Ultrafast conformational dynamics in molecules and biomolecules studied by time-resolved circular dichroism

Abstract : Implementation of circular dichroism in a pump-probe experiment is proposed to address the problem of ultrafast conformational changes in molecules and biomolecules. Two techniques are depicted. The first one relies on the modulation of the probe polarization and the second one uses a Babinet-Soleil compensator to analyze the changes in probe ellipticity. This technique is applied to the dynamics of the dihedral angle in photoexcited binaphthol and to the changes in conformation following photolysis of carboxy-myoglobin. Cop. 2010 Old City Publishing, Inc.