An advanced multi-purpose instrument for biological ultrafast time resolved spectroscopy

动态过程，包括超快时间尺度上的动态过程，支撑着我们周围的大部分世界。在生物学中，它们有助于大分子及其环境固有的振动运动的白色噪音，以及可以帮助或驱动结构和生化变化的“有色噪音”。生物学家通常以秒、分钟和小时为时间尺度来考虑生物过程，例如蛋白质折叠、生物催化、信号传导、分子和细胞运动。然而，这些过程取决于电子的行为和相互作用以及它们所处的分子/原子的运动。在更快的时间尺度上发生的过程-通常是皮秒到飞秒的时间尺度-决定了这些特性。至关重要的是，理解生物过程需要对皮秒到飞秒时间尺度上的动态变化的机械理解，即具有10亿百万分之一秒的时间分辨率。这就需要开发专门的超快激光光谱仪，以便在极短的时间尺度上记录化学变化、振动运动和电子运动。超快时间尺度是基础物理学与生物学相遇的地方。超快时间尺度上的化学和物理性质的基础知识支撑着我们对微秒到秒时间尺度（及更长时间）上的所有生物学性质的理解。飞秒激光器已经在物理科学中开发和使用，并且越来越多地在生物科学中产生重大影响。早期的胜利包括在生物光合作用中展示“量子wierdness”（例如纠缠和相干），以及分析生物催化中的早期化学事件。这些超快方法提供了具有广泛应用的多功能工具。在这项提案中，我们的目标是建立一个独特的多功能超快仪器，由专业的物理和生物科学专业知识支持，这将通过利用超快光谱的力量来改变英国广泛的多用户生物科学项目。这将提供至关重要的基础知识，例如，将允许设计和开发生物技术和工业应用中的生物科学组成部分，并通过基于知识的设计为合成生物学的新兴科学做出贡献。

Dynamical processes, including those on the ultrafast timescale, underpin much of the world around us. In biology they contribute to the white noise of vibrational motions inherent to large macromolecules and their environment, and also the 'coloured noise' that can assist or drive structural and biochemical change. Biologists normally consider biological processes on the timescale of seconds, minutes and hours, and examples include protein folding, biological catalysis, signalling, molecular and cellular motions. These processes, however, depend on the behaviour and interaction of electrons and the motions of the molecules/atoms in which they reside. Processes that occur on much faster timescales - typically picosecond to femtosecond timescales - dictate these properties. Crucially, understanding of biological processes requires mechanistic understanding of dynamical changes on the picosecond to femtosecond timescales i.e. with a time resolution of 1,000 million millionths of a second. This requires the development of specialised ultrafast laser spectrometers that can record chemical change, vibrational motion and the movement of electrons on these very short timescales.The ultrafast timescale is where fundamental physics meets biology. Fundamental knowledge of chemical and physical properties on the ultrafast timescale underpins our understanding of ALL biological properties on the microsecond to second timescales (and beyond). Femtosecond lasers have been developed and utilised in the physical sciences and increasingly are having major impact in the biological sciences. Early wins include demonstration of 'quantum wierdness' (e.g. entanglement and coherence) in biological photosynthesis, and analysis of early chemical events in biological catalysis. These ultrafast methods provide versatile tools with wide-ranging applications. In this proposal we aim to establish a unique multi-functional ultrafast instrument, supported with expert physical and biological sciences expertise, that will transform a wide range of multi-user bioscience projects in the UK, by exploiting the power of ultrafast spectroscopy. This will provide crucial fundamental knowledge that will allow, for example, the design and exploitation of bioscience components in biotechnology and industrial applications, and contribute to the emerging science of synthetic biology through knowledge-based design.