Handbook Of Molecular Biophysics

This handbook and reference condenses the biophysics and biomedical contents of the renowned Encyclopedia of Applied Physics in one handy volume. Twenty-eight carefully written overview articles cover the latest research, including single molecule spectroscopy, biosensors and cellular biomechanics. Readers benefit from concise summaries of the fundamentals, methods and applications, backed by detailed tables of contents for quick access, and glossaries of terms, as well as detailed lists of references and further reading. For libraries and R&D teams in academia and industry.

This handbook describes experimental techniques to monitor and manipulate individual biomolecules, including fluorescence detection, atomic force microscopy, and optical and magnetic trapping. It includes single-molecule studies of physical properties of biomolecules such as folding, polymer physics of protein and DNA, enzymology and biochemistry, single molecules in the membrane, and single-molecule techniques in living cells.

Molecular mechanisms in visual transduction is presently one of the most intensely studied areas in the field of signal transduction research in biological cells. Because the sense of vision plays a primary role in animal biology, and thus has been subject to long evolutionary development, the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying vision have a high degree of sensitivity and versatility. The aims of visual transduction research are firstto determine which molecules participate, and then to understand how they act in concert to produce the exquisite electrical responses of the photoreceptor cells.Since the 1940s [1] we have known that rod vision begins with the capture of a quantum of energy, a photon, by a visual pigment molecule, rhodopsin. As the function of photon absorption is to convert the visual pigment molecule into a G-protein activating state, the structural details of the visual pigments must beexplained from the perspective of their role in activating their specific G-proteins. Thus, Chapters 1-3 of this Handbook extensively cover the physico-chemical molecular characteristics of the vertebrate rhodopsins. Following photoconversion and G-protein activation, the phototransduction cascade leads to modifications of the population of closed and open ion channels in the photoreceptor plasma membrane, and thereby to the electrical response. The nature of the channels of vertebrate photoreceptors is examined in Chapter 4, and Chapter 5 integrates the present body of knowledge of the activation steps in the cascade into a quantitative framework. Once the phototransduction cascade is activated, it must be subsequently silenced. The various molecular mechanisms participating in inactivation aretreated in Chapters 1-4 and especially Chapter 5. Molecular biology is now an indispensable tool in signal transduction studies. Numerous vertebrate (Chapter 6) and invertebrate (Chapter 7) visual pigments have been characterized and cloned. The genetics and evolutionary aspects of this great subfamily of G-protein activating receptors are intriguing as they present a natural probe for the intimate relationship between structure and function of the visual pigments. Understanding the spectral characteristics from the molecular composition can be expected to

In keeping with goal and style of the Handbook in Modern Biophysics series, the proposed book will maintain a chapter structure that contains two parts: concepts and biological application. The book also integrates all the chapters into a smooth, continuous discourse. The first and second chapters establish the mathematical methods and theoretical framework underpinning the different topics in the rest if the book. Other chapters will use the theoretical framework as a basis to discuss optical and NMR approaches. Each chapter will contain innovative didactic elements that facilitate teaching, self-study, and research preparation (key points, summary, exercise, references).

Methodologies and databases for biochemistry and molecular biology are included in this easy-to-use laboratory reference. Its logical presentation enables the reader to quickly and conveniently locate the information relevant to his or her needs. Featured are tables containing data on amino acids, proteins, nucleosides, nucleotides, and nucleic acids. Also featured are lipids and physical chemical data. Edited by a leading professional in the field, this compact, yet comprehensive bench manual serves as the definitive reference source for your laboratory.

Researchers in academia and industry who are interested in techniques for measuring intermolecular forces will find this an essential text. It presents a review of modern force spectroscopy, including fundamentals of intermolecular forces, technical aspects of the force measurements, and practical applications. The handbook begins with a review of the fundamental physics of loading single and multiple chemical bonds on the nanometer scale. It contains a discussion of thermodynamic and kinetic models of binding forces and dissipation effects in nanoscale molecular contacts, covers practical aspects of modern single-molecule level techniques, and concludes with applications of force spectroscopy to chemical and biological processes. Computer modeling of force spectroscopy experiments is also addressed.

"a gem of a textbook which manages to produce a genuinely fresh, concise yet comprehensive guide" –Mark Leake, University of York "destined to become a standard reference.... Not just a ‘how to’ handbook but also an accessible primer in the essentials of kinetic theory and practice." –Michael Geeves, University of Kent "covers the entire spectrum of approaches, from the traditional steady state methods to a thorough account of transient kinetics and rapid reaction techniques, and then on to the new single molecule techniques" –Stephen Halford, University of Bristol This illustrated treatment explains the methods used for measuring how much a reaction gets speeded up, as well as the framework for solving problems such as ligand binding and macromolecular folding, using the step-by-step approach of numerical integration. It is a thoroughly modern text, reflecting the recent ability to observe reactions at the single-molecule level, as well as advances in microfluidics which have given rise to femtoscale studies. Kinetics is more important now than ever, and this book is a vibrant and approachable entry for anyone who wants to understand mechanism using transient or single molecule kinetics without getting bogged down in advanced mathematics. Clive R. Bagshaw is Emeritus Professor at the University of Leicester, U.K., and Research Associate at the University of California at Santa Cruz, U.S.A.

In the first volume, Fundamental Concepts in Biophysics, the authors lay down a foundation for biophysics study. Rajiv Singh opens the book by pointing to the central importance of “Mathematical Methods in Biophysics”. William Fink follows with a discussion on “Quantum Mechanics Basic to Biophysical Methods”. Together, these two chapters establish some of the principles of mathematical physics underlying many biophysics techniques. Because computer modeling forms an intricate part of biophysics research, Subhadip Raychaudhuri and colleagues introduce the use of computer modeling in “Computational Modeling of Receptor–Ligand Binding and Cellular Signaling Processes”. Yin Yeh and coworkers bring to the reader’s attention the physical basis underlying the common use of fluorescence spectroscopy in biomedical research in their chapter “Fluorescence Spectroscopy”. Electrophysiologists have also applied biophysics techniques in the study of membrane proteins, and Tsung-Yu Chen et al. explore stochastic processes of ion transport in their “Electrophysiological Measurements of Membrane Proteins”. Michael Saxton takes up a key biophysics question about particle distribution and behavior in systems with spatial or temporal inhomogeneity in his chapter “Single–Particle Tracking”. Finally, in “NMR Measurement of Biomolecule Diffusion”, Thomas Jue explains how magnetic resonance techniques can map biomolecule diffusion in the cell to a theory of respiratory control. This book thus launches the Handbook of Modern Biophysics series and sets up for the reader some of the fundamental concepts underpinning the biophysics issues to be presented in future volumes.

In considering ways that physics has helped advance biology and medicine, what typically comes to mind are the various tools used by researchers and clinicians. We think of the optics put to work in microscopes, endoscopes, and lasers; the advanced diagnostics permitted through magnetic, x-ray, and ultrasound imaging; and even the nanotools, that a