SOLUTION CONFORMATION VIA VIBRATIONAL OPTICAL ACTIVITY

以下拨款申请中提出的研究旨在 建立新的光谱技术来探测溶液 具有生物学意义的分子结构。 光谱 振动光学活性（Vibrational Optical Activity，VOA）， 最近发现的光谱技术， 结合了振动光谱学和光学原理 活动 用于观察两种实验方法的仪器 到VOA、红外振动圆二色性（VCD）和拉曼 光学活性（罗阿），已在申请人的 实验室在最后一个阶段。 意想不到的困难 与罗阿仪器已克服和罗阿数据 现在可以定期使用。 光谱学的努力已经集中，并将继续 围绕着小分子，这些小分子是生物分子的模型， 兴趣，和其他系统的设计，使VOA的起源 可以通过详细的振动分析来理解。 因此，努力合成和拆分小的手性 物种将扩大。 美国之音关于这些分子的数据将 通过模型计算获得并解释， 正在进行中 生物分子的模型，如肽片段和小 核苷酸聚合物，将被合成，使得构象 可以建立VOA的灵敏度。 为了确定 某些振动的同一性，合成可能涉及 结合特定的探针，其振动可以 容易观察。 因此，拟议的研究代表了一种综合方法， 涉及仪器开发、光谱、合成和 理论上的努力，以增加目前可用的技术， 推断生物分子的溶液构象。

The research proposed in the following grant application is aimed at establishing novel spectroscopic techniques to probe solution structures of molecules of biological interest. The spectroscopic method to be exploited is Vibrational Optical Activity (VOA), a relatively recently discovered technique of spectroscopy, which combines principles of vibrational spectroscopy and optical activity. Instrumentation for the observation of both experimental approaches to VOA, infrared Vibrational Circular Dichroism (VCD) and Raman Optical Activity (ROA), has been constructed in the applicant's laboratory during the last grant period. Unexpected difficulties with the ROA instrumentation have been overcome and ROA data are now available routinely. The spectroscopic efforts have centered, and will continue to center, around small molecules which model molecules of biological interest, and other systems designed such that the origin of VOA may be understood in terms of a detailed vibrational analysis. Consequently, efforts to synthesize and resolve small chiral species will be expanded. VOA data on these molecules will be obtained and interpreted in terms of model calculations, which are presently underway. Models of biological molecules, such as peptide fragments and small nucleotide polymers, will be synthesized such that conformational sensitivity of VOA may be established. In order to determine the identity of certain vibrations, the syntheses may involve the incorporation of specific probes the vibrations of which may be observed easily. Thus, the proposed research represents an integrated approach, involving instrument development, spectroscopic, synthetic and theoretical efforts, to augment presently available techniques to deduce solution conformation of biomolecules.