Your browser does not fully support modern features. Please upgrade for a smoother experience.
Molecular Absorption Spectroscopy: History
Please note this is an old version of this entry, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Contributor: Yu Peng

Molecular absorption spectroscopy is the spectroscopic measurement of wavelength- or frequency-dependent attenuation of electromagnetic radiation resulting from absorption by molecules undergoing transitions between quantized energy states [1]. In ultraviolet and visible molecular absorption spectroscopy, absorption occurs primarily when incident photon energies correspond to allowed transitions between molecular electronic states, particularly transitions associated with chromophoric groups [1][2]. The measured spectrum represents absorbance or a related absorption quantity as a function of wavelength, wavenumber, or frequency, thereby describing the spectral distribution and magnitude of molecular absorption [1]. Under conditions satisfying the Beer–Lambert relationship, absorbance is related to the concentration of the absorbing molecular species, optical path length, and its molar absorption coefficient [1][3]. Within biophysical and biochemical research, biomacromolecular absorption spectra arise from intrinsic or associated chromophores, including electronic structures within proteins, nucleic acids, cofactors, and other molecular constituents [2][3]. The concept therefore encompasses the physical absorption process, its spectroscopic measurement, and the molecular spectral features generated by energy-state transitions [1][2][3].

  • Absorbance
  • UV–visible spectroscopy
  • molecular transitions
  • Beer–Lambert law

🔵 Spectroscopy Techniques in Biomedical and Chemical Research • 🟣 Biophysics • 🟡 Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology • 🔴 Life Sciences

References

  1. K. Laqua; W. H. Melhuish; M. Zander; Nomenclature, Symbols, Units and Their Usage in Spectrochemical Analysis - VII. Molecular Absorption Spectroscopy, Ultraviolet and Visible (UV/VIS) (Recommendations 1988). Pure Appl. Chem. 1988, 60, 1449-1460, 10.1351/pac198860091449.
  2. Alison Rodger; Karen Sanders. UV-Visible Absorption Spectroscopy, Biomacromolecular Applications; Elsevier: Amsterdam, NX, Netherlands, 2017; pp. 495-502. [CrossRef]
  3. María Florencia Pignataro; María Georgina Herrera; Verónica Isabel Dodero; Evaluation of Peptide/Protein Self-Assembly and Aggregation by Spectroscopic Methods. Molecules 2020, 25, 4854, 10.3390/molecules25204854.
More
This entry is offline, you can click here to edit this entry!
Academic Video Service