Laser spectroscopy probes of biomolecular conformation: Valley-to-valley searches for molecular-scale mountain passes

This talk will describe recent studies of the spectroscopy and conformational isomerization dynamics of isolated gas-phase biomolecules with several flexible coordinates. These studies employ conformation-specific excitation and detection, taking advantage of the unique infrared and ultraviolet signatures of the individual conformations when cooled in a supersonic expansion. The examples given will include recent studies of the bichromophore 3-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-N-benzyl-propionamide (HNBPA) and of the `double-chain' molecule O-(acetamidoethyl)-$N$-acetyltyramine (OANAT). \newline \newline In collaboration with Jasper Clarkson, Esteban Baquero, Virgil Shubert, Tracy LeGreve and William James, Dept. of Chemistry, Purdue University.