2D-IRspectroscopy: ultrafast insights into biomolecule structure and function

Abstract

Ultrafast 2D-IR spectroscopy is rapidly becoming a valuable tool for examining the relationship between structure and function of biomolecules. The unique combination of molecular-level structural information and ultrafast time resolution gives previously inaccessible insights relating to the rapid structural fluctuations, vibrational dynamics and solvent–solute interactions of proteins, all of which have important implications for the biological function of these species. In this tutorial review, the method and development of ultrafast 2D-IR spectroscopy is discussed, including an introduction to the two main experimental approaches, double resonance and photon echo 2D-IR, and the extension of the technique to non-equilibrium or transient 2D-IR measurements. The scope of the new information available through 2D-IR spectroscopy is then demonstrated by reference to the current state of the art of 2D-IR studies of molecules of biological interest.