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Polymer-Chlorosome Nanocomposites Consisting of Non-Native Combinations of Self-Assembling Bacteriochlorophylls.

Gregory S OrfAaron M CollinsDariusz M NiedzwiedzkiMarcus TankVera ThielAdam KellDonald A BryantGabriel A MontañoRobert E Blankenship
Published in: Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids (2017)
Chlorosomes are one of the characteristic light-harvesting antennas from green sulfur bacteria. These complexes represent a unique paradigm: self-assembly of bacteriochlorophyll pigments within a lipid monolayer without the influence of protein. Because of their large size and reduced complexity, they have been targeted as models for the development of bioinspired light-harvesting arrays. We report the production of biohybrid light-harvesting nanocomposites mimicking chlorosomes, composed of amphiphilic diblock copolymer membrane bodies that incorporate thousands of natural self-assembling bacteriochlorophyll molecules derived from green sulfur bacteria. The driving force behind the assembly of these polymer-chlorosome nanocomposites is the transfer of the mixed raw materials from the organic to the aqueous phase. We incorporated up to five different self-assembling pigment types into single nanocomposites that mimic chlorosome morphology. We establish that the copolymer-BChl self-assembly process works smoothly even when non-native combinations of BChl homologues are included. Spectroscopic characterization revealed that the different types of self-assembling pigments participate in ultrafast energy transfer, expanding beyond single chromophore constraints of the natural chlorosome system. This study further demonstrates the utility of flexible short-chain, diblock copolymers for building scalable, tunable light-harvesting arrays for technological use and allows for an in vitro analysis of the flexibility of natural self-assembling chromophores in unique and controlled combinations.
Keyphrases
  • energy transfer
  • quantum dots
  • reduced graphene oxide
  • carbon nanotubes
  • molecular docking
  • cancer therapy
  • high density
  • protein protein