top of page

Modern Spectroscopy Lab

UV–visible Spectrophotometry

UV–visible spectrophotometry (UV-vis) is a type of spectroscopy using electromagnetic radiation in the visible to ultraviolet range. This type of spectroscopy is particularly useful to us in our search for novel small-molecule drugs. When purifying a natural compound from the environment or from de-novo synthesis, care must be taken to ensure that the compound is consistently pure, and that it actually is what we think it is. Although other more laborious methods can be employed (melting point, density, or other physical characteristics), the EM energy absorption of a compound gives us a precise look at a given sample’s chemistry. Even if the results are difficult to interpret in terms of exact chemical makeup, we can have significant confidence that our samples are consistent if they give consistent UV-vis absorbance spectra. 

 

We are a small lab, working with and studying A LOT of compounds. UV-vis offers us a fast and dependable way to categorize, and have reasonable quality control of the chemicals we are interested in.

UV vis.jpg

A Cary UV-vis Spectrophotometer

bottom of page