Elucidating the structure of chiral molecules by using amplified vibrational circular dichroism: from theory to experimental realization

Recent experimental observations of enhanced vibrational circular dichroism (VCD) in molecular systems with low-lying electronically excited states suggest interesting new applications of VCD spectroscopy. The theory describing VCD enhancement through vibronic coupling schemes was derived by Nafie in 1983, but only recently experimental evidence of VCD amplification has demonstrated the extent to which this effect can be exploited as a structure elucidation tool to probe local structure. In this Concept paper, we give an overview of the physics behind vibrational circular dichroism, in particular the equations governing the VCD amplification effect, and review the latest experimental developments with a prospective view on the application of amplified VCD to locally probe biomolecular structure.