Started in 2015, the research project aims at developing VCD spectroscopy into a genuinely widely applicable analytical method. VCD has great potential for determining solution-state structure and conformation as well as absolute configuration of chiral (bio)molecular systems in general, and of chiral components of smart materials in particular.

User-friendly toolbox

Although VCD is a very powerful method to provide this information, it requires extensive computational and experimental efforts. This reduces its ease and range of applicability and thus its perspective for widespread industrial application.

To change this, the HIMS Molecular Photonics researchers led by Prof. Wybren Jan Buma are developing an efficient and user-friendly toolbox for VCD analysis together with the Computational Chemistry group of Prof. Luuk Visscher from VU University Amsterdam, the computational chemistry software company SCM (Amsterdam) and the world leader of VCD equipment BioTools (Jupiter, Florida). Prof. Larry Nafie, CTO of BioTools, is one of the founding fathers of the field.

The project includes the development of novel algorithms to reduce computational turn-around time; of Resonance Enhanced VCD spectroscopy (and implementation of the relevant equations to allow analysis of RE-VCD spectra); and of a general response theory approach to VCD analysis.

The state-of-the-art VCD spectrometer now installed at the UvA/HIMS laboratory will play a key role in the development of the VCD toolbox. To this end supplier BioTools has fitted the apparatus with proprietary features to facilitate the toolbox development. These features make the spectrometer an unparalleled, one-of-a-kind instrument. To mark the 'special delivery' of the VCD spectrometer both Prof. Larry Nafie and the CEO of BioTools, Dr. Rina Dukor, attended the symposium last Friday.