This volume provides an overview of the development and scope of molecular biophysics and in-depth discussions of the major experimental methods that enable biological macromolecules to be studied at atomic resolution. It also reviews the physical chemical concepts that are needed to interpret the experimental results and to understand how the structure, dynamics, and physical properties of biological macromolecules enable them to perform their biological functions. Reviews of research on three disparate biomolecular machines—DNA helicases, ATP synthases, and myosin--illustrate how the combination of theory and experiment leads to new insights and new questions.
Author(s): Norma M. Allewell, Linda O. Narhi (auth.), Norma Allewell, Linda O. Narhi, Ivan Rayment (eds.)
Series: Biophysics for the Life Sciences 6
Edition: 1
Publisher: Springer-Verlag New York
Year: 2013
Language: English
Pages: 397
Tags: Biological Techniques;Biophysics and Biological Physics;Biotechnology;Spectroscopy and Microscopy;Pharmaceutical Sciences/Technology
Front Matter....Pages i-xii
Introduction....Pages 1-15
Structural, Physical, and Chemical Principles....Pages 17-30
Front Matter....Pages 31-31
Optical Spectroscopic Methods for the Analysis of Biological Macromolecules....Pages 33-90
Diffraction and Scattering by X-Rays and Neutrons....Pages 91-112
Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy....Pages 113-173
Electron Paramagnetic Resonance Spectroscopy....Pages 175-213
Mass Spectrometry....Pages 215-256
Single-Molecule Methods....Pages 257-288
Front Matter....Pages 289-289
Helicase Unwinding at the Replication Fork....Pages 291-312
Rotary Motor ATPases....Pages 313-339
Biophysical Approaches to Understanding the Action of Myosin as a Molecular Machine....Pages 341-361
Front Matter....Pages 363-363
Future Prospects....Pages 365-379
Back Matter....Pages 381-397
