Knowledge Bank

Experimental techniques designed to obtain resonance Raman spectra of short-lived intermediates during photolytically-induced reactions will be described. These methods use high peak power ($>$ 1 MW), pulsed laser excitation to generate Raman scattering and intensified vidicons as multi-wavelength detectors. The time resolution available extends from $10-8$ to several seconds. Studies of labile biophysical systems (oxyhemoglobin and cytochrome c) have demonstrated that resonance Raman spectra obtained with such high peak-power excitation exhibit no saturation or denaturation $effects1$ Results on the reaction intermediates in the ligation of hemoglobin and the oxidative photocyclization of substituted amines to carbazoles will be presented to illustrate the capabilities of these techniques.