Barbara Rossi
Elettra-Sincrotrone Trieste, S.S. 114 km 163.5, Basovizza, 34149, Trieste, Italy
UV Resonance Raman (UVRR) scattering is a powerful technique for providing molecular information on the most forms of matter, including liquids and solutions of bio-macromolecules, such as proteins and DNA. Utilizing a tunable deep UV Raman system allows for selective enhancement of different chromophores within the sample, determining the usefulness of UVRR spectroscopy especially for studying very complex systems such as bio-solutions. In the past few years, there was a growing in the use of UVRR thanks to the advancements in laser technology and the development of high efficiency array detectors for the entire UV-visible region. However, the conventional laser sources suffer from the limitation of providing fixed wavelength energies, while tunable excitation radiation in the UV range allows to “map” the whole resonance landscape for matching with the best experimental conditions.
In this contribution, I will present the potentialities of the unique in the world UVRR setup working with the synchrotron radiation source available at Elettra Sincrotrone Trieste (www.elettra.eu) that results in an innovative spectroscopy facility for approaching open issues in the physical-chemistry of bio-solutions. Selected case studies will be discussed in order to show possible applications of UVRR method and the areas of interactions with other research interests.