The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is developing advanced spectroscopic techniques in the terahertz (THz) and ultraviolet (UV) regions to study the structure and dynamics of biomolecules. These methods, which are sensitive and fully state-resolved, will investigate model systems and their interactions with water, a common solvent.
Terahertz radiation is particularly useful for probing the lowest frequency vibrational modes of biomolecules, which are crucial for understanding the backbone flexibility of proteins, nucleic acids, and carbohydrates. These modes represent the initial motions for large-scale conformational changes, making them important for studying biomolecular function.
The experimental data obtained from these studies will be compared with predictions from state-of-the-art classical and quantum chemical methods to gain insights into the fundamental physics behind biomolecular structure and function. Additionally, the data can be used to validate and improve current force field and biomolecular dynamics models, providing valuable information for researchers in the field.
Source: https://www.nist.gov/programs-projects/state-resolved-spectroscopy-biomolecules
Keywords: Terahertz, Biomolecules, Vibrational, Nuclear, Anharmonicities
