the First International Conference on Bioradicals Detected by ESR Spectroscopy (ICBES), which was held in Yamagata, a city in the Yamagata Prefecture of Japan, in 1994. About 300 participants from 16 different countries attended this conference, and about 170 papers were presented. This book is a collection of contributions from the conference and also contains eleven chapters selected by the editorial board, based on sugges tions from the members of the international editorial board of ICBES. The Yamagata Technopolis Foundation is developing a biomedical technology for the 21st century based on life science fused with material and physical science. Based on such a techno logy, the Foundation plans to share its fruits all over the world.

This book provides a multidisciplinary overview to the application of high order derivative spectrophotometry and Electron Spin Resonance (ESR) spectroscopy in biology and ecology. The characteristics of the principle methods as well as the generation of reliable spectra are discussed in general terms allowing the reader to gain an idea of these methods’ potentials. Furthermore the authors give an extended overview to the spectroscopic and spectro-photometric analysis of specific biological materials. This volume is a well condensed description of an analytical method and a clear review to its application in biology and related fields and an essential tool for researchers who are new in the field of spectroscopic methods and their applications in the life sciences.

Spin-label electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy is a versatile molecular probe method that finds wide application in molecular biophysics and structural biology. This book provides the first comprehensive summary of basic principles, spectroscopic properties, and use for studying biological membranes, protein folding, supramolecular structure, lipid-protein interactions, and dynamics. The contents begin with discussion of fundamental theory and practice, including static spectral parameters and conventional continuous-wave (CW) spectroscopy. The development then progresses, via nonlinear CW-EPR for slower motions, to the more demanding time-resolved pulse EPR, and includes an in-depth treatment of spin relaxation and spectral line shapes. Once the spectroscopic fundamentals are established, the final chapters acquire a more applied character. Extensive appendices at the end of the book provide detailed summaries of key concepts in magnetic resonance and chemical physics for the student reader and experienced practitioner alike. Key Features: Indispensable reference source for the understanding and interpretation of spin-label spectroscopic data in its different aspects. Tables of fundamental spectral parameters are included throughout. Forms the basis for an EPR graduate course, extending up to a thorough coverage of advanced topics in Specialist Appendices. Includes all necessary theoretical background. The primary audience is research workers in the fields of molecular biophysics, structural biology, biophysical chemistry, physical biochemistry and molecular biomedicine. Also, physical chemists, polymer physicists, and liquid-crystal researchers will benefit from this book, although illustrative examples used are often taken from the biomolecular field. Readers will be postgraduate researchers and above, but include those from other disciplines who seek to understand the primary spin-label EPR literature.