Biological applications of picosecond spectroscopy.

Technological advances in picosecond spectroscopy have permitted the mechanisms of various chemical, physical and biological processes to be elucidated and understood to a greater degree than ever before. By means of picosecond emission, absorption and Raman spectroscopy, one can probe and measure directly the transient intermediates and kinetics of primary events in complex biological processes. A description of two current types of laser systems--solid-state and synchronously pumped dye lasers--and their application to determining the primary events in the biological processes of dissociation of oxy- and carboxymyoglobin, excited-state relaxation of porphyrins and visual transduction, illustrate the power of picosecond spectroscopy.