Details of Grant 

EPSRC Reference:	GR/R63035/01
Title:	Transformation of existing Raman optical activity instuments to advance studies of biomolecules
Principal Investigator:	Hecht, Dr L
Other Investigators:	Barron, Professor L
Researcher Co-Investigators:
Project Partners:
Department:	School of Chemistry
Organisation:	University of Glasgow
Scheme:	Standard Research (Pre-FEC)
Starts:	01 March 2002	Ends:	29 February 2004	Value (£):	173,368
EPSRC Research Topic Classifications:	Biological & Medicinal Chem. Chemical Biology Chemical Structure
EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications:	Chemicals Healthcare Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology No relevance to Underpinning Sectors
Related Grants:
Panel History:
Summary on Grant Application Form
Although we have demonstrated that ROA has evolved into a powerful new biochemical spectroscopy, more widespread use of the technique is hampered by several basic problems such as the need for relatively high sample concentrations and consequently rather long measurement times due to current limits in sensitivity and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). Since short and long term instabilities of the excitation sources currently employed in our two ROA instruments significantly degrade sensitivity and SNR, we propose to replace our old and relatively noisy argon ion lasers with state-of-the-art and approximately ten times more stable frequency-doubled solid state lasers to improve upon sensitivity and SNR of our ROA measurements. We also propose to substitute our old and slow CCD cameras with new generation CCD detectors exhibiting extremely low noise characteristics and much faster readout electronics to significantly decrease existing dead time in the current ROA duty cycle. The implementation of these very stable and economic solid state lasers together with the use of the faster new generation CCD detectors would result in reduced ROA data acquisition times. The overall performance of the transformed instruments will be tested and critically evaluated by performing a variety of different benchmark experiments. The instruments would subsequently be employed to enhance our extensive ongoing studies of solution structure, dynamics and function of polypeptides, proteins, nucleic acids and viruses.
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Organisation Website:	http://www.gla.ac.uk