Steady-state spectroscopic studies in evolutionary artificial bio-inspired chromophore-protein assemblies: excitonic interactions development towards solar-energy conversion systems

Abstract

During this doctoral thesis defense, the steady-state spectroscopic study over bio-inspired artificial photosynthetic systems will be presented. The work is based on 4 alpha helices protein bundle and zinc-pheophorbide chromophores. The employed techniques include: absorption, circular dichroism, linear dichroism and fluorescence spectroscopy.

The presentation will introduce the key concepts required for the proposed maquette designs, which aim to reproduce photosynthetic pigment-protein complexes. Based on the spectroscopic results, designs improvements where done and some other where proposed, including exchanging the amino acids position or charged residues incorporation for enhance the protein structure dipole moment. The chromophore selection importance will be emphasized. Furthermore, the linear dichroism(LD) implementation in our laboratory will be presented, highlighting the experimental adaptation of hydrogel preparation methods to improve sample stability and signal quality.

Finally, the presentation will conclude with methodological and spectroscopic improvements, along with strategies towards systems improvements throughcomputational approach. Additionally, the incorporation of artificial photosynthetic proteins into supramolecular cages will be discussed as a promising approach to organize these assemblies and enhance their scalability for solar fuel applications in real-world systems.

If you would like to folllow this PhD thesis online, please, register here!