Photochemistry of Proteins and Nucleic Acids focuses on the effects of ultraviolet and visible radiations on proteins and nucleic acids. The book first discusses some principles of photochemistry, including the laws of photochemistry and factors influencing photochemical reactions in solutions. The text describes absorption and luminescence spectra of nucleoproteins and their components, including principal absorbing groups in proteins, nucleic acids, and nucleoproteins. The selection also highlights the action of ultraviolet light on proteins; photochemical and photosensitized inactivation of enzymes; and the photochemistry of purine and pyrimidine derivatives. The text also discusses nucleic acids and oligo- and polynucleotides. Topics include photochemical degradation of nucleic acid; kinetics of biological inactivation of nucleic acids; nucleoproteins; and reversibility of nucleic acid photolysis. The book also encompasses the inactivation of viruses, including inactivation studies with a plant virus, bacteriophages, and photochemically produced vaccines. The text also presents some problems in photobiology and some techniques in photochemistry. The text is a good source of information for readers interested in the study of proteins and nucleic acids.Based on the standards and codes from Fo

Photochemistry and Photobiology of Nucleic Acids, Volume I: Chemistry covers the historical developments in the study of photobiology and photochemistry of nucleic acid components. This volume is divided into 12 chapters that deal with the isolation and characterization of ultraviolet photoproducts of pyrimidines. After briefly covering the concepts of photochemistry of nucleic acids, this volume goes on describing the UV-induced physical and chemical alterations in nucleic acid components, such as pyrimidines, purines, their nucleosides and nucleotides, and related compounds. Significant chap ...

Molecular Photobiology: Inactivation and Recovery describes the deleterious photochemical reactions occurring in biological systems. This book is composed of 10 chapters that specifically tackle light interactions in the ultraviolet region of the spectrum resulting to damaged proteins and nucleic acids in living systems. This book deals first with the kinds of photochemical reactions that can occur and the possible effects of photochemistry on molecular, cellular, and organismal levels. The succeeding chapters highlight the principle of recovery mechanisms, wherein evidence shows that cells can repair their damaged genetic material, and thus recover from the otherwise inactivating effects of light. The remaining chapters are devoted to the comparison and contrast of some biological effects of ionizing radiation and those of ultraviolet radiation. This book is of value to molecular photobiologists, photochemists, biochemists, and radiation scientists and researchers.

This book is a self-contained introduction to the theory of atomic motion in proteins and nucleic acids. An understanding of such motion is essential because it plays a crucially important role in biological activity. The authors, both of whom are well known for their work in this field, describe in detail the major theoretical methods that are likely to be useful in the computer-aided design of drugs, enzymes and other molecules. A variety of theoretical and experimental studies is described and these are critically analyzed to provide a comprehensive picture of dynamic aspects of biomolecular structure and function. The book will be of interest to graduate students and research workers in structural biochemistry (X-ray diffraction and NMR), theoretical chemistry (liquids and polymers), biophysics, enzymology, molecular biology, pharmaceutical chemistry, genetic engineering and biotechnology.

Bioinorganic photochemistry is a rapidly evolving field integrating inorganic photochemistry with biological, medical and environmental sciences. The interactions of light with inorganic species in natural systems, and the applications in artificial systems of medical or environmental importance, form the basis of this challenging inter-disciplinary research area. Bioinorganic Photochemistry provides a comprehensive overview of the concepts and reactions fundamental to the field, illustrating important applications in biological, medical and environmental sciences. Topics covered include: Cosmic and environmental photochemistry Photochemistry of biologically relevant nanoassemblies Molecular aspects of photosynthesis Photoinduced electron transfer in biosystems Modern therapeutic strategies in photomedicine The book concludes with an outlook for the future of environmental protection, discussing emerging techniques in the field of pollution abatement, and the potential for bioinorganic photochemistry as a pathway to developing cheap, environmentally friendly sources of energy. Written as an authoritative guide for researchers involved in the development of bioinorganic photochemical processes, Bioinorganic Photochemistry is also accessible to scientists new to the field, and will be a key reference source for advanced courses in inorganic, and bioinorganic chemistry.

This is the most updated, comprehensive collection of monographs on all aspects of photochemistry and photophysics related to natural and synthetic, inorganic, organic, and biological supramolecular systems. Supramolecular Photochemistry: Controlling Photochemical Processes addresses reactions in crystals, organized assemblies, monolayers, zeolites, clays, silica, micelles, polymers, dendrimers, organic hosts, supramolecular structures, organic glass, proteins and DNA, and applications of photosystems in confined media. This landmark publication describes the past, present, and future of this growing interdisciplinary area.

The central role of the ribonucleic acids (RNA) in mediating the expression of information encoded in DNA in living cells is now well established. Research in this area of biology continues at a remarkable rate, and new and significant information appears almost daily in a wide range of journals, published symposia and specialist reviews. The diverse nature of this information makes it difficult for the newcomer to the field of RNA biochemistry to obtain a general view of established concepts, current activity, and new advances. Moreover, the reviews available are frequently concerned with insular aspects of these Ubiquitous molecules, or in the case of text books, the subject is treated as part of a general outline of proper ties of nucleic acids and thus may be superficial. The authors of the chapters in this collection attempt to provide a comprehensive, though not overly detailed, outline of the biologi cal roles of RNA. They have written for students with basic training in biochemistry, but otherwise with a wide variety of biological interests-plant physiology, virology, organelle bio chemistry, genetics, cell biology, differentiation and development. Viral RNA, which was dealt with as a separate chapter in the first edition, has been deleted from this edition because it is an unman ageably large single topic, and at the same time is addressed in a number of ways in many different places in the book.

Photochemistry and Photobiology of Nucleic Acids: Volume II, Biology is a collection of papers that deals with the biological effects due to stable UV induced alterations in critical cellular macromolecules, including cell death, growth delay, mutagenesis, and carcinogenesis. The papers assume that DNA is the macromolecule most relevant to cell pathology, as well as to the photochemical and photobiological properties of RNA which are essential in cellular functions. One paper investigates the UV-induced cross-linkings of proteins with nucleic acids as a possible cause of biological effects other than just in terms of the damage done to nucleic acids. Other papers discuss the mechanisms of protection against, and in the repair of damage caused by UV photons and by ionizing radiation (also chemical mutagens) in many organisms from viruses to mammalian cells. The repair processes appear to play a role in monitoring and preserving the structural integrity of DNA during physiological processes such as replication and transcription. One paper notes that in experiments on human embryonic lung fibroblasts WI-38 at very high radiation doses, radiation products of Thy in acid-soluble form appear while products from the DNA (acid-precipitable fraction) disappear. The paper suggests that the excision process is therefore selective. The collection is suitable for biochemists, microbiologists, or academicians whose works involve genetics, cancer, and cellular research.

The goals of the science of photobiology can be divided into four categories: to develop (I) ways to optimize the beneficial effects of light on man and his environment, (2) methods to protect organisms, including man, from the detrimental effects of light, (3) photochemical tools for use in studies of life processes, and (4) photochemical therapies in medicine. To achieve these goals will require the knowledgeable collaboration of biologists, chemists, engineers, mathematicians, physicians, and physicists; because photobiology is a truly multidisciplinary science. While a multidis ciplinary science is more intellectually demanding, it also has a greater potential for unexpected breakthroughs that can occur when data from several areas of science are integrated into new concepts for theoretical or practical use. Photochemical and Photobiological Reviews continues to provide in depth coverage of the many specialty areas of photobiology. It is hoped that these reviews will provide an important service to the younger scientists in the field and to senior scientists in related fields, because they provide a ready access to the recent literature in the field, and more importantly, they frequently offer a critical evaluation of the direction that the field is taking, or suggest a redirection when appropriate. Since it is important that this review series remain responsive to the needs of photochemists and photobiologists, the Editor would value com ments and suggestions from its readers.

The first edition of The Science of Photobiology was published in 1977, and was the first textbook to cover all of the major areas of photobiology. The science of photobiology is currently divided into 14 subspecialty areas by the American Society for Photobiology. In this edition, however, the topics of phototechnology and spectroscopy have been com bined in a new chapter entitled "Photophysics." The other subspecialty areas remain the same, i.e., Photochemistry, Photosensitization, UV Radiation Effects, Environmental Photobiology, Photomedicine, Circadian Rhythms, Extraretinal Photoreception, Vision, Photomorphogenesis, Photomovement, Photosynthesis, and Bioluminescence. This book has been written as a textbook to introduce the science of photobiology to advanced undergraduate and graduate students. The chapters are written to provide a broad overview of each topic. They are designed to contain the amount of information that might be presented in a one-to two-hour general lecture. The references are not meant to be exhaustive, but key references are included to give students an entry into the literature. Frequently a more recent reference that reviews the literature will be cited rather than the first paper by the author making the original discovery. The chapters are not meant to be a repository of facts for research workers in the field, but rather are concerned with demon strating the importance of each specialty area of photobiology, and documenting its relevance to current and/or future problems of man.