Since the first volume on Biophysical Techniques in Photosynthesis Research, published in 1996, new experimental techniques and methods have been devised at a rapid pace. The present book is a sequel which complements the first volume by providing a comprehensive overview of the most important new techniques developed over the past ten years, especially those that are relevant for research on the mechanism and fundamental aspects of photosynthesis. The contributions are written by leading scientists in their field. The book is divided into 5 sections on Imaging, Structure, Optical and laser spectroscopy, Magnetic resonance and on Theory, respectively. Each chapter describes the basic concepts of the technique, practical applications and some of the scientific results. Possibilities and limitations from a technical as well as a scientific point of view are addressed, allowing the reader not only to recognize the potential of a particular method for his/her own quest, but to assess the resources that are required for implementation.

Imaging.- The Supramolecular Architecture of the Bacterial Photosynthetic Apparatus Studied by Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM).- Three-Dimensional Electron Microscopy. A Gateway to Photosynthetic Structure.- Non-Linear Contrast Mechanisms for Optical Microscopy.- Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Plants: Water Balance and Water Transport in Relation to Photosynthetic Activity.- Structure.- Crystallization Methods of Membrane Proteins: Practical Aspects of Crystallizing Plant Light-Harvesting Complexes.- X-ray Crystallography of Photosynthetic Proteins.- Electron Crystallography in Photosynthesis Research.- X-ray Scattering for Bio-Molecule Structure Characterization.- Mass Spectrometry-Based Methods for Studying Kinetics and Dynamics in Biological Systems.- Optical Spectroscopy.- Femtosecond Time-Resolved Infrared Spectroscopy.- Nonlinear Femtosecond Optical Spectroscopy Techniques in Photosynthesis.- (Sub)-Picosecond Spectral Evolution of Fluorescence Studied with a Synchroscan Streak-Camera System and Target Analysis.- Optical Spectroscopy of Individual Light-Harvesting Complexes.- Magnetic Resonance.- High-Field/High-Frequency Electron Paramagnetic Resonance Involving Single- and Multiple-Transition Schemes.- High-Time Resolution Electron Paramagnetic Resonance Study of Quantum Beat Oscillations Observed in Photosynthetic Reaction Center Proteins.- Distance Measurements in Photosynthetic Reaction Centers by Pulsed EPR.- Spin Labeling of Photosynthetic Systems.- Magic Angle Spinning (MAS) NMR for Structure Determination in Photosynthesis.- Photochemically Induced Dynamic Nuclear Polarization (Photo-CIDNP) Magic-Angle Spinning NMR.- Theory.- Calculations of Electrostatic Energies in Proteins Using Microscopic, Semimicroscopic and Macroscopic Models and Free-Energy Perturbation Approaches.- Theory of Excitation Energy Transfer and Optical Spectra of Photosynthetic Systems.- Molecular Dynamics Methods for Bioelectronic Systems in Photosynthesis.- Equilibrium and Dynamical Path Integral Methods in Bacterial Photosynthesis.- Density Functional Theory and Car-Parrinello Molecular Dynamics Methods.