Measurements of optical activity have long played an essential role in the development of organic chemistry and biochemistry. The study of optical rotatory dispersion (ORD) or circular dichroism (CD) provides important information about the electronic states or structures of individual molecules or ions. These techniques are used when studying absolute configurations of molecules, reaction mechanisms and kinetics, asymmetric or stereospecific syntheses, thermodynamic properties of dissolved species, and many other stereochemical problems. This award from the Chemistry Research Instrumentation Program to the Department of Chemistry at the University of Colorado at Boulder will help them acquire a Circular Dichrograph. The acquisition will enhance chemical research in the following areas: 1. Circular Dichroism as a Method for Probing Ribozyme Conformation and Substrate Binding. 2. Applications of Circular Dichroism in Studies of Protein Structural Dynamics. 3. Solution Structures of Antimicrobial Peptides. 4. Analysis of Protein Circular Dichroism by Theory and Experiment. 5. Magnetic Circular Dichroism.
