title: Reversible switching between nonquenched and quenched states in nanoscale linear arrays of plant light-harvesting antenna complexes.
abstract: A simple and robust nanolithographic method that allows sub-100 nm chemical patterning on a range of oxide surfaces was developed in order to fabricate nanoarrays of plant light-harvesting LHCII complexes. The site-specific immobilization and the preserved functionality of the LHCII complexes were confirmed by fluorescence emission spectroscopy. Nanopatterned LHCII trimers could be reversibly switched between fluorescent and quenched states by controlling the detergent concentration in the imaging buffer. A 3-fold quenching of the average fluorescence intensity was accompanied by a decrease in the average (amplitude-weighted) fluorescence lifetime from approximately 2.24 ns to approximately 0.4 ns, attributed to the intrinsic ability of LHCII to switch between fluorescent and quenched states upon changes in its conformational state. The nanopatterning methodology was extended by immobilizing a second protein, the enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP), onto LHCII-free areas of the chemically patterned surfaces. This very simple surface chemistry, which allows simultaneous selective immobilization and therefore sorting of the two types of protein molecules on the surface, is a key underpinning step toward the integration of LHCII into switchable biohybrid antenna constructs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, University of Sheffield , Firth Court, Western Bank, Sheffield S10 2TN, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Cvetelin
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Vasilev
authors.forename: Matthew P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: Edward
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gonzales
authors.forename: Lin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Alexander V
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Ruban
authors.forename: Gabriel
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Montano
authors.forename: Ashley J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Cadby
authors.forename: C Neil
authors.initials: CN
authors.lastname: Hunter
mesh_terms: D002734:Chlorophyll / Q000737:chemistry; D045342:Light-Harvesting Protein Complexes / Q000737:chemistry*; D045332:Photosystem II Protein Complex / Q000737:chemistry; D013050:Spectrometry, Fluorescence; D018724:Spinacia oleracea / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D045342:Light-Harvesting Protein Complexes; D045332:Photosystem II Protein Complex; D002734:Chlorophyll