Circular Dichroism Instrumentation

Circular dichroism (CD) measures the difference in absorption between the two rotations of circularly polarized light by an asymmetric molecule. Most biological molecules are asymmetric, and their measured CD is sensitive to their conformation. In the case of biological polymers, CD is the method of choice for monitoring secondary structure. The technique is nondestructive, requires only a small amount of material, and can be applied to molecules in solution.