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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik

BP 14: Posters: Protein Structure and dynamics

BP 14.16: Poster

Tuesday, April 1, 2014, 09:30–12:30, P1

Optical activity of chiral molecules and its analog on a macroscopic scale — •Carina Häusler, Hendrik Bettermann, and Mathias Getzlaff — Institute of Applied Physics, University of Duesseldorf

Optical activity of chiral molecules like proteins in nm-range is barely understood due to its complex behavior but it may provide a new non-invasive blood sugar measurement for diabetes patients. It is the goal to develop an experimental setup for students which demonstrates the analogy between nm-sized molecules and cm-sized helices. The latter creates a simple approach for this optical phenomenon without the use of chemical processes. The measurement setup consists of a source for linearly polarized light and an analyzer to determine the degree of rotation of the electric field vector after transmission. Biologically relevant substances like glucose, fructose, and camphor are studied by visible light whereas chiral copper helices with dimensions in the cm-regime are studied by radiation in the GHz range. The specific amount of rotation is identified in both scales in the same way which is not known for molecules in cm-range yet. The data also shows a direct comparison of enantiomeric excess in both scales. Furthermore, the experiment demonstrates the mutarotation of glucose and a wavelength depending amount of rotation in the nm-range.