Phototech: photosynthetic proteins for technological applications
for possible publication in Photosynthesis Research.
Lead guest editor: Raoul N Frese, VUA The Netherlands
Guest editors: Giuseppina Rea, CNR Italy; Maya D Lambreva, CNR Italy; Rienk van Grondelle, VUA The Netherlands; Mike Jones UoB United Kingdom.
Call for papers
By converting solar energy into chemical energy, photosynthesis supports basically all life on Earth. Key to this process is the use of light energy to power electron transfer across a charge-impermeable lipid membrane. In recent years it has been shown that the nanoscale photosynthetic pigment-protein complexes that catalyse this reaction can be isolated from the native organism in a stable form and interfaced with conducting materials as electrodes. The activity of these proteins when integrated with non-biological electronic components can be monitored through their highly distinctive spectral properties, and through the measurement of light-induced photocurrents. In addition the structure and composition of these structurally-characterised proteins can be altered through genetic engineering or analogs can be designed by recombinant DNA techniques. These properties can be exploited for the construction of optoelectronic devices and mono- and/or multi-molecular layers of either natural or engineered proteins for the development of commercial biosensors and biochips.
Potential topics include, but are not limited to:
solar fuels; biophotovoltaics; bioelectrochemistry; biohybrid solarcells; biocatalyses; designed protein analogs; protein mutagenesis; light and energy harvesting on plasmonic structures; novel photoelectrodes for energy harvesting
Abstracts are kindly requested before October 2015; Manuscript submission March 2016; Publication June 2016.