Photosynthetic Proteins in Supported Lipid Bilayers: Towards a Biokleptic Approach for Energy Capture.
In nature, plants and some bacteria have evolved an ability to convert solar energy into chemical energy usable by the organism. This process involves several proteins and the creation of a chemical gradient across the cell membrane. To transfer this process to a laboratory environment, several conditions have to be met: i) proteins need to be reconstituted into a lipid membrane, ii) the proteins need to be correctly oriented and functional and, finally, iii) the lipid membrane should be capable of maintaining chemical and electrical gradients. Investigating the processes of photosynthesis and energy generation in vivo is a difficult task due to the complexity of the membrane and its associated proteins. Solid, supported lipid bilayers provide a good model system for the systematic investigation of the different components involved in the photosynthetic pathway. In this review, the progress made to date in the development of supported lipid bilayer systems suitable for the investigation of membrane proteins is described; in particular, there is a focus on those used for the reconstitution of proteins involved in light capture.
School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK.|State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150001, China.
Lei
L
Wang
School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK.
Johannes S
JS
Roth
State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150001, China.
Xiaojun
X
Han
School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK.
Stephen D
SD
Evans
D040761:Biomimetic Materials / Q000138:chemical synthesis* / Q000528:radiation effects; D011211:Electric Power Supplies; D004735:Energy Transfer; D004867:Equipment Design; D008027:Light; D008051:Lipid Bilayers / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000528:radiation effects; D045322:Photosynthetic Reaction Center Complex Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000528:radiation effects*
D008051:Lipid Bilayers; D045322:Photosynthetic Reaction Center Complex Proteins
energy capture; light harvesting; lipid bilayers; photosynthesis; proteins