The structure and mechanism of photosynthesis have long been a hot topic of research, and the analysis of the protein complexes involved in photosynthesis is key to this research. CD BioSciences has a variety of advanced and specialized technical platforms and analytical tools to help our clients delve into the dynamics of pigment-protein complexes. We are confident that we can provide you with professional services and solutions to accelerate your research.

Introduction

As an important part of the light-harvesting mechanism of all plants and photosynthetic bacteria, photosynthetic pigment-protein complexes (PPCs) can promote the light capture process and excitation energy transfer (EET) from the light capture antenna complexes to the reaction center (RC), so as to effectively transmit the energy of absorbed light to the RC.

PPCs function through a delicate interplay of interpigment and pigment-environment interactions. The level of microscopic insight provided by conventional methods does not yield satisfactory results because signals are dominated by inhomogeneous effects. In the last decade, breakthroughs in the technology and sophistication of spectroscopic analysis have been made and have proven to be applicable to photosynthetic systems. Researchers have turned to the use of these cutting-edge techniques to provide a more incisive and detailed probe of photosynthetic systems.

Fig.1 Crystal structures of four representative PPCs found in green plants and various bacteria. (Baker, 2017)

Our Services

The services we offer include but are not limited to:

• We use femtosecond time-resolved infrared spectroscopy to help customers reveal many dynamic structural details of chlorophyll involved in major events of photosynthesis, such as excitation electron transfer and energy transfer. By tracking the infrared absorption changes induced by the reaction in real-time, we can observe the dynamic changes of chromophores and protein residues in real-time, and analyze these changes in relation to physical reaction mechanisms and protein structural changes in conjunction with X-ray diffraction structures.
• We utilize multiphoton transient absorption spectroscopy to help our clients unravel the complex energy transfer and relaxation pathways. The photon echo method can overcome inhomogeneous broadening, measure it, and use it to observe energy transfer between chemically identical acceptors and donors.
• We use new methods based on Raman spectroscopy to help our customers reveal the vibrational frequencies in excited states.

CD BioSciences has developed a variety of advanced biophysical techniques such as femtosecond time-resolved infrared spectroscopy to provide our clients with fast and efficient analysis of PPCs. If you are interested in our services, please contact us. We are happy to discuss the details with you and formulate strategies according to your requirements.

Reference

1. Baker, L. A.; Habershon, S. Photosynthetic pigment-protein complexes as highly connected networks: implications for robust energy transport. Proceedings of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences. 2017, 473(2201): 20170112.

• Photosynthesis-related Measurements Services
• Leaf 3D Imaging Services
• Plants Magnetic Resonance Imaging Services
• Structural Analysis of Photosynthetic Protein Complex
• Structural Characterization of Amorphous Photosynthetic Complexes
• Distance Measurements in Photosynthetic Reaction Centers
• Kinetic Analysis of Lipids in Photosynthetic Thylakoid Membranes
• Molecular Dynamics Simulations in Photosynthesis