The three volumes in Methods in Molecular Biology covering Physical
Methods of Analysis (vol. 1, Spectroscopic Methods and Analyses: NMR,
Mass Spectrometry, and Metalloprotein Techniques; vol. 2, Optical
Spectroscopy and Macroscopic Techniques; vol. 3, Cryst- lographic
Methods and Techniques) differ from others in this series in several
ways. Each volume covers a group of techniques for the char- terization
of biological molecules and their interactions that involve the
application of modern techniques of physical chemistry. These techniques
by and large do not lend themselves to the "hands-on" approach and
cannot usually be carried out by the molecular biologist alone, but most
often require collaboration with a specialist. The biologist or
biochemist contemplating such a collaboration may feel somewhat at a
distance from the experimental work and further isolated by the use of
the jargons of analytical and physical chemistry. Physical methods have
been used in molecular biology from the earliest days, from simple
applications of optical spectroscopy to the complexity of X-ray
crystallography, and the full range of these me- ods will be covered
over the three volumes. The methods dealt with in this first volume have
largely developed from beginnings in small molecule chemistry to the
point where they play a valuable role in the characterization of
biological macromolecules.