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Updated: Aug 2, 2026

Electron Spin Resonance Micro-imaging of Live Species for Oxygen Mapping
Published on: August 27, 2010
High-field electron spin resonance of spin labels in membranes
Derek Marsh1, Dieter Kurad, Vsevolod A Livshits
1Max-Planck-Institut für biophysikalische Chemie, Abteilung Spektroskopie, Göttingen 37070, Germany. dmarsh@gwdg.de
Abstract:
High-field electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy is currently undergoing rapid development. This considerably increases the versatility of spin labelling which, at conventional field strengths, is already well established as a powerful physical technique in membrane biology. Among the unique advantages offered by high-field spectroscopy, particularly for spin-labelled lipids, are sensitivity to non-axial rotation and lateral ordering, a better orientational selection, an extended application to rotational dynamics, and an enhanced sensitivity to environmental polarity. These areas are treated in some depth, along with a detailed consideration of recent developments in the investigation of transmembrane polarity profiles.
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