Partner 10. Freiburg University (ALU-FR)
Physikalisches Institut, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg
Hermann-Herder-Strasse 3, D-79104 Freiburg, Germany
Scientific team
| Name | Position | Task | ||
| Peter Uhd Jepsen (PUJ) | Assistant Professor | THz-Team leader | ||
| Hanspeter Helm (HH) | Full Professor | Department leader | ||
| Matthias Hoffmann (MH) | Ph.D. Student | Development of new THz technology | ||
| Bernd Fischer (BF) | Ph.D. Student | THz spectroscopy of small biomolecular systems | ||
| Markus Walther (MW) | Ph.D. Student | THz spectroscopy of large biomolecules | ||
| Dmitry Turchinovich (DT) | Ph.D. Student | Time-resolved THz spectroscopy of semiconductors | ||
| Ulrich Person (UP) | Technician | Construction and handling of vacuum equipment | ||
| Isabella Siegel (IS) | Technician | Technical and electronic support |
The group in Freiburg already has good collaboration with the partner USTUTT on spectroscopic investigations
of sugars in the frequency range 0.05 - 4 THz. During the last 12 months of the THz-BRIDGE project this collaboration
will continue. We collaborate with the partner at ENEA Frascati and ICEmB on the main topic of research, spectroscopic
characterization of lymphocytes. A Ph.D. student will be seconded by the partner UFRANK to carry out this work
in Freiburg.
Workplan
With the experience on far-infrared spectroscopy of biological systems, the group in Freiburg will contribute
to the project workpackage 1 (WP-1) as described below.
The group will perform a spectral characterization of the main constituents of whole blood (serum, lymphocytes,
white and red blood cells), in the form of isolated samples. This information will be used by the partner ENEA
Frascati to refine SAR values for whole blood and its constituents. Samples will be prepared with assistance from
the blood bank at the University Hospital in Freiburg, in accordance with protocols developed by the partner ICEmB.
Additionally, dielectric spectra of biomolecules in the THz range, recorded in Freiburg, will be made available
to the public database which is currently being set up within the framework of the THz-BRIDGE project.
Allocated human resources:
| Ph.D. student seconded by UFRANK | 12 months | ||||
| PUJ: | 2 months | ||||
| BF: | 1 month | ||||
| MH: | 1 month | ||||
| MW: | 1 month | ||||
| Technicians: | 1 month | ||||
| ----------------- | |||||
| Total: | 18 months |
ALU-FR will contribute to the following deliverables:
| Deliv. N. | Deliverable title |
Deliv. |
Nature |
Dissemination |
| D-12 | Database of relevant frequencies to provide high contrast in imaging applications |
24 |
R |
RE |
| D-15 | Report on spectral assignment to molecular structures |
36 |
R |
PU |
| D-16 | Review of spectroscopy measurements in the THz region - Update of databases |
36 |
R |
PU |
Background expertise and equipment available
The group in Freiburg has been pioneering in the development and refinement of terahertz time-domain spectroscopy
since 1992. With an accumulated experience exceeding 30 man-years, the group has large expertise in spectroscopy
of a wide range of materials in the far infrared. The group uses two different commercial femtosecond laser systems
(a low-power oscillator and a regenerative amplifier system) to operate two THz time-domain spectrometers. The
laboratories are fully equipped with modern optical and electronic equipment required to operate the systems in
the most efficient manner. The requested funding from the THz-BRIDGE project will be used as partial support to
set up a third spectrometer, thereby increasing the productivity significantly.
Since 2000 the group has been active in investigations of far-infrared properties of biological systems. Special
emphasis has so far been on obtaining a better understanding of the basic physical mechanisms leading to distinct
absorption features in large organic systems in the far infrared, such as intermolecular hydrogen bonding and low-energy
interactions such as van der Waals forces and dispersion interactions.
References
M. Walther, B. M. Fischer & P. U. Jepsen, "Noncovalent intermolecular forces in polycrystalline and
amorphous saccharides in the far infrared", Chem. Phys. 288, 269 (2003).
B. M. Fischer, M. Walther & P. U. Jepsen, "Far-infrared vibrational modes of DNA components studied by
terahertz time-domain spectroscopy", Phys. Med. Biol. 47, 3807 (2002)
M. Walther, P. Plochocka, B. Fischer, H. Helm, and P. U. Jepsen, "Collective vibrational modes in biological
molecules investigated by terahertz time-domain spectroscopy", Biospectroscopy (Biopolymers) 67, 310 (2002)
M. Walther, B. Fischer, M. Schall, H. Helm & P. U. Jepsen, "Far-infrared vibrational spectra of all-trans,
9-cis and 13-cis retinal measured by THz time-domain spectroscopy", Chem. Phys. Lett. 332, 389 (2000).
M. Schall, M. Walther, and P. Uhd Jepsen, "Fundamental and second-order phonon processes in CdTe and ZnTe",
Phys. Rev. B 64, 094301 (2001).