Methods of Molecular Analysis in the Life Sciences

Delivering fundamental insights into the most popular methods of molecular analysis, this text is an invaluable resource for students and researchers. It encompasses an extensive range of spectroscopic and spectrometric techniques used for molecular analysis in the life sciences, especially in the elucidation of the structure and function of biological molecules. Covering the range of up-to-date methodologies from everyday mass spectrometry and centrifugation to the more probing X-ray crystallography and surface-sensitive techniques, the book is intended for undergraduates starting out in the laboratory and for more advanced postgraduates pursuing complex research goals. The comprehensive text provides strong emphasis on the background principles of each method, including equations where they are of integral importance to the individual techniques. With sections on all the major procedures for analysing biological molecules, this book will serve as a useful guide across a range of fields, from new drug discovery to forensics and environmental studies.

Table of Contents:
Foreword Robert Huber; Preface; Lists of dimensions and constants; 1. Introduction; 2. Spectroscopic methods; 3. Structural methods; 4. Physical methods; 5. Surface-sensitive methods; References; Index.

About the Author :
Andreas Hofmann is the Structural Chemistry Program Leader at Griffith University's Eskitis Institute in Brisbane, Australia, and an Honorary Research Fellow at the Faculty of Veterinary Sciences at the University of Melbourne. His research focuses on the structure and function of proteins in infectious and neurodegenerative diseases with a special interest in protein crystallography and absorption and light scattering spectroscopy. He won the EULAR Young Investigator Award in 2004. Anne Simon is an Associate Professor at the University Lyon 1 in France. Her research in the area of structural biology focuses on material biofunctionalisation, biomaterials, cellular adhesion, supported or free-standing lipid membranes, the study of biological membrane properties and membrane proteins. Tanja Grkovic is the NMR Professional Officer based at the Eskitis Institute for Drug Discovery at Griffith University in Brisbane, Australia. She studies the natural products chemistry of marine microbes, natural product-based drug discovery, and the applications of NMR-based spectroscopic methods in the structure elucidation of small molecules. Malcolm Jones is Associate Professor of Veterinary Biology and Parasitology at the University of Queensland, Australia, and visiting scientist at the Queensland Institute of Medical Research. His research interests lie in molecular and cell biological approaches to understanding the biology and control of pathogenic helminth (worm) infections.

Review :
'The book by Hofmann et al. is an invaluable tool for students (and even more advanced practitioners) in the field of experimental biochemistry and biophysics. It covers in considerable detail a variety of methods and provides very clear explanation on how they can be applied and what can be learned during the process. The book is very well illustrated and uses relatively simple language, although never oversimplified. Its particular strength is in covering a number of methods in a single volume, making it a great reference.' Alexander Wlodawer, Macromolecular Crystallography Laboratory, National Cancer Institute, Maryland 'Methods of Molecular Analysis in the Life Sciences is a much needed overview of the key analytical techniques currently utilized for biomolecule characterization in the life sciences including mass spectrometry, x-ray crystallography and a host of other techniques. The authors do an excellent job of integrating relevant theoretical considerations of each technique alongside important applications in the life sciences. Each section of the book is filled with literature references, links to additional information on the web, as well as key reference data for each technique. The book will no doubt prove to be a valuable resource to those working in the life sciences including both students and researchers alike.' Kevin Blackburn, Mass Spectrometry Laboratory Manager, North Carolina State University '… a text that delivers the fundamental insights into the most popular methods of molecular analysis in a concise and accessible fashion.' Robert Huber, Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry, from the Foreword