title: Analytical applications of Fourier transform-infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy in microbiology and prion research.
abstract: A genuine biophysical method, Fourier transform-infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy has become a versatile research tool in biochemistry and biomedicine. Topical applications in microbiology and prion research are impressive illustrations of the vigorous evolution of the technique. FT-IR spectroscopy has established itself as a powerful method for the rapid differentiation and identification of microorganisms, thereby contributing to both clinical medicine and the prevention of bioterrorism. It has also led to considerable progress in various other fields of basic research, not least in prion sciences. In this field, FT-IR spectroscopy has been increasingly applied as a tool for elucidating structural features of the pathological prion protein, and also to study the molecular changes induced by prions in neuronal tissue and blood. This article sets out to give a review of current examples of the analytical potential of FT-IR spectroscopy in microbiology and prion research.
authors.affiliation: P24 - Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies, Robert Koch Institute, Nordufer 20, 13353 Berlin, Germany. BeekesM@rki.de
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Beekes
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lasch
authors.forename: Dieter
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Naumann
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle; D016643:Encephalopathy, Bovine Spongiform / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000378:metabolism; D017096:Prion Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000378:metabolism / Q000662:veterinary*; D011328:Prions / Q000737:chemistry*; D011489:Protein Denaturation; D017510:Protein Folding; D017433:Protein Structure, Secondary; D013045:Species Specificity; D017550:Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared / Q000379:methods / Q000662:veterinary*
chemical_list: D011328:Prions