Date of Graduation
12-2014
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science in Microelectronics-Photonics (MS)
Degree Level
Graduate
Department
Microelectronics-Photonics
Advisor/Mentor
Li, Jiali
Committee Member
Fritsch, Ingrid
Second Committee Member
Naseem, Hameed A.
Third Committee Member
Vickers, Kenneth G.
Keywords
Artificial photosynthesis; Bacteriorhodopsin; Biosolar cell; Lipid membranes; Photocurrent; Protein membrane
Abstract
The objective of this work was to conduct basic research in biologically inspired energy conversion solutions. A photosynthetic protein (Bacteriorhodopsin) was reconstituted in a bi-layer membrane. Then, when a laser beam was shined on the membrane, the photon energy was used by the protein to pump protons across the membrane. The translocation of protons across the membrane was measured as photocurrent. For this purpose, a system was built to characterize the lipid bilayer membranes and to measure the photocurrent. The lipid bilayer membrane was characterized by its capacitance and resistance. A picoampere photocurrent was observed when Bacteriorhodopsin protein was present in the bilayer membrane and a 532 nm laser was used as light source. The obtained values were consistent with the reports from literature. An introduction to the generation of photocurrent by photosynthetic proteins in lipid membranes was reviewed and their applications are discussed in this thesis.
Citation
Kamwa, J. (2014). Photoelectric Characterization of Bacteriorhodopsin Reconstituted in Lipid Bilayer Membrane. Graduate Theses and Dissertations Retrieved from https://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd/2006
Included in
Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics Commons, Biophysics Commons, Electromagnetics and Photonics Commons, Nanoscience and Nanotechnology Commons, Power and Energy Commons
