Our knowledge of biological macromolecules and their interactions is based on the application of physical methods, ranging from classical thermodynamics to recently developed techniques for the detection and manipulation of single molecules. These methods, which include mass spectrometry, hydrodynamics, microscopy, diffraction and crystallography, electron microscopy, molecular dynamics simulations, and nuclear magnetic resonance, are complementary; each has its specific advantages and limitations. Organised by method, this textbook provides descriptions and examples of applications for the key physical methods in modern biology. It is an invaluable resource for undergraduate and graduate students of molecular biophysics in science and medical schools, as well as research scientists looking for an introduction to techniques beyond their specialty. As appropriate for this interdisciplinary field, the book includes short asides to explain physics aspects to biologists and biology aspects to physicists.
Foreword; Preface; 1. Biological macromolecules and physical tools; 2. Mass spectroscopy; 3. Thermodynamics; 4. Hydrodynamics; 5. Optical spectroscopy; 6. Optical microscopy; 7. X-ray and neutron diffraction; 8. Electron diffraction; 9. Molecular dynamics; 10. Nuclear magnetic resonance; References.
Igor N. Serdyuk is Professor of Molecular Biology and Head of the Laboratory of Nucleoprotein Physics at the Institute of Protein Research, Pushchino, Russia. Nathan R. Zaccai is a research associate at the Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Cambridge. Jospeh Zaccai is Senior Fellow for Biology at the Institut Laue-Langevin and Directeur de Recherche of the Centre Nationale de la Recherche Scientifique.
'! a valuable contribution to the field. ! There is nothing quite like it at the moment.' Sir Tom Blundell FRS, FMedSci , Professor and Head, Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge '! one of the most comprehensive and highly relevant texts on biophysics that I have encountered in the last 10 years, clearly written and up-to-date ! a must-have for biophysicists working in all lines of research ...' Nikolaus Grigorieff, Professor of Biochemistry, Brandeis University '! a wonderful up-to-date treatise on the many and diverse methods used ! in the fields of molecular biophysics, physical biochemistry, molecular biology, biological physics and the new and emerging field of quantum nanobiology.' Karl J. Jalkanen, Associate Professor of Biophysics, Quantum Protein Centre, Technological University of Denmark '! a valuable resource for novice and seasoned biophysicists alike.' Dan Minor, California Institute for Quantitative Biomedical Research University of California, San Francisco '! the book I consult first when faced with an unfamiliar experimental technique. Both classic analytical techniques and the latest single-molecule methods appear in this single comprehensive reference.' Philip Nelson, Department of Physics, University of Pennsylvania, and author of Biological Physics (2004) '! valuable both for students and research scientists.' Michael G. Rossmann, Hanley Professor of Biological Sciences, Purdue University 'A great achievement ! awaits the student who reads this book ! an excellent reference for the seasoned practitioner of biophysical chemistry.' Milton H Werner, Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics, The Rockefeller University 'This well written, thorough, and elegantly illustrated book provides the connections between molecular biophysics and biology that every aspiring young biologist needs.' Stephen H. White, Department of Physiology and Biophysics, University of California at Irvine '! I enthusiastically recommend Methods in Molecular Biophysics to anyone who wishes to know more about the techniques by which the properties of biological macromolecules are determined.' David Worcester, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri - Columbia