Nucleic Acid Photophysics and Photochemistry

This volume focuses on recent advancements in our current understanding of nucleic acid photochemistry and its relationship to biologically relevant phenomena. 

Understanding the photophysical properties of nucleic acids is an area of longstanding and active research. Over the years, the field has greatly benefitted from steady advances in spectroscopic techniques and computational methods to study molecular excited states, which have facilitated detailed studies of the behavior of nucleic acids and their components after they absorb light. Experiments performed on ultrafast time scales (femtoseconds - picoseconds) have permitted the accurate determination of excited state lifetimes, while computational studies have provided detailed microscopic information about the mechanisms involved. As our understanding of the fundamental photophysics of nucleic acids has advanced, current studies now focus on systems of higher complexity, and introduce novel optical techniques to investigate the interactions between nucleic acids and proteins. Spectroscopic studies of nucleic acids, particularly nucleic acid constructs labeled with optical probes, can yield richly detailed information important to molecular biology, biochemistry and biophysics.

This book is a must-read for anyone interested in the photophysical properties of nucleic acids and their role in biologically relevant phenomena.

Chapter 1. Computational Studies of the Photophysics and Photochemistry of Nucleic Acid Constituents.- Chapter 2. Computational Studies on Photoinduced Charge Transfer Processes in Nucleic Acids: From Watson-Crick Dimers to Quadruple Helices.- Chapter 3. The Photodynamics of Thionated Pyrimidine Nucleobases: Using Time-Resolved Photoelectron Spectroscopy to Explore Characteristics of Excited State Topographies.- Chapter 4. Nucleobases as Molecular Fossils of Prebiotic Photoselection.- Chapter 5. Excited State Dynamics in Silver-DNA Assemblies.- Chapter 6. Fluorescence-Detected Circular Dichroism Spectroscopy for Analysis of Nucleic Acids: A Practical Guide and Review.- Chapter 7. Spectroscopic Approaches for Studies of Site-Specific DNA Base and Backbone ‘Breathing’ Using Exciton-Coupled Dimer-Labeled DNA.

Spiridoula Matsika received a B.Sc. in Chemistry at the National and  Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece, and a Ph.D. in  Chemical Physics from The Ohio State University. After completing her Ph.D. she spent three years as a postdoctoral fellow at  Johns Hopkins University working with Prof. David Yarkony. In 2003  she started her independent career in theoretical chemistry at Temple  University in Philadelphia, where she is currently a Professor of  Chemistry. Spiridoula Matsika’s research interests focus on the theoretical quantum mechanical study of excited states, and theoretical modeling of photophysics and photochemistry of molecules, particularly of biological interest. 

Andrew H. Marcus received a B.A. in Chemistry at the University of California, San Diego. He received a Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from Stanford University where he worked withMichael D. Fayer on the photophysics of macromolecular systems. He was a postdoctoral fellow at the James Franck Institute, University of Chicago, where he studied the kinetics and thermodynamics of colloidal liquids with Stuart A. Rice. He began his independent research career in 1996 at the University of Oregon in Eugene, where he is currently a Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry. His research interests focus on studies of the ‘breathing’ dynamics of nucleic acids and the mechanisms of protein-nucleic acid interactions using novel ensemble and single-molecule spectroscopic methods.