Seminars Archive

Understanding radiation damage to biomolecules--- a decade of research collaboration with the GasPhase beamline at Elettra

Abstract
A significant number of scientific discoveries were driven by combined accurate experiment with theory. Synchrotron sourced spectroscopic experiments measure physical properties of materials, which should be predictable, in principle, by solving the quantum-mechanical equations governing their constituent electrons. Such calculations require only a small number of chemical elements in appropriate positions through forces. This presentation will cover a decade of international collaborations between Swinburne University of Technology (Australia) and gasphase beamline at Elletra Synchrotron through postgraduate training program, in the study of radiation damages to biomolecules. Biomolecules with mutual research interest includes amino acids, peptides/dipeptides, quorum sensing singling molecules, radiosensitizers and antioxidants etc. have been studied in the past ten years at the gas phase beamline for both core and valence ionization spectra, leading to impressive research outcome and completions of PhD students. The measured ionization spectra, in particular core ionization, provide powerful information for electronic structures of these molecules and for validation of theoretical models. In return, theoretical models are further applied to study other molecular properties which are hardly accessible. The joint experiment and theoretical studies in the past decade provide significant information for our understanding to building blocks of life.