Biopolymers perform important cellular processes, which are isolated,
purified and studied with the help of a wide range of biophysical, electrochemical and
molecular biology techniques such as NMR, X-ray Crystallography, Electron
Microscopy, and Electron Tomography. X-ray Crystallography helps us to establish 3D
structures of small and large molecules at atomic resolution via the X-ray diffraction
method, whereas NMR determines the content and purity of a sample. Electron
microscopy obtains high-resolution images of biological and non-biological specimens
and electron tomography provides three-dimensional density maps of the pleomorphic
organism from macromolecular complexes to cells.
All these techniques, discussed in this unit, provide us a greater insight to unravel the
mystery of complex organisms and to understand the structure and functional
properties of the biomolecules.
Keywords: Fourier transform, Macromolecules, Mosaicity, Pleomorphism,
Synchrotons.