Terahertz spectroscopy of bound water in nano suspensions

Abstract

The study of enzymatic protein molecules using terahertz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS) has the potential to reveal molecular activity in real time without the use of labelling. Molecular hydration, or bound water, is a critical parameter in enzyme activity and THz-TDS measurements. For the first time we experimentally measure the terahertz-frequency response of nano-sized particles of protein and their level of molecular hydration. These measurements are valuable in understanding the terahertz response of biological systems and in studying the interaction between bound water and proteins.