ProfessorJasper van Thor
Professor of Molecular Biophysics
Department of Life Sciences - Faculty of Natural Sciences
Orcid identifier0000-0001-6356-3116 (opens in a new tab)
- Professor of Molecular BiophysicsDepartment of Life Sciences - Faculty of Natural Sciences
- 020 7594 5071 (Work)
- 703, Sir Ernst Chain Building, South Kensington Campus, United Kingdom
RESEARCH
Ultrafast structural dynamics
We work on the structural dynamics of light sensitive proteins and light sensitive materials, using primarily ultrafast pump-probe techniques. The main experimental methods that are used are ultrafast X-ray crystallography, ultrafast optical crystallography and ultrafast vibrational and visible spectroscopy. The research focuses on developing and using new experimental and also theoretical tools to find real-space information on ultrafast structural processes. We investigate light sensitive systems, including Fluorescent Proteins, Photosynthesis, and photoreceptor proteins such as Phytochromes and the Photoactive Yellow Protein
We combine ultrafast spectroscopy and ultrafast structural biology using X-ray Free Electron Lasers to reveal molecular dynamics details of important biological reactions.
Ultrafast spectroscopy
The ultrafast spectroscopy laboratory is a newly established state-of-the-art femtosecond spectroscopy lab located South Kensington Campus. We are using three KHz femtosecond regenerative amplifier systems to pump together seven OPA's as well as white light generators to provide a very wide range of experimental capabilities, some of which are unique, for ultrafast vibrational and visible spectroscopy, including multi-pulse and multi-colour experiments, bandwidth control and femtosecond pulse shaping in the visible, near-IR and mid-IR
Ultrafast vibrational dynamics are key and a focus in the laboratory, using broadband femtosecond infrared spectroscopy and Femtosecond Raman Spectroscopy. Complementary to our ultrafast X-ray studies we are developing methodologies for femtosecond optical crystallography, e.g. the polarised optical studies on oriented single crystals for the measurement of the structural dynamics using infrared and visible detection. For optimisation of TRIR we are using different bandgap selected 128 element MCT detector sets for dispersive and referenced detection and we develop instrumentation and software for improving sensitivity. The ultrafast spectroscopy laboratory is supported by the Royal Society, BBSRC, ERC, EPSRC and Imperial College London.
Software release - Ultrafast Spectroscopy Modelling Toolbox
SOFTWARE RELEASE - PyLDM - Open Source Lifetime Density Analysis
Ultrafast crystallography using X-ray free electron lasers
Femtosecond time resolved X-ray crystallography is a novel capability that uses X-ray Free Electron Lasers for pump-probe studies of reaction dynamics. A major challenge concerns the control of populations and coherence in protein crystals on ultrafast time scales, which needs supporting ultrafast spectroscopy, theory and calculation in order to prepare and assign femtosecond processes that are revealed. We are focusing on the development of increased experimental bandwidth and methods for detection of small transient populations. The XFEL research is supported by EPSRC and BBSRC
Recent news selection
Populations and Coherence in Femtosecond Time Resolved X-ray Crystallography
TR-SFX of biological Photoisomerisation
FEMTOSECOND INFRARED-OPTICAL CRYSTALLOGRAPHY
Polarised linear and non-linear optical measurements on oriented single crystals provide powerful and new structurally sensitive probes of protein dynamics. Femtosecond applications of visible or infrared optical crystallography methods can be uniquely analysed in real space provided that the X-ray crystallographic index is known for the laboratory orientation. The optical response functions hence become structurally filtered and response and dispersion depends on crystal symmetry.Working on the interesting problem of photosynthetic exciton dynamics, we have shown a first ultrafast infrared crystallographic dynamics analysis of Photosystem II core complexes in real space and time
Recent news selection
Femtosecond infrared crystallography of Photosystem II
Revealing photosynthetic exciton dynamics in space and time
- user-friendly data analysis for multi-pulse spectroscopy
- User friendly Graphical User Interface, Matlab based
- Global analysis of time dependent data
- Demos and manual supplied with the program
- Singular Value Decomposition (SVD) and fitting of Left Singular Vectors using any model
- Instrument Response Function (IRF) and chirp
- Standard library of reaction models supplied
- Graphically design any connectivity ('target') model
- Store and re-use fitting session parameters
Photoselection theory applied to multiple pulses in the presence of decay
- Photoselection theory for finite bleach applied to pump-probe and multi-pulse (pump-dump-probe and pump-repump-probe) spectroscopy
- Explicit population, laser field orientation and decay dependence
- Angle resolved and ensemble averaged photolysed fraction calculation
- Beam diameters included for pump1, pump2 and probe
- Choice of Gaussian and multi-mode beams
- Fractional photolysis calculation required for correcting pump-dump-probe signal amplitudes
- Provides power density dependent corrections to measured anisotropy in photoselection studies
THIS SOFTWARE IS FREE TO DOWNLOAD AND USE.
Download Ultrafast_toolbox_v1_00
Please cite:
Modelling Multi-Pulse Population Dynamics from Ultrafast Spectroscopy. van Wilderen, L.J.G., Lincoln, C.N. & van Thor, J.J. (2011) PLoS ONE 6(3): e17373. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0017373 email: j.vanthor@imperial.ac.uk
We work on the structural dynamics of light sensitive proteins and light sensitive materials, using primarily ultrafast pump-probe techniques. The main experimental methods that are used are ultrafast X-ray crystallography, ultrafast optical crystallography and ultrafast vibrational and visible spectroscopy. The research focuses on developing and using new experimental and also theoretical tools to find real-space information on ultrafast structural processes. We investigate light sensitive systems, including Fluorescent Proteins, Photosynthesis, and photoreceptor proteins such as Phytochromes and the Photoactive Yellow Protein
We combine ultrafast spectroscopy and ultrafast structural biology using X-ray Free Electron Lasers to reveal molecular dynamics details of important biological reactions.
Ultrafast spectroscopy
The ultrafast spectroscopy laboratory is a newly established state-of-the-art femtosecond spectroscopy lab located South Kensington Campus. We are using three KHz femtosecond regenerative amplifier systems to pump together seven OPA's as well as white light generators to provide a very wide range of experimental capabilities, some of which are unique, for ultrafast vibrational and visible spectroscopy, including multi-pulse and multi-colour experiments, bandwidth control and femtosecond pulse shaping in the visible, near-IR and mid-IR
Ultrafast vibrational dynamics are key and a focus in the laboratory, using broadband femtosecond infrared spectroscopy and Femtosecond Raman Spectroscopy. Complementary to our ultrafast X-ray studies we are developing methodologies for femtosecond optical crystallography, e.g. the polarised optical studies on oriented single crystals for the measurement of the structural dynamics using infrared and visible detection. For optimisation of TRIR we are using different bandgap selected 128 element MCT detector sets for dispersive and referenced detection and we develop instrumentation and software for improving sensitivity. The ultrafast spectroscopy laboratory is supported by the Royal Society, BBSRC, ERC, EPSRC and Imperial College London.
Software release - Ultrafast Spectroscopy Modelling Toolbox
SOFTWARE RELEASE - PyLDM - Open Source Lifetime Density Analysis
Ultrafast crystallography using X-ray free electron lasers
Femtosecond time resolved X-ray crystallography is a novel capability that uses X-ray Free Electron Lasers for pump-probe studies of reaction dynamics. A major challenge concerns the control of populations and coherence in protein crystals on ultrafast time scales, which needs supporting ultrafast spectroscopy, theory and calculation in order to prepare and assign femtosecond processes that are revealed. We are focusing on the development of increased experimental bandwidth and methods for detection of small transient populations. The XFEL research is supported by EPSRC and BBSRC
Recent news selection
Populations and Coherence in Femtosecond Time Resolved X-ray Crystallography
TR-SFX of biological Photoisomerisation
FEMTOSECOND INFRARED-OPTICAL CRYSTALLOGRAPHY
Polarised linear and non-linear optical measurements on oriented single crystals provide powerful and new structurally sensitive probes of protein dynamics. Femtosecond applications of visible or infrared optical crystallography methods can be uniquely analysed in real space provided that the X-ray crystallographic index is known for the laboratory orientation. The optical response functions hence become structurally filtered and response and dispersion depends on crystal symmetry.Working on the interesting problem of photosynthetic exciton dynamics, we have shown a first ultrafast infrared crystallographic dynamics analysis of Photosystem II core complexes in real space and time
Recent news selection
Femtosecond infrared crystallography of Photosystem II
Revealing photosynthetic exciton dynamics in space and time
- user-friendly data analysis for multi-pulse spectroscopy
- User friendly Graphical User Interface, Matlab based
- Global analysis of time dependent data
- Demos and manual supplied with the program
- Singular Value Decomposition (SVD) and fitting of Left Singular Vectors using any model
- Instrument Response Function (IRF) and chirp
- Standard library of reaction models supplied
- Graphically design any connectivity ('target') model
- Store and re-use fitting session parameters
Photoselection theory applied to multiple pulses in the presence of decay
- Photoselection theory for finite bleach applied to pump-probe and multi-pulse (pump-dump-probe and pump-repump-probe) spectroscopy
- Explicit population, laser field orientation and decay dependence
- Angle resolved and ensemble averaged photolysed fraction calculation
- Beam diameters included for pump1, pump2 and probe
- Choice of Gaussian and multi-mode beams
- Fractional photolysis calculation required for correcting pump-dump-probe signal amplitudes
- Provides power density dependent corrections to measured anisotropy in photoselection studies
THIS SOFTWARE IS FREE TO DOWNLOAD AND USE.
Download Ultrafast_toolbox_v1_00
Please cite:
Modelling Multi-Pulse Population Dynamics from Ultrafast Spectroscopy. van Wilderen, L.J.G., Lincoln, C.N. & van Thor, J.J. (2011) PLoS ONE 6(3): e17373. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0017373 email: j.vanthor@imperial.ac.uk