For this summer school in Athens, Greece, August 22-21, 1978, I took as my objective the presentation of a timely representative account of the application of infrared and Raman spectro scopy to biological molecules. A summer school is made up of a number of things -ideas, people, organization international collaboration and sponsorship. The exchange of ideas the student-lecturer interaction in the discussion periods and the tutorials satisfy the urgent need of all the participants to meet and discuss topics of current scientific interest. It seems therefore appropriate to publish this summer school proceedings in order to make it a lasting event and that appreciation be shown to those people and institutions that made it all possible. The summer school was held under the auspices of the Greek Ministry of Culture and Sciences under the sponsorship of the NATO Scientific Affairs Division in Brussels. In addition, support was provided by the National Hellenic Research Foundation and the Ministry of Culture and Sciences for several social and scientific functions.

Praise for Introductory Raman Spectroscopy - Highlights basic theory, which is treated in an introductory fashion - Presents state-of-the-art instrumentation - Discusses new applications of Raman spectroscopy in industry and research

Protein research is a frontier field in science. Proteins are widely distributed in plants and animals and are the principal constituents of the protoplasm of all cells, and consist essentially of combinations of a-amino acids in peptide linkages. Twenty different amino acids are commonly found in proteins, and serve as enzymes, structural elements, hormones, immunoglobulins, etc., and are involved throughout the body, and in photosynthesis. This book gathers new leading-edge research from throughout the world in this exciting and exploding field of research.

Infrared and Raman Spectroscopy of Biological Materials facilitates a comprehensive and through understanding of the latest developments in vibrational spectroscopy. It contains explains key breakthroughs in the methodologies and techniques for infrared, near-infrared, and Raman spectroscopy. Topics include qualitative and quantitative analysis, biomedical applications, vibrational studies of enzymatic catalysis, and chemometrics.

Used primarily for characterizing polymers and biological systems, vibrational spectroscopy continues to uncover structural information pertinent to a growing number of applications. Vibrational Spectroscopy of Biological and Polymeric Materials compiles the latest developments in advanced infrared and Raman spectroscopic techniques that are

The last 10 years have seen an enormous growth in our understanding of the molecular organisation of biological membranes. Experimental methods have been devised to meas ure the translational and rotational mobility of lipids and proteins, thereby furnishing a quantitative basis for the concept of membrane fluidity. Likewise, the asymmetry of bi layer membranes as evidenced by the asymmetric insertion of proteins and lipids has been put on firm experimental ground. At higher molecular resolution it has been possible to provide a detailed pi2ture of the molecular conformation and dynamics of lipids and, to some extent, even of small peptides embedded in a bilayer matrix. Many of these achieve ments would not have been possible without the application of modem spectroscopic methods. Since these techniques are scattered in a variety of specialized textbooks the present monograph attempts to describe the key spectroscopic methods employed in present-day membrane research at an intermediate level. There is no question that the elusive detailed structure of the biological membrane demands a multiplicity of experi mental approaches and that no single spectroscopic method can cover the full range of physical phenomena encountered in a membrane. Much confusion in the literature has arisen by undue generalizations without considering the frequency range or other limi tations of the methods employed. It is to be hoped that the present monograph with its comprehensive description of most modem spectroscopic techniques, will contribute to- .

Molecular biology has always been a discipline of rapid development. Despite this, we are presently experiencing a period of unprecedented proliferation of information in nucleic acid studies and molecular biology. These areas are intimately interwoven, so that each influences the other to their mutual benefit. The rapid growth in information leads to ever-increasing specialization, so that it becomes increasingly difficult for a scientist to keep abreast of developments in all the various aspects of the field, although an up-to-date knowledge of the field as a whole is highly desirable. With this background in mind we present the series Nucleic Acids and Molecular Biology. It comprises focused review articles by active researchers who report on the newest developments in their areas of particular interest.