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Updated: Aug 12, 2025

Author Spotlight: Investigating the Motion Dynamics of the Eukaryotic Replisome Components at the Single-Molecule Level
Published on: July 26, 2024
Element- and enantiomer-selective visualization of molecular motion in real-time
R Mincigrucci1, J R Rouxel2,3, B Rossi4,5
1Elettra Sincrotrone Trieste S.C.p.A., Strada Statale 14 - km 163, 5 in AREA Science Park, 34149, Basovizza, Trieste, Italy. riccardo.mincigrucci@elettra.eu.
Abstract:
Ultrafast optical-domain spectroscopies allow to monitor in real time the motion of nuclei in molecules. Achieving element-selectivity had to await the advent of time resolved X-ray spectroscopy, which is now commonly carried at X-ray free electron lasers. However, detecting light element that are commonly encountered in organic molecules, remained elusive due to the need to work under vacuum. Here, we present an impulsive stimulated Raman scattering (ISRS) pump/carbon K-edge absorption probe investigation, which allowed observation of the low-frequency vibrational modes involving specific selected carbon atoms in the Ibuprofen RS dimer. Remarkably, by controlling the probe light polarization we can preferentially access the enantiomer of the dimer to which the carbon atoms belong.
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