Circular Dichroism Spectroscopy: Principle and Application

Circular dichroism spectroscopy is generally used to determine the secondary and tertiary structure of proteins. Its principle is based on differential absorption of left- and right-handed polarized light. To be detected by CD, the molecule should be asymmetrical; hence, the molecule should have one or more chiral chromophore. As optically active molecules absorb left- and right-handed circular polarized light differently, it becomes the basis of determining the biomolecule. There are different types of CD techniques depending upon the scanning spectrum range. Protein secondary structure is determined by UV CD technique. Similarly, vibrational CD and IR CD are used to study the structure of small organic molecules, proteins, and DNA, respectively.

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Author information

  1. Suchismita Subadini, Pratyush Ranjan Hota and Devi Prasanna Behera have contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Biophysical and Protein Chemistry Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, National Institute of Technology (NIT) Rourkela, Rourkela, Odisha, India Suchismita Subadini, Pratyush Ranjan Hota, Devi Prasanna Behera & Harekrushna Sahoo
  2. Center of Nanomaterials, National Institute of Technology (NIT) Rourkela, Rourkela, Odisha, India Harekrushna Sahoo
  1. Suchismita Subadini