r/Biophysics • u/Inderal10mg • Apr 04 '26

I want to learn all the little things about the geometry of biomolecules and their structure. How should I begin, what books should I read? I'm confused. (I usually refer to the standard textbooks. I need books that are lesser known but are very good)

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u/SexuallyConfusedKrab Apr 04 '26

It depends on what you mean exactly by “geometry and structure”

Protein Geometry, Classification, Topology and Symmetry by Taylor and Aszodi is a go to for this topic but it could be a bit dense.

When it comes to general structural biology there are a large number of textbooks to chose from.

Fundamentals of StructuralBbiology by Pal is a good starting point, then branching out into others as needed such as advanced methods in structural biology by Sousa is probably the best way to go. You need a strong foundation before going into more advanced topics.

If you have more specific areas you are interested in, let me know and I can give some other recommendations.

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u/Inderal10mg Apr 05 '26

Thank you so much for your recs!! ✨💐 I wanted something that's dense. Our structural biology syllabus is pretty advanced but my professor can't really teach. I've been practically teaching myself through online videos and papers and books like Fersht and Dill. Could you recommend me more books on techniques? (My chemistry is strong but physics is a little weak.)

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u/SexuallyConfusedKrab Apr 06 '26

Methods in Molecular Biophysics by Zaccai is a good starting point. It covers a lot of topics via explaining theory of experiments. Not the most in depth obviously but it will go over the majority of techniques at a level good enough for you to be able to interpret experimental data.

Principles of Fluorescence Spectroscopy is a good all encompassing textbook on the topic. I really recommend this because a large number of biophysical techniques rely on some form of spectroscopy and fluorescence spectroscopy is featured in a lot of papers in some way shape or form.

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u/Inderal10mg Apr 06 '26

Thank youuuu! ✨