Low-Temperature Ultra-Violet Absorption Spectra of Biologically Important Compounds

Abstract

THE work of Holiday¹ on the ultra-violet absorption spectra of amino-acids at room temperatures, and of Caspersson² and others on the absorption characteristics of biological material, have made clear the importance of this physical approach to the greater understanding of the living cell. It has also been known for a long time that the absorption and fluorescence spectra of solids may sharpen as the temperature is lowered ; in the inorganic field this effect has frequently been used in the interpretation of the energy states of ions. The work described in this note is the first step in an investigation of the possibilities of low-temperature microspectrography of biological material as an aid to distinguishing between various important compounds.