title: Synthetic Antenna Functioning As Light Harvester in the Whole Visible Region for Enhanced Hybrid Photosynthetic Reaction Centers.
abstract: The photosynthetic reaction center (RC) from the Rhodobacter sphaeroides bacterium has been covalently bioconjugated with a NIR-emitting fluorophore (AE800) whose synthesis was specifically tailored to act as artificial antenna harvesting light in the entire visible region. AE800 has a broad absorption spectrum with peaks centered in the absorption gaps of the RC and its emission overlaps the most intense RC absorption bands, ensuring a consistent increase of the protein optical cross section. The covalent hybrid AE800-RC is stable and fully functional. The energy collected by the artificial antenna is transferred to the protein via FRET mechanism, and the hybrid system outperforms by a noteworthy 30% the overall photochemical activity of the native protein under the entire range of visible light. This improvement in the optical characteristic of the photoenzyme demonstrates the effectiveness of the bioconjugation approach as a suitable route to new biohybrid materials for energy conversion, photocatalysis, and biosensing.
authors.forename: Omar
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Hassan Omar
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Chimica, Università degli Studi di Bari "Aldo Moro" , 70125 Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: Simona
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: la Gatta
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Chimica, Università degli Studi di Bari "Aldo Moro" , 70125 Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: Rocco Roberto
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Tangorra
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Milano
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Chimica, Università degli Studi di Bari "Aldo Moro" , 70125 Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: Roberta
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ragni
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Chimica, Università degli Studi di Bari "Aldo Moro" , 70125 Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: Alessandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Operamolla
authors.affiliation: Istituto di Sintesi Organica e Fotoreattività, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche , 44121 Ferrara, Italy.
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Argazzi
authors.affiliation: Istituto di Sintesi Organica e Fotoreattività, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche , 44121 Ferrara, Italy.
authors.forename: Claudio
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Chiorboli
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Chimica, Università degli Studi di Bari "Aldo Moro" , 70125 Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: Angela
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Agostiano
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Trotta
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Chimica, Università degli Studi di Bari "Aldo Moro" , 70125 Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: Gianluca M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Farinola
mesh_terms: D004735:Energy Transfer; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry*; D008027:Light; D008958:Models, Molecular; D045322:Photosynthetic Reaction Center Complex Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism*; D011487:Protein Conformation; D012242:Rhodobacter sphaeroides
chemical_list: D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D045322:Photosynthetic Reaction Center Complex Proteins