Hey DU scientists - spectroscopy question

[midnight armadillo]

Are there any applications of UV spectroscopy in biology/biophysics/etc? I can't for the life of me think of any - my experience is all in the visible, NIR and mid-IR.

I'm asking because my company is developing a spectrometer and we're eyeing various applications for it in order to chase fed funding. Our university collaborators are in the biology/medicine/biophysics field. I will ask them when they're back from winter break :-)

[MrMonk]

1. The use of UV spectroscopy goes back over 50 years ...

and is still widely used. I used to use it to identify aromatic compounds and, later, to monitor progress of enzymatic reactions.

Google " "UV Spectroscopy" (biochemical OR biophysical) " and you'll
find plenty of references.

[kitkatrose]

2. I remember

UV being used to identify conjugation in compounds (alternating single and double bonds). So I guess you could use it for compound identification, but I haven't a clue beyond that. :shrug:

[Donkeyboy75]

3. It's often used to monitor protein expression in cells.

The wavelength around 254 nm is used.

[slutticus]

4. Absolutely!

I use it all the time. Proteins and nucleic acids have large extinction coeffs at 280nm and 260nm. I use it to measure concentrations. I'm sure there are many other applications.