Polarized attenuated total reflectance spectra of oriented purple membranes

The technique of polarized Fourier transform infrared attenuated total reflectance spectroscopy has been applied to the study of oriented purple membranes of Halobacterium cutirubrum. This method offers a fast and simple approach for probing conformations of proteins in-situ and capable of obtaining polarized infrared spectra at an angle of incidence that is much greater than the Brewster angle.