circular dichroism (CD)
A technique for determination of the asymmetry of a molecule. Unlike in a conventional polarimeter, where light is restricted to oscillation in a plane, in CD the direction of oscillation turns clockwise around the direction of the beam (right-circularly polarized) or counter-clockwise (left-circularly polarized). CD is expressed as (AL-AR)/lm, where for any wavelength AL and AR are the absorbances of left- and right-circularly polarized light respectively, l is the pathlength through a solution, and m is the molarity of a chiral solute. A CD spectrum of a protein in the far-ultraviolet, where the peptide bond absorbs, is characteristic of its conformation, whether α-helix, β-sheet or random coil. (see also optical rotation; optical rotatory dispersion (ORD))Johnson, W.C., Jr. (1988) Annu. Rev. Biophys. Biophys. Chem. 17, 145-166
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