THE USE AND MISUSE OF FTIR SPECTROSCOPY IN THE DETERMINATION OF PROTEIN-STRUCTURE

Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy is an established tool for the structural characterization of proteins. However, many potenti al pitfalls exist for the unwary investigator. In this review we criti cally assess the application of FTIR spectroscopy to the determination of protein structure by (1) outlining the principles underlying prote in secondary structure determination by FTIR spectroscopy, (2) highlig hting the situations in which FTIR spectroscopy should be considered t he technique of choice, (3) discussing the manner in which experiments should be conducted to derive as much physiologically relevant inform ation as possible, and (4) outlining current methods for the determina tion of secondary structure from infrared spectra of proteins.