Physical chemistry of biological systems

One of the points made in Schwenz and Moore was that the physical chemistry laboratory should better reflect the range of activities found in current physical chemistry research. This is reflected in part by the inclusion of modem instrumentation and computational methods, as noted extensively above, but also by the choice of topics. A number of experiments developed since Schwenz and Moore reflect these current topics. Some are devoted to modem materials, an extremely active research area, that I have broadly construed to include semiconductors, nanoparticles, self-assembled monolayers and other supramolecular systems, liquid crystals, and polymers. Others are devoted to physical chemistry of biological systems. I should point out here, that with rare exceptions, I have not included experiments for the biophysical chemistry laboratory in this latter category, primarily because the topics of many of these experiments fall out of the range of a typical physical chemistry laboratory or lecture syllabus. Systems of environmental interest were well represented as well. 

Current Topics Physical Chemistry of Biological Systems... 

The hydrogen gas produced in this manner can be used as a fuel in a variety of other devices. The preceding is an example of how a careful study of the physical chemistry of biological systems can yield not only surprising insights but also new technologies. 

Wilkinson, K. J. and Buffle, J. (2004). Critical evaluation of physicochemical parameters and processes for modelling the biological uptake of trace metals in environmental (aquatic) systems. In Physio chemical Kinetics and Transport at Biointerfaces, eds. van Leeuwen, H. P. and Koster, W., Vol. 9, IUPAC Series on Analytical and Physical Chemistry of Environmental Systems, Series eds. Buffle, J. and van Leeuwen, H. P., John Wiley Sons, Ltd, Chichester, UK, pp. 445-533. 

In the development of modem experiments, there were a large number of experiments developed using lasers and the NMR. More development would be welcome in experiments using MS, AFM, and STM. In addition, more experiments devoted to characteristics of modem materials, to environmental chemistry, and especially to the physical chemistry of biological and biologically relevant systems are needed. 

Berndt M, Kwiatkowski JS (1986) Hydration of biomolecules. In N4ray-Szab6 G (ed) Theoretical chemistry of biological systems. Studies in physical and theoretical chemistry, vol. 41. Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp 349-422... 

G. NSray-Szab6 and P.R. Surjan, "Computational Methods for Biological Systems", in Theoretical Chemistry of Biological Systems, in Studies in Physical and Theoretical Chemistry, Vol. 41, G. NSray-Szabd (Ed.), Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1986, pp. 1-100. 

Huang, P. M., and Germida. J. J. (2002). Chemical and biological process in the rhizosphere metal pollutants. In Interactions Between Soil Particles and Microorganisms Impact on Terrestrial Ecosystem, ed. Huang, P. M. Bollag, J.-M., and Senesi, N., lUPAC Series on Analytical and Physical Chemistry of Environmental Systems, Vol. 8, Wiley, Chichester, West Sussex, England, 381-438. 

Lyklema, J. Interfacial thermodynamics with special reference to biological systems, in Physical Chemistry of Biological Interfaces, A. Baszkin and W. Norde (eds.). Marcel Dekker, New York, Chapter 1, 2000. 

To resolve hf and nuclear quadrupole interactions which are not accessible in the EPR spectra, George Feher introduced in 1956 a double resonance technique, in which the spin system is simultaneously irradiated by a microwave (MW) and a radio frequency (rf) field3. This electron nuclear double resonance (ENDOR) spectroscopy has widely been applied in physics, chemistry and biology during the last 25 years. Several monographs2,4 and review articles7 11 dealing with experimental and theoretical aspects of ENDOR have been published. 

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