Biophysical techniques
Biophysical techniques are methods used for gaining information about biological systems on an atomar or molecular level. They overlap with methods from other branches of science.
Main biophysical techniques are:
- Spectrophotometry, the measurement of the transmission of light through different solutions or substances at different wavelengths of light. Colorimetry is an example of this.
- circular dichroism, a method for detecting chiral groups in molecules, especially to determine the secondary structure of proteins
- fluorescence spectroscopy, which can be used to detect structural rearrangements, as well as interactions of biomolecules
- Microscopy, for example using laser instruments for scanning and transmission.
- electron microscopy, to gain high-resolution images of subcellular structures
- Ultracentrifugation, which gives information on the shape and mass of molecules
- NMR spectroscopy, giving information about the exact structure of biological molecules, as well as on dynamics
- X-ray crystallography, another method to gain access to the exact structure of molecules with atomic resolution
- gel electrophoresis, which is used to determine the mass, the charge and the interactions of biological molecules
- various chromatography technique, which are used for the purification and analysis of biological molecules
See also: biophysics
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