Photosynthetic Reaction Centres-from Basic Research to Application

Abstract

There is no doubt that studying the photosynthetic conversion of light into chemical energy is extremely important in many points of view: 1) technical-in order to improve the utilization of the solar energy; 2) food production -to improve the photosynthetic production of plants in agriculture; 3) ecology -keeping the primer production in ecosystems in the biosphere balanced, etc. In the photosynthetic reaction centre protein, RC, light energy is converted by a quantum yield of almost unity. There is no such a system designed by human which is able to do that. The RC purified from purple bacteria provides an extremely unique system for studying the requirements for high efficiency conversion of light into electrochemical energy. Thanks to the recent structural (e.g. crystallography (Nobel prize to Michel, Deisenhofer, Huber) and functional (Nobel prize to Marcus)) results together with the works of molecular biology, computerand electro-techniques, a wealth of information made a relatively clear picture about the kinetics, energetics and stabilization of electron transport within this protein that opens possibilities for new generation practical applications. In this paper we provide a short summary of fields in which the reaction centre protein can be important from practical points of view.

Functional Nanohybrid Materials from Photosynthetic Reaction Center Proteins

“…10 nm [19][20][21]) and a single charge pair is created upon absorption of a single photon, this protein has dramatically changed the surface of the globe in geological time and it is called "the nature's solar power stations." Thanks to the strong connection of the molecular structure to spectral and chemical characteristics (see above), RC has unique physical-chemical properties, which are largely retained in biohybrid systems motivating a big challenge to use it in technical applications [2,3].…”

“…Most importantly, the energetic base of human civilization relies on fossil fuels, which are the energy deposits of photosynthetic organisms of the past million years [1]. Light-matter interactions are fundamental importance both from the point of view of basic science and practical applications (e.g., in optoelectronic systems designed for energy conversion, imaging devices, optical switches, and sensor technologies) [2][3][4][5][6]. There are various principles for light energy conversion both in living systems and in artificial molecular devices [7][8][9][10][11][12].…”

“…There are several reasons why mankind needs more and more efficient technologies in the near future [2][3][4]. (1) The exponential growth of the human population cannot be supplied with energy without technological developments.…”

“…(1) The exponential growth of the human population cannot be supplied with energy without technological developments. (2) The natural resources (minerals and fossil fuels) are not inexhaustible. (3) The new technologies should be environmental friendly, with as little poisonous and waste side products as possible.…”

Structure and binding efficiency relations of QB site inhibitors of photosynthetic reaction centres*

“…food production, environmental monitoring and ecology, bio-hybrid systems in integrated optoelectronics, as detailed e.g. by Cogdell and Lindsay 1998;Kruse et al 2005;Jones 2009;Nagy et al 2010Nagy et al , 2014Cogdell et al 2013).…”