MadSci Network: General Biology |
Well, unfortunately photosynthesis isn't that simple. It is actually quite complicated. Chlorophyll is only one part in the photosynthetic machinery, and its job is to absorb light and pass the energy from it on to the next part of the system. The rest of the components of photosynthesis must be there to be able to convert the light into a useful and stable form of energy rich chemicals. Here is a link with alot of background material on photosynthesis to show you what I mean: http://photoscience.la.asu.edu/photosyn/education/learn.html They also talk about synthetic approaches to photosynthesis near the bottom of this page: http://photoscience.la.asu.edu/photosyn/education/photointro.html And there are several links related to nanotechnology and how artificial photosynthesis might be used with it here: http://photoscience.la.asu.edu/rtg/default.html Chlorophyll can be extracted intact from leaves, but it isn't very useful alone. However, entire photosynthetic reaction centers and electron transport chains can also be isolated intact, and there might be ways to use them in artificial systems. I am involved in research at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where we are trying to couple a synthetic molecule that behaves much like chlorophyll, to a protein called the cytochrome bc1 complex. The bc1 complex is a part of the photosynthetic machinery in some organisms, and is a part of the electron transport chain in mitochondria also. It is used to convert energy from chemical bonds into a proton gradient across a membrane. This gradient is then used by other enzymes to do work. The bc1 complex also moves electrons across the membrane, which adds to the strength of the gradient created. Here is a page on the bc1 complex: http://www.life.uiuc.edu/crofts/bc-complex_site/ My part of the work centers in linking the bc1 complex to a gold surface, which can act as an electrode and accept the electrons that the bc1 complex pumps. I hope that this work helps lead to integrated systems, much like todays computer chips, that have both biological and non-biological components, and that get the energy for both types of components from sunlight. Nature has a huge lead on us in the nanotechnology game, and I see no reason not to take advantage of the systems that she has provided for us already, instead of trying to reinvent our own. Hope you find the information here interesting, and hope I answered your questions. If not, feel free to e-mail me. Thanks. Todd Holland
Try the links in the MadSci Library for more information on General Biology.